The Wizard101 Hacking Disaster

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In September of 2022, beloved children's MMO Wizard101 made headlines for all the wrong reasons: an employee had hacked into the game to publish a tirade against the company that owned the game, alongside a slew of offensive, strange and humorous messages. But... is that what really happened? Today let's dig a little deeper than the dramatic headlines and figure out what exactly happened before, during and after the Wizard101 hacking disaster of 2022.
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All credit goes to the musicians and composers! This video is not meant to target or harass any person. This video does not condone or encourage anyone to harass or contact any person or persons discussed in this video. This video is purely for entertainment and informational purposes.

[@magicshruums1014]

The “fuck you I still have it” is genuinely the funniest plot twist I’ve ever heard💀 mans really came back with vengeance

[@missliv.404]

My favorite part tbh😂

[@CommanderWiggins]

I honestly don't know what's funnier, the idea that the admins actually sent that message and the hacker responded, or the idea that the hacker sent all of those messages, basically making a whole plot out of it.

[@AbandonedVoid]

@@CommanderWiggins The latter is far more likely, as someone who works in cybersecurity

[@ddjsoyenby]

we should all aspire to be like him

[@daelen.cclark]

Then again, the wizard police were after him.

[@VHeartOld]

“Fuck” “I need to run” “The wizard police are after me” Will always be the single funniest trio of messages sent in a row to me and I love it so much

[@chrisconrad9478]

i love the fuck you i still have it

[@plutopawzz]

I just read this comment and I'm writing a short story on tumblr with some dude in a alleyway who knows illegal magic and is being chased by wizard police help

[@4CHAMUKA]

“fuck u i still have it” 💀💀💀

[@alsimagination1150]

@@plutopawzz No. In fact, *continue.*

[@_fox_c_she_her]

i like that comment (its funny XD )

[@doublejynx]

I was online while this was happening, high as shit. I’m embarrassed to admit I thought I was about to become a real life creepypasta victim

[@Starxii_-ub8yt]

"suddenly, a pitch black wizard with evil red eyes appeared in front of me and ripped my wizards arms off *what the heck?!1!?1!?1* i thought to myself *you cant do that in this game!!!?!?1* "you'll pay for this" the wizard said, blasting me with a powerful spell that sent me into a dark void covered in blood" (i've never read a creepypasta story thing or played wizard101. i just took this from a snipet from an old fman122 story)

[@satan3034]

ngl this is pretty spot on lol@@Starxii_-ub8yt

[@blapis-blazuli]

"The next world is my boss's asshole" Truly iconic.

[@NikoNiki_KIZUNA]

I am going to quote this in my discord calls from now on.

[@Liboo52]

My worst fear is that some kid who loves Wizard 101’s parents saw the hacker’s messages and thought that was a normal part of the game and didn’t learn about what actually happened and now that poor kid isn’t allowed to play anymore

[@Snusmumrikean]

I thought the average player age in Wizard 101 is like, 27.

[@shaece798]

most parents don't watch their kids online, that's why they expect companies to do it for them, if they were watching chances are they would be getting pushed to do thing irl and not be on the game to begin with.

[@bridgetbitchass]

trust me, it isnt kids playing that game anymore 😂

[@Minkfang]

@@Snusmumrikean surely you’re not thinking of WOW

[@maddy8328]

Agreed

[@thatcher6923]

As a kid, I was very frugal with money and thought it would be embarrassing to ask my parents for a membership, so I instead did the 10 quizzes a day for 100 crowns until I unlocked most of the areas in Wizard City. It was definitely a low point in my life

[@urbicide_if]

SAME

[@KazShiro]

I know that feeling...had to do those types of surveys back in 2011 to 2013 in elsword until I got allowance to buy ultimate game cards if you remember that prepaid card.

[@GingerTyPerior]

If it makes you feel any better, I unlocked the whole first arc with trivia crowns. It took me 6 years.

[@hydra4370]

me when I learned how to softmod my 3ds and install a cfw because I was too embarrased to ask my dad for smash bros 3ds

[@SweatierAcorn]

I wasn't able to do the quizzes for some reason and just begged my parents much better with money now, maybe a little too careful.

[@TherapyisntenoughIneedtobite]

I used to play Wizard 101 as a kid so hearing about it always brings back familiar memories! Also honestly the line "The wizard police are after me" will always be funny even if it's from a disgruntled employee hacking a 14-year-old wizard game for kids

[@GrenNoshi]

The Wizard police line pays homage to me for the Hall Monitors in the common area.

[@Colonies_Dev]

i never got to play this beyond a tutorial ;-; *sad childhood noises*

[@skyvolt2566]

I also played it as a kid, and actually recently gotten back into it and so much has changed I actually recommend hopping back into it and checking it out its still just as fun as it was lol besides the obvious paywalls that actually block you off from doing main quests its still a pretty solid game despite Kingsisle reputation

[@GH0ST_T0WNE]

“The wizard police are after me” hands-down my new favorite quote.

