Neopets Mobile Is Entering Beta Testing ‘Very Soon’

Back in 2018 we heard the amazing news that Neopets would be coming to mobile, and it could be happening very soon.

Back before the days of Club Penguin (RIP) we had Neopets, and we spent hours earning those Neopoints and saving up for those elusive paintbrushes, passing the time until we were ready to hit the tombola and munch down on a free omelette. 

Credit: Neopets

In 2018 the Neopets team announced that a mobile-friendly version of the classic browser game would be coming, but it’s now 2020 and we’ve not heard anything since…until now.

GameByte got in touch with the Neopian team to find out just what the heck is going on, because I really, really need some more Neopets in my life.

Credit: Neopets

Neopets’ Stephanie Lord explained that, despite some tech issues, the mobile-friendly website is still going full steam ahead.

“We have many exciting projects in the Neopian universe right now, one of the most anticipated of course is the mobile version of the site,” Lord told me.

“As everyone is aware, flash is quickly going away so our first goal is to make the existing site completely functional and user friendly on mobile devices. This not only includes converting all flash features to another format, but also redesigning large parts of the site to make it more immersive and modern while improving user experience.”

Credit: Neopets

She added: “The plan right now is to roll it out in phases. We are focusing first on the most common activities of users today (your pets, interacting with them, customizing, dailies and games) and then will expand from there.”

Lord went on to say that the project will be a “Progressive Web App,” meaning it won’t be an out-right app from the get-go. Excitingly, she announced the team is “set to launch beta in the next couple months.” Hooray!

“As you can imagine, the thousands of customization items, security improvements, flash games, etc. are all massive projects that we have set as our top priority for the moment,” she explained.

Credit: Neopets

“Once those parts are completed and we feel good with where the product is at, we will be moving the site into app format where users can download it from the iOS and Google Play Store.”

Unfortunately, there’s still no date in place for when we can expect the website, but we hopefully we be seeing beta testing begin in the first half of 2020.

“It has taken longer than expected but we wanted to make sure we give our users the best product we can and make sure we don’t rush anything or limit the quality.” said Lord.

Sorry, Chomby who I haven’t fed since 2003. You’ll have to wait a little longer!

Featured Image Credit: Neopets