The short answer
Wild Ones was a Facebook game by Playdom that ran from 18 December 2009 to late August 2013. Disney bought Playdom in July 2010. In July 2013 treat sales stopped and a notice announced the game would close on 26 August 2013. No detailed reason was ever given. The original cannot be played today, but fan remakes and new games carry it on.
2009: a social take on Worms
Wild Ones came from Playdom, one of the big social game studios of the Facebook era alongside Zynga and Playfish. An alpha surfaced in December 2009, and Adweek's write-up called it, for all intents and purposes, Worms 2: a turn-based artillery game where small characters lob explosives at each other across destructible terrain.
The twist was the cast. Instead of worms you controlled cute, slightly grumpy cartoon pets, and instead of a living-room couch your opponents were your Facebook friends and strangers from around the world. The game officially launched on Facebook on 18 December 2009. The first version was simple: last pet standing wins.
2010: millions of players and a Disney deal
Growth was fast. By March 2010 Wild Ones had more than 2 million monthly players on Facebook, and on 10 March 2010 Playdom brought it to MySpace. Early 2010 also introduced treats, the premium currency, alongside the coins you earned by playing, plus a monthly membership.
On 27 July 2010 Disney announced it was buying Playdom for $563.2 million, plus up to $200 million more depending on performance. A month later, AppData tracking showed Wild Ones at about 3.82 million monthly and 525,000 daily players, which made it one of Playdom's top games.
The redesign that made it a hit
According to the designers who worked on it, Wild Ones was reworked heavily during 2010. Aiming became a single mouse movement that set both angle and power, and wind was removed to make shots easier to read. New modes arrived, including point matches with respawns, team matches and private rooms, along with a weapon shop you could open mid-match and dozens of new weapons. In a 2011 Gamasutra feature, the team explained that the game earned its money mainly from weapons, while maps and pets stayed free or cheap.
The result was the version most of us remember: quick 20-second turns, points for damage and destroyed terrain, daily ammo deals, and a constant stream of themed weapons for every holiday.
2011–2012: the golden years
In August 2011 Wild Ones was one of the 16 launch games on Google+'s new games platform. New pets kept coming, including the Dino, the Raccoon in early 2012 and the Bird in mid-2012, along with seasonal maps such as Santa's Workshop and event weapons like the Pumpkin Bomb and Sweetheart Grenades. Players formed friendships, rivalries and YouTube channels, and the fan wiki grew to hundreds of articles.
2013: the shutdown
The end came quickly. Fans noticed that from early July 2013 treats and memberships could no longer be bought. Around mid-July a notice appeared on the game's page: Wild Ones will be shut down on 26 August 2013.
Playdom never published a detailed explanation. Fans have guessed at falling revenue, cheating and hacking, and Disney's wider pull-back from Facebook games, which saw many Playdom titles closed over the following years. Whatever the reason, MySpace and Playdom.com went dark on 26 August and the Facebook version followed around 28 August 2013. Every pet, hat, medal and leftover treat disappeared with it.
Wild Ones was never killed by the end of Flash. It closed in 2013, seven years before Flash Player was retired.
After 2013: remakes and successors
Wild Ones refused to stay dead. Between 2016 and 2019 fans launched several unofficial projects, including Wild Ones Remake, Wild Ones: Private Wars, Wild Ones Heroes and Wild Ones Ultimate. Each ran for a while before closing; the Flash-based remake broke completely when Flash reached end of life in December 2020.
More recently, an unofficial remake called Wild Ones Battle Stadium arrived on Steam and mobile in December 2024, Wild Ones Evolution is in development, and Wild Wars launched in 2026 as a new game built by Wild Ones fans. It is the closest thing to Wild Ones you can play today. None of them are official, but all of them exist because so many people still miss it.
Timeline
- An alpha surfaces and Adweek calls it a social take on Worms. Wild Ones launches on Facebook on 18 December.
- Treats, the premium currency, arrive, along with membership.
- Wild Ones comes to MySpace, with more than 2 million monthly players on Facebook.
- Team play, the match selector, the Kennel map and dozens of new weapons arrive.
- Disney agrees to buy Playdom for $563.2 million, plus up to $200 million more.
- About 3.82 million monthly and 525,000 daily players.
- Gamasutra publishes the story of the Wild Ones redesign.
- Wild Ones is one of the 16 launch games on Google+.
- New pets including the Raccoon and the Bird.
- Treat and membership sales stop, and the shutdown notice appears.
- Wild Ones shuts down.
- Playdom closes its last remaining games in 2016, while unofficial fan remakes come and go.
- Adobe Flash reaches end of life, breaking the Flash-based remake.
- Unofficial Wild Ones Battle Stadium launches on Steam.
- Wild Wars launches on PC, and Wild Ones Evolution appears on Steam as "coming soon".
Questions about the shutdown
When exactly did Wild Ones close?
The in-game notice gave 26 August 2013 as the closing date. Fans report that MySpace and Playdom.com went dark that day, and the Facebook version was gone by about 28 August 2013.
Did Wild Ones shut down because of Adobe Flash?
No. Wild Ones closed in 2013, more than seven years before Adobe ended Flash Player on 31 December 2020. The end of Flash only affected later fan remakes that still ran on Flash.
Did players get their treats back?
Treat and membership sales were switched off a few weeks before the closure. Accounts, pets and items were not carried over to any other game when the servers went offline.
Is Playdom still around?
No. Disney bought Playdom in 2010 and gradually closed its games. The last Playdom titles shut down in 2016.