[@benjaminrobinson3842]

There's a theory that covers both possibilities: The game was hacked externally by an *ex-* employee. Such a person would have motivation, an insider's knowledge of how KI set up their servers (which is *very* useful when trying to hack your way in), and no worries about losing their job. If true, KI could honestly claim, "Hey it wasn't one of our employees."

[@orinom4128]

I believe this too. I'm a game developer and I genuinely believe that the easiest way to hack your way in is to have hands on experience with the server code itself. If they're claiming they got in through, "other means" that holds even stronger in my opinion-- one of the programmers would be much more likely to find these other means. Signing in as admin would be too risky as it should be very easy to trace which employee login is active at a given moment. You also can't do it in the workplace because they'll just find you. You have to do this sort of thing remotely with good protection. Definitely smells like it was either an ex-employee, or current employee who knows their way around the system and is smart enough to not get caught. Legal troubles are no laughing matter after all. :) Edit: I would also like to note that it's possible that KI didn't remove admin logins when an employee left the workplace. KI would want to cover up this security breach.

[@benjaminrabbit659]

@@orinom4128 given the terrible infosec I have seen in education and know of in medical software, it is not hard to imagine a MMO having an ex-employee or current employee do this. Also given the lack of specific complaints, they could be disgruntled for any reasons, maybe even completely unrelated to broader issues there, and its not like software dev is know for being a super happy fun environment to work in. seems a ex-employee or current employee is the simplest explanation also like I have left places and only noticed years later that I had access to things they should have block off the day I left

[@Trollestiatumblur]

That’s the first thing I thought of. An Ex-employee. Technically they wouldn’t be lying since they are no longer an employee. I also think people forget how old Gen Z is. I’m turning 22 next month, the oldest Gen Z is like 26 y/o now. We aren’t in high school anymore

[@jaash7981]

The compilation of the hacker's messages was hilarious, and that ending of "fuck you I still have it" absolutely killed me lmao

[@mystoxxiide9043]

as an australian kid who also grew up spending a lot of time on the computer, the phrase "my eyes are square from looking at the screen so much" hit me like a sack of bricks

[@literallyafishhook]

this might be a stupid question, but what does it mean? i'm american so i've never heard that phrase before rip

[@honkhonk275]

@@literallyafishhook Really? I thought it was a pretty common phrase across the globe. Saying someone's eyes will "go square" if they look at the computer for too long is just a thing used to lightly scare kids into not over-using the computer, commonly used by parents. Most kids don't believe it, but it's just a fun little reference to a common saying.

[@literallyafishhook]

@@honkhonk275 that's so interesting! i guess it's kinda like how parents would tell kids that they'd go blind if they sat too close to the tv lol

[@Spunro]

@@honkhonk275im from scotland and my dad always said this to me, it didnt really work on me though since i thought having square eyes would be cool 😂

[@jallybwan3767]

@@Spunro minecraft enjoyers be like

[@wilderking8476]

It's a miracle that Wizard101 is still alive, one of the last of its kind of game still on the web. I thought for sure the shutting down of flash would have kicked its last breath out of it, but the P2P wall is so high, not even that could stop it

[@Starbonsai]

Theres actually a fair bit of mmos still online, maplestory comes to mind, but they are mostly dying by this point.

[@LucidElliotAtray]

Wiz uses flash?

[@futurtop1]

@@LucidElliotAtray no

[@insertname9736]

There are some old-school MMOs still around, but mostly dead. Like Pirate 101, Age of Conan, and LOTRO. If anyone remembers them.

[@theMyRadiowasTaken]

​@@insertname9736i mean pirate101 is from the same company as wizard101 im 99% sure so that makes sense

[@arrayave2526]

“The wizard police are after me” - me running away from the Vatican after freeing all the kids

[@that_deadeyegamer7920]

Fuck I was smoking and this killed me lmao 😭

[@humanperson2480]

Damn, that’s dark XD

[@MelloriNoMori]

This had me release a sound I didn't think I was capable of making.

[@Paradox_Incognito]

As much of a problem as this was, "The wizard police are after me" will never fail to send me into giggles

[@ddjsoyenby]

same i busted out laughing at these messages.

[@lunarequine7734]

I stopped playing wiz about a year ago, but I saw Moist Critikal make a video about this and I headed to Twitter to check out the messages for myself. The wizard police are after me and Heisenberg’s monologue had me rolling the first time I read them. 😂

[@BugjoeCEO]

WIZARD POLICE REAL

[@Feffen]

Adding to the banning problem- me and my brother used to play wizard 101 religiously. We never used the chat or did anything to break the guidelines, we were just two 8 year olds havin a jolly ol time on the fun wizard game. I want to say I got banned a total of 3 times for no reason and this really turned me away from the game especially because I had spent money on it. I watched as people tried to spread hatespeech and had no consequences for their actions while I was sitting there inmy little boots sobbing.

[@Dumpsterhuggies]

>spread hatespeech Cry

[@themyofmy]

@@Dumpsterhuggies arent you the edgiest little wizard boy

[@Feffen]

@@Dumpsterhuggies I did cry, did you not see me crying in my little boots sobbing?

