Neopets is going independent and embarking on a brand revival strategy.

According to a company blog post, new indie entity World of Neopia has assumed ownership of the virtual pet brand and appointed Dominic Law (an exec at former brand owner NetDragon) as CEO.

This major development comes on the heels of LA-based video game publisher JumpStart, which ran Neopets, shutting down last month. JumpStart was a subsidiary of Chinese gameco NetDragon, where Law served as chief metaverse officer for the digital pet brand. 

Neopets launched in 1999, but had its heyday in the early 2000s as a family-friendly online community where users could care for virtual pets. 

Viacom purchased Neopets in 2005 in a US$160-million deal, before selling the brand to JumpStart in 2014 for an undisclosed price. Its user base has been in a decline since that ownership change, and Neopets has been “running at a loss for over a decade,” according to the blog post. 

World of Neopia is looking to recharge the brand, starting with a new website that’s launching on July 20. Development is also underway on a simulation mobile game called World of Neopets, which will roll out next year. (It’s worth noting that the company is now pivoting away from previously outlined plans to develop Neopets games that integrate the metaverse and NFTs.)

These current projects are being supported by a US$4-million financing round that World of Neopia raised from various investors earlier this year.