[@ettaz]

@@themyofmy your comment perfectly sums up the entire Harry Potter series

[@themyofmy]

@@ettaz LOL

[@notpenumbra1342]

Izzy I have to warn you, Established Titles just got outed as a scam. I’m so sorry, it’s very messed up

[@SoniasWay]

Izzy’s makeup skills always amaze me. She’s so creative and talented

[@santiagoacosta3372]

@Not gonna lie youtube bots 😀

[@ZoeAlleyne]

I have vision issues and trying to follow makeup tutorials when I cannot wear my glasses is a pain. She has inspired me to just say...fuck it, just do something interesting instead of perfect contouring.

[@latewizard301]

it's really damn cool i agree. not something i usually see i'll tell you that.

[@Jennifer-fh8gm]

They. Izzy uses they/them pronouns.

[@Dionysius8421]

@@Jennifer-fh8gm thought they used both she and they? Admittedly i hadnt checked in a bit Edit: just checked , she isn't WRONG but they appears more correct

[@Gafafsg]

“Now that we’ve introduced the camel’s back, let’s introduce the straw” is the funniest/coolest transition I’ve ever heard

[@CairoCreations]

Born to late to explore the world Born to early to explore the universe Born just in time to play wizard 101

[@Lulink013]

It kind of reminds me of that one time Realm of the Mad God, an MMORPG with perma-death got hacked. The culprit spawned the final boss of the game multiple times in the nexus, the only truly safe area where there's no way to die, players tend to AFK, first spawn and teleport back to in case of an emergency. The servers were rolled back to restore all the lost characters but it's still a somewhat well known story shared among the playerbase more than half a decade later. There's also that one time WoW had a plague debuff that could spread from player to player inside a dungeon but somehow got out, causing a virtual pandemy where low level players would die to it but high level ones would shrug it of and bring it to other places, sometimes on purpose. Cities became unsafe to level level players, just like living in a city would have made the chance of contracting COVID higher years later.

[@bashfulwolfo6499]

God the WoW one is so infamous and I love it so much lmao The fact that it got the attention of disease researchers too is amazing

[@poisonmantis4191]

the wow plague got studied!!! it was a really useful way to study how people react to pandemics!!!!

[@cometkeiko]

@@bashfulwolfo6499 WoW? what is that?

[@mentos124]

@@cometkeiko world of Warcraft

[@benayers8622]

woww caused covid shit thats deep

[@lolmiser12]

Honestly, I feel like every children's online 2000s game has to have some drama, a problematic company behind it or just getting shut down, I could go on, neopets, webkinz and moshi monsters. Rip moshi monsters. My favourite.

[@ma.2089]

When trends end and multiplayer games start to die and lose relevance, this is the way it all goes. Besides club Penguin, who has its controversies after the game ended. And maybe habbo hotel. Which controversies have entered meme status.

[@seal8092]

A family member of mine had to watch Toontown get shut down, I remember being little and looking over their shoulder at the glitchy landscapes and the floating NPCs.

[@gokuxsephiroth4505]

Moshi Monsters Rewritten is pretty neat. It's MM but you're all members

[@mechanicalhoundz]

I was about to say "Oh no! What did Webkinz do?!" and then I remembered.....the NFTs.....

[@quetzalcueyat]

It's Playstation home for me

[@swiftly1125]

I don't think it was a disgruntled employee like most people would want to believe. Doing a stunt like that would cost you your entire career as chances of getting blacklisted (from the industry) is pretty high. Though maybe if this disgruntled employee wanted an out from the industry, I could see them hijacking the broadcast system as a last hurrah... though still unlikely that was the case in this situation. EDIT: It's just unlikely that a disgruntled employee would post Gen Z-type humor on the broadcast system as a way to get back at their crappy bosses instead of using it as an anonymous exposé by actually calling out people, if that makes sense. A third party hacker pretending to be an employee seems more plausible, to me at least.

[@someonewhocantmakeuptheirm2671]

i agree, tbh im 99% sure it's some rando pretending to be an employee for the bit

[@shibasandshelves]

Yeah, I’m shocked at the idea that people would believe it genuinely was a disgruntled employee… but I guess it tracks with the player base being mostly kids. It’s a fun and exciting story if you’re a child. That’s not to say it would be in a company’s best interests to lie and cover it up if it was a disgruntled employee, just that not a single one of those messages make me think “disgruntled employee”

[@flyaround312]

@@shibasandshelves "Kings isle is the worst company i have ever worked for" sounds like a disgruntled employee to me, except that they spelled the company's name incorrectly. It was definitely a disgruntled player.

[@falcon_arkaig]

@@flyaround312 God it would've been hilarious if it was a mad employee. One day I hope "disgruntled employee hacks site and says stupid, vulgar shit" actually becomes a reality

[@valwest9199]

it could be someone who used to work there and didn't really care anymore bc they weren't going into that industry anyways? getting intern and/or temp vibes tbh. otherwise yeah it just sounds like a disgruntled player

[@raccoon.pies.]

I feel like the “disgruntled employee gone rogue” is too much of a trope and if it was they would probably say like “they underpaid us” or “i haven’t seen my kids in 6 years”

[@theodorehodbor5080]

I lean towards it being a hacker mostly because if an employee did this no self-respecting software company would ever hire them again after doing something like this. Unless their treatment at Kingsisle was *that* bad to the point they were willing to exit the industry as a whole I doubt any normal person would be willing to risk a industry-wide blacklist for a meme like this.

[@Skittle2296]

I remember my mom didn't let me play this because she said it's witchcraft however I played it on some scam site and got us a virus. Yay.

[@blackdressbess195]

I played this in secret at night as a kid for the same reason lol

[@wasperfly]

That's wasn't a virus, it was a wizard curse.

[@imhidingasecret]

lol you and me had the same childhood, my parents didnt let me play cause witchcraft, so i was only allowed to play toontown.

[@Skittle2296]

@@imhidingasecret I played something called jumpstart online 💀

[@danielv6281]

@@Skittle2296 I did too! The game was so fun

[@ElkiaStellar]

I have never played MMO's when I was a child but Izzy manages to make me feel nostalgic for them anyways.

[@alexisb3829]

Same

[@duckysguidetoshipping8930]

Sameee

[@suicideshy451]

I've been watching Izzy so much I'm getting nostalgic just listening to them talk lmao

[@abbie_joan]

I did play them and honestly I'm just waiting for the Disney Fairies or Build A Bear video to drop. I played those games religiously when I was little in spite of my family's horrible Internet connection. She really hits that niche internet nostalgia of kids who were definitely anime/book nerds that regularly holed up in our rooms to avoid socializing.

[@duckysguidetoshipping8930]

@@suicideshy451 yesss

[@embryy1098]

the fact that wizard101 is still up and running in november 2022 is the most shocking info in this video to me LMAO. but in terms of other early 2000s online kids games fantage would be a fun one to see covered. i don't really remember there ever being anything that really happened with the game but i was so heartbroken when it shut down, i'd play that game for hours

[@IronBlaze77]

Same! I love going on the roller coaster for minutes on end and customizing my character (even if I was only a free-to-play user. That game was pretty great from what I remember (which isn’t much). I found out it shutdowns couple of years ago (and the information I will now divulge to you), but a fan-made private server called _Fantage Legacy_ was in the works a day after its shutdown, only to be threatened with legal action by the Fantage team. A successor to _Fantage Legacy_ titled _Pixel Park_ was shown off and the first public beta was launched on November 28th, 2019, but the game was closed on April 30th due to low funds and public support. Hearing about all this after the fact hit me deeply.

[@alexisschiffer4830]

Yes! There was reportedly a lot of drama behind the scenes (employees weren’t happy) and because of Flash, a lot of things could be exploited/manipulated in the game. I miss it so much though. I would love to see an in-depth video essay on Fantage lol.

[@alexisschiffer4830]

@@IronBlaze77A former user who tried giving promises of a new Fantage Legacy style game scammed a bunch of people apparently. His username was “Camfroggy” or Mace/Mason IRL? Idk. Some people mentioned it. There was a lot of drama behind the scenes (the company wasn’t known for getting positive reviews either) so I would like to see Izzy’s take on the game because they’ve mentioned it before.

[@jasperjazzie]

if you know what wun/wuhn means you qualify for a veteran's discount /j

[@Junebugpog]

I wasn’t playing when the incident happened BUT I did play when they gave everyone free membership for a couple days afterwards and it was fun! I leveled up my character a bunch and got further in the game than I’ve ever done. It also makes me realize just how paywalled the game is! There’s so many areas limited to members only it’s crazy! It’s also can be difficult to level up your character without a membership as well. I also chose death magic as my school as well! :D

[@lumi6945]

I played when they gave the free membership in the 12 days of the spiral event, and I finished Mooshu and I'm not in Dragonspyre! (too bad it expired 😭) I chose fire school bc I love dragons

[@wizardlizard55555]

@@lumi6945 You’re gonna love Dragonspyre then! It’s basically the fire school dragon world. I also played during the spiral event and when it ended I caved and got a month membership lol

[@Jack_Saint_Archive]

*I love when Izzzyzzz said "It's hackin' time" and hacked all over the Wizard101. Truly one of the videos of all time.*

[@Jack_Saint_Archive]

It is a Morbius reference 💀

[@Jack_Saint_Archive]

@Chad 007 No, thanks ...

[@ma.2089]

Gotta say…these morb memes are getting pretty painful at this point. It’s everywhere. I’ve not experienced an undying meme that was once funny but overdone to the point of losing all humor in a LOOOONG time. I even prefer just “morbin time”. At least it isn’t the same format and is just 2 words.

[@bernkastel7438]

@@ma.2089 It's so annoying now, it was kinda funny at first.

[@BrainsofaWeirdArtist]

Bruh this is the 4th time in a row stop

[@checkerhat327]

Just gonna put this out there. "Now that we've established the camel's back, let's introduce the straw." is now one of my favorite sentences spoken.

[@roserkk]

in the tutorial the headmaster told me to wait a moment and i waited forever, multiple times after restarts. i was like 8 and asked my parents what does a moment actually mean and i remember them talking to a doctor about my comment. i feel like that was adding into some sort of diagnosis. thanks wizard101. still haunts me to this day

[@heymae_]

My entire main character just got deleted at one point. My parents had spent money on it for me as well. I had different mounts but sadly never made it past the giant tree to travel to other places. Her name was Sabrina and I lowkey will miss her.

[@annabanana1680]

As someone who still plays Wizard101 religiously to this day thank you for covering this. I never personally had any issues with Kingsisle up until a few years ago when the game REALLY started feeling cash-grabby. (The crown store now opens up when you load the game and there is no way to turn off that feature. Stuff like that rubs me the wrong way.) Wizard101 has brought me so much joy over the past decade and it breaks my heart to know the employees and game developers who made that possible get treated so poorly. And it makes me worried the game will shut down sooner rather than later. I will be so sad when it inevitably dies.

[@mjangelvortex]

They were like that with their other games so this behavior sadly doesn't surprise me.

[@CrazyAlienLady051]

That's the issue with the mmo genre in General. Majority of the best games overtime turn into pay 2 win grind fest games with sparkly cosmetics that don't line up with the aesthetic and theme of the game (no joke, I logged back in the game only to find the Commons filled up with people riding motorbikes, glittery lion mounts and giant mech suits) you're playing with a combat system attached to it where free 2 play users are spanked for not entering their credit card numbers on the first day and whales (a term used to describe people who just buy their way through the game and have a bigger advantage against someone who didn't spend money) make up most of the community due to the game only catering to them. Which is really sad cause, I always loved mmo's like Wizard101 but you can hardly enjoy the game because because the developers would rather suck every nickel and Penny out of you than allow you to have a good time.

[@xRaiofSunshine]

@@CrazyAlienLady051 Don’t forget the squeaky rubber ducks. It’s funny, but it’s not wizardly ;_;

[@Glory2Snowstar]

No hack will ever compare to my two friends spending 14,000 of my Coins in Club Penguin during our sleepover on Harry Potter merch and two Puffles with misspelled names. I had to surf so dang much after that.

[@yogabagaba4602]

That’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard and needs to be on the wiki’s controversies 🤣

[@Armund_Wolffe]

JUSTICE FOR BRADLEY! lmaooo as much as i want it to have been an employee, i really doubt it. the string of messages is fucking hilarious, though, and i wish i had been online that day. KI really do need to tone it down with the crown requirements. W101 and P101 are so nostalgic and comfy for me, I'd love to be able to actually play through the massive stories in them sometime. sigh. edit: "the wizard police are after me" is absolutely iconic; i need it on a tshirt immediately. also, Storm School for life!

[@dontbesav]

The game needs to be free up until at least Krokotopia so players can actually get a feel for the game!

[@peytoia]

“info: the wizard police are after me” is gonna be bouncing around my brain like a vcr logo probably until i die

[@sammas7816]

Wizard 101 is such a deep obscure memory to me, and it's very cool to see it talked about!

[@dynjmay]

I have spent hours of my childhood on this game

[@trevorthabest161]

Same bro I remember waking up and playing wizard 101 then logging on to animal jam the rest of the day

[@kendoll987]

my dad was on the sound design team!

[@arareanddifferenttune3130]

@@kendoll987 woah that’s so cool!

[@swirlybun9616]

I remember just creating new accounts until hitting a paywall because I didn’t know how to go about asking my mom. Good times.

[@twindrill2852]

This game was my childhood. Wasn’t here during this incident because I’ve ultimately moved on, but this certainly was an…experience

[@loser4274]

i played wizard 101 around that time and i didn't see this 💀

[@burrowed3864]

Same!

[@Melissa-zr6zw]

I never played Wizard 101 but I do fondly remember its commercials on TV in like 2009! given how old it is I definitely didn’t expect for this hack to take place in 2022 💀💀

[@funnyhappystudios]

After a four year break from Wizard101 because we didn’t have a strong enough internet connection, we finally got back into the game THE MONTH AFTER this hack all happened. I think to me it would’ve been neat to actually experience this moment in history firsthand. Sad I hadn’t gotten back onto Wizard101 sooner 😅

[@harenava1451]

As a long time player and die hard fan of the game, this is the best publicity the game has gotten in years, simply by virtue of it being the only publicity the game has gotten in years.

[@DefaultSeaTurtle]

There's a type of style that humor from the Wizard101 community has and this comment is a perfect distillation of it.

[@celery7094]

18:28 - this type of joke never fails to crack me up and Izzy’s delivery is just so consistently perfect. A true chefs kiss moment 🤌 in an already Ramsay-level video

[@morgue.dweller]

I loved this game as a kid but my parents never agreed to get me a membership, so I'd always get stuck at Giant's Alley or whatever it was called. I had a Toontown membership and I wasn't allowed anything else.

[@PersonsUnknown]

This video just unlocked a memory I didn't even know I had. Every time I try to tell someone about Wizard101 they act as if I hallucinated the whole thing. Finally, proof that it exists.

[@ma.2089]

Same for the old Disney MMOs. Like fairy hollow and the pirates one. They even had a book made to advertise them

[@The_Bird_Bird_Harder]

@@ma.2089 I remember fairy hollow I loved it so much as a kid!

[@ClefairyRox]

I remember seeing the advertisements for this game, Toontown, and Fusionfall on Cartoon Network back in the day

[@madmuffin4484]

I think W101 is still running? Not sure tho

[@ma.2089]

@@madmuffin4484 it is, it’s just a very old game that not everyone knows about and has played

[@pachimarie]

i remember being devastated when my dad told me the computer could only handle one game so we had to choose between wizard and pirate 101😭

[@flyaround312]

LOL that's so good, he found a way to make you quit a game and you couldn't even be mad at him for it because it was the computer's fault. I'm so sorry 😭

[@somerandomgoblin2583]

THANK YOU for acknowledging pirate 101. i loved that game so much, even if i only played it for a little while. wizard 101 was amazing when i was a kid, but i think pirate 101 was a bit cooler. i was a witchdoctor and storm wizard, because Of Course I Was

[@skelebratz]

the horrible paywalls and stingy pricing is also present in Pirate101, another game by KingsIsle

[@antagonizingprotagonist8721]

Wizards101, poptropica, angry birds, and where my water were all games that I played all the time. I didn't even know this happened. It's crazy how you can forget something that was such a large part of your childhood I also always picked death.

[@genericname2747]

I was a life wizard, but then I realized death was cooler, so I ended up as a life wizard who will kill you.

[@mari98_]

As someone from the same gen who didn’t have computer access until a lot older than other kids, I live vicariously through your nostalgia recaps

[@evil_death_roll]

God I loved Wizard 101, I never got a membership so grinding to buy the castle house was the biggest achievement I ever hit. It started me on my love for fishing minigames, as well. Lots of fond memories.

[@pinkpeppers5580]

Piggle toss for the win!!! 🤣

[@burrowed3864]

Oh my gosh! Yes! I remember I would spend so much time going to other peoples houses and playing tag. Wonderful!

[@sterthester736]

One of my best memories, followed by the worst that killed my enjoyment of the game and led to me quitting for good, was when the mount shop stuff for Crowns was out. Specifically there was a glitch a few friends of mine had found, that managed to change the crowns to gold in the UI and accepted gold, which allowed us free players to buy some for still expensive mounts. I used it to get wings. It was fun and I enjoyed it, focusing on visiting homes of friends and random people because I could not get a membership. Of course, they learned about this glitch and fixed it. But in the process also removed the mount and didn't refund the gold spent. So I logged on to find it and the gold I had spent hours earning all gone. Logged out and never logged back in. First time I saw anything about it afterwards was this very situation and I honestly just find it hilarious. I have to admit, part of me kind of hopes W101 goes the way of Toontown and the community run free Toontown Rewritten that came afterwards.

[@benjaminmontag4749]

Sooo pumped for your deep dive on the game as a whole. I was so obsessed with this game but as a way of socializing, not gaming. I was sooo invested in the relationships and deep into the drama of them 😭 The weird codes and shit you had to use to say things that were censored otherwise. The way you could use certain built in gestures inappropriately. That one 2 story castle with the railing you could glitch through and clip into whatever object you had placed on the floor directly below. The way that specific glitch was used 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️ (if you know, you know) kid drama was ridiculously intense there for me 💀

[@mekaylaowo1928]

this was me with moviestarplanet

[@SakuraStallion]

If I had a nickel for how many times Wizard101 was hacked during its birthday I'd have TWO nickels! It isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.

[@Xx_Oleander_xX]

thats gotta be the best birthday gift!

[@tem8596]

I think I screamed when I saw this pop up. Wizard101 was such a core part of my childhood, thank you for covering it 😭

[@Sperith0703]

i disagree

[@tangoraptor1422]

Tbh the sheer variety and randomness in the messages leads me to believe it was a group of hackers or employees just fucking around after someone got a backdoor into the system. From the inconsistent tone to the style changes with the colors and fonts to the odd changes in voice, it just makes more sense to me if it was at lease a couple people messing around

[@lhumanoideerrantdesinterne8598]

Yep. I'm convinced it's not an employee. These posts don't seem angry as much as trying to have fun. If that was a disgruntled employee, they would probably be more specific about there issues and certainly less eager to make jokes and nonsense comments.

[@PrepareToHi]

"so now that we've established the camel's back, let's introduce the straw" is such a good line

[@gearguts7259]

the inherent hilarity of a family friendly kids game getting its filters down and filling the game with swears. From the Neopocalypse to Club Penguin Ban Speedruns to this, there's nothing like it.

[@ZuzannaFavesDie]

some extra things about the situation: 1. after the hacking incident, KI actually made the whole game free to play for the rest of the month (it was about ~10 days i think) which was huge imo 2. the server messages actually only appeared on one server out of dozens, and it was pretty late at night in the US, so it isn't like everyone playing the game at the time saw it i'm not too shocked that this happened either, i wish i was online at the time but 😭 i'm glad to see it getting coverage. i think almost the entire wizard101 playerbase is adults playing the game out of nostalgia. it's rare that i come across someone who is younger than 16 playing

[@proudkaostan3265]

this game literally started my computer addiction when i was like 11yo even tho i didnt even know basic english, cant remember if there was a Polish version.. i loved the game and every time i got stuck with the plot because i couldnt understand what to do id just create a new account and start all over THIS VIDEO BROUGHT SO MUCH MEMORIES BACK😭😭😭😭😭

[@milesbyt]

0:00 Intro 1:17 Shirt and Sponsor 3:17 Part One: Wizard101 is a Powder Keg 7:55 Part Two: A Bunch Of Kids are Scarred For Life 10:06 Part Three: KingsIsle Scrambles to Save Face 19:41 Outro

[@Nflhztos]

Thx

[@milesbyt]

@@Nflhztos kzbin.info/www/bejne/fIjOe2tsf9afhqM

[@gammaguyyt]

its always the "online kids virtual worlds" that have the CRAZIEST things happen lol.

[@765craven4]

One thing about the "Giving every player membership for the rest of the month" thing done as an "apology". I'd cancelled my membership about a month before this whole thing happened, then lo and behold in early January I'm getting a charge for membership despite having cancelled it. It seems that they gave out membership and restarted my subscription at this time despite no input from me.

[@PropaneNightmarezz]

I don't care if it's an employee or not; this was hilarious and I vote that Server Dude gets a raise

[@xavibun]

This is the funniest thing to have ever happened to a game I played extensively during my childhood

[@elizabeth7sj222]

If you want real journalism Izzy never fails

[@Sperith0703]

:(

[@michu3453]

i just wanted to thank you, izzy, for giving me (and many others) a safe space to celebrate our childhood! your videos are amazing, and they fill me with excitement every time i come across one!

[@ContrastCollections]

I got hacked, for my W101 account and the information on it. Filed a chargeback for the money lost, because I didn't spend that- and was hopeful to talk to a KI employee to reverse whatever damaged were done on the account. No dice. I'd have to re-pony up the money that I was hacked for, for upwards of $1000. I'd recently changed my passwords, didn't save or store them anywhere. I was actually fairly internet safe on W101 as a somewhat recent returning player at that time. I was basically told "to suck it, this was your fault, pay or start a new account" Losing any and all legitimately paid for content in the process. I'm not a fan of KI but every once in awhile the prior addiction over the virtual world I spent my formative years playing comes back like a little brain worm. I get the urge to pay them, just to get my childhood account back and think better of it, realizing-- I don't have that kind of money. And the response I got wasn't very kind. If it were kind in any aspect of it, or even sympathetic to the situation.. I might be playing today.

[@laurenfinney5390]

There is something so so comforting about being a 20-something and having been obsessedddd with MMOs when I was like 10 and feeling like I was such a lil nerd and hid that I liked them and now I relive those memories with so much nostalgia and happiness. PLEASE DO FREE REALMS

[@moshlingfan9007]

Izzy's channel is so educational. I didn't even know Wizard101 still existed.

[@soulsmindpalace6464]

I am sick, laying in bedrn and your video actually makes me feel less like garbage and more like a human again. Thank you so much for all the work you put into your videos.

[@germwielder]

I’ve been so upset that I wasn’t online for this after seeing all the posts on the subreddit, but this is a really fun summary. Thanks for talking about my favorite game!

[@briannenurse4640]

I absolutely adore this look! And once again, thank you for your service to humanity as an internet archaeologist

[@Sperith0703]

yes :)

[@IronAidan260]

I remember I actually found a way past the paywall as a kid. Basically if you teleport to someone with a membership who’s in one of the member only worlds, then you jump over the paywall. The only problem is if you do anything like travel to a new world or even log out and log in again you get booted back to the hub world. Still, me and my friends had a lot of fun time back in the day.

[@DrinkGameRepeat]

As much as I absolutely love the thought of an employee doing this as a final fuck you to their boss, it's much more likely it was a hacker. Wizard 101 notoriously didn't have the *best* security.

[@vglycorpse]

I honestly look forward to Izzy's fashion and makeup looks just as much as the content they cover with each new video! This is definitely a comfort channel for me. Always amazing work!! 💜

[@plastic0995]

Wizard101 is always gonna be the game I'm always gonna forget exists and then be reminded about it and remember the most insignificant details of my experience playing it

[@SzandorQuinn]

as both an avid Wizard101 player from 2009 all the way to this day and an enjoyer of your videos... I find the fact that you're covering this to be a wonderful blending of two amazing things to make an even more amazing outcome. Thank you, Izzy, for covering this. Edited to add: I'm REALLY looking forward to that Wizard101 deep dive video!

[@PeppermintMoose]

I love learning about online communities I know nothing about, and this level of relatively harmless crime is delightful. I feel like the hacker was an associated third party...but I guess I assumed that an employee would have been caught. I guess that may not be the case.

[@justynabebak-szczucka4426]

I didn't recall Wizard 101 having a story at all and it makes sense now as I was a poor kid that couldn't afford memberships

[@leannedomingo5011]

I remember being part of the school of ice wizards and being afraid of the school of death wizards. Anyone I came across that was part of that school, I would avoid them like the plague.

[@moshlingfan9007]

Bradley is kinda a legend for that. Those messages were genuinely hilarious thank you for covering this.

[@lukebogert599]

I laughed really hard at "info: dick and balls" and I am ashamed lmao

[@I_GOT_A_GLOCK_IN_MY_RAWRIE]

oh god, i remember when i got hacked on there, i literally cried myself to sleep for like two months. all my money, gone. all my items, gone even worse, the person was my best friend. this was like in 3rd grade 😭😭 anyways, izzyzz is amazingly beautiful with their makeup as always !!! she is the prettiest person evrrr

[@ma.2089]

What an awful friend, holy shit. Sorry.

[@lycheemyusic]

Bruh

[@dragonwhiskers42]

Oof

[@I_GOT_A_GLOCK_IN_MY_RAWRIE]

@@ma.2089 its ok LOL she did other stuff like gaslighting me but 😨😨

[@seal8092]

This is literally heartbreaking, wizard101 was so stingy with its currency which makes it worse... ;-;

[@atelophobicz]

Izzys outfits and makeup will never fail to amaze me

[@Sierracat7807]

nothing to do with the hacking but i never got to play this game bc the commercials always said “must be 10 years or older” and i was afraid that if i played it someone would come arrest me or something

[@theorcagirl]

I think a StarStable video would be really cool!! Even though it's gotten huge (and is still going strong) there's little to no coverage and I think the Lifetime Starrider thing is very interesting + the overall pagan-leaning story.

[@wizardlizard55555]

I always wanted to play StarStable! I would always get ads for it while looking at sims 3 custom content lol. For some reason I never downloaded it, but it looked so fun

[@theorcagirl]

@@wizardlizard55555 it's still fun, but it's gotten very commercialized. Everything costs money now and it's a lot more messy. Honestly still worth a play but I'm not sure how much fun it is if you're not a paying player!

[@princembat]

your look here is absolutely amazing! also this situation is hilarious as much as it is a little messed up. i like to believe its an ex employee for the drama but its also just as funny to think of it as a random person not connected to the company. i wish i knew this was happening when it was honestly

[@wxndplumes]

God I used to play this game as a child and this unlocked a core memory.... This shit sounded absolutely hilarious but those poor kids 💀💀💀💀

[@sylveonpropaganda]

i always love how izzy's makeup sort of matches whatever she talks about in a video, each makeup look just makes sense for whatever video she's doing

[@lilmickey1168]

I never myself got to play wizard 101 but I remember the constant tv ads as a kid coming on for wizard 101, movie star plantet, American girl doll, webkinz

[@spicyoniondip2742]

I played this game daily with one of my best friends when we were kids. Neither of us were around when this happened because we’ve both moved on from the game, but he sent me the news as soon as word got around. I didn’t know about all of this backstory though, so thank you Izzy!

[@chloekathleen]

Izzy, single-handedly CRUSHING that pastel goth clown aesthetic 💙🖤💜

[@davidhong1934]

Apparently, she defeated a clown general during the 2016 clown invasion and used it's blood as war paint to scare off the other clowns

[@ineedac1g]

literally was so happy when I saw this notification 😭 Wizard101 was my whole childhood, I've been playing since 2012 and I still try to keep up with the game from time to time.

[@mothmanthegendergoblin8749]

god i love the video essays that izzy releases. they’re so interesting to watch

[@Lupiterz]

Izzzyzzz the legend, I thought they couldn't cover anything more that would hit me in the nostalgia, but they did it again!

[@tranquilitybases]

i think the incredibly angry message from kingsisle ceo signed “the ceo” in all lowercase really solidified the fakeness, but it is still hilarious nonetheless

[@RegsaGC]

Yea I have a hard time imagining a professional inside the company doing this. If it became known who did it, that person would literally never work anywhere in tech ever again. And if someone was that pissed, I believe they could have done more damage. But they would have had to plan for it to happen quickly before getting stopped.

[@colouringwithzero]

Somehow I can't imagine it being an employee when they're writing all of the messages in lower caps with no punctuation.

[@luasama9361]

I love all the diferent hairs in the videos! Izzy is so creative and talented with the hairs and the beautiful makeup! With the calm voice and the accent, just perfect!

[@Flac_the_Wave]

"Wizard 101 is a wholesome virtual world for kids" Say that to the secret bosses and later areas who can kick the asses of even adults, this game has a innocent beginning but it gets hard af