Woozworld
Woozworld, is a virtual gaming community and social network service founded in 2010 and headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. Woozworld allows kids and teens to connect with each other through customizable profiles and interactive activities. History. Woozworld was originally named KidStudio 2.0, which was launched in 2007. In 2009, it was relaunched as Woozworld. Woozworld allows tweens and teens to interact in a virtual reality based environment. In only a few months, users created no less than two million virtual spaces and organized numerous events: theme parks, restaurants. games, parties, support groups, charitable events, and much more. Woozworld allows users  to design their own online realities where they can create their own avatar, do fun quests, set up new virtual spaces, and create their own businesses. Woozworld was mainly created for Tweens to express themselves in different ways. The service is designed for teenagers, and the average age of users being between 12 and 25. The Canadian Innovation Exchange listed Woozworld as one of the most innovative Canadian technology companies in 2011, and About.com awarded it with the 2012 readers' choice award for "Best Website for Teens: Gaming and Virtual Worlds". In late 2011, Woozworld launches Woozin, a Social Network  for users. In 2012, Woozworld was nominated by The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) in the Best Website category. The company ranked #5 out of 427 on a 360Kid list of highest trafficked virtual worlds in September 2012. In 2014, Woozworld announced the appointment of Simonetta Lulli as the President and CEO. Previously Simonetta Lulli spent 10 years creating the profitable international business of Habbo. In May 2014, Woozworld launched the official mobile expansion of the game on iOS. Players could now play cross-platform between web and mobile. Since launching on iOS in May 2014, Woozworld  saw 300,000 downloads over that year, almost all viral, reached #1 in the App Store in different countries as well ranking #2 in Gross Revenues for Social Network apps, only after Skype. This made Woozworld the first social MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) community to offer a full cross-platform experience with continuous gameplay between desktop and mobile devices. In order to adapt Woozworld’s graphically rich world of avatars and virtual spaces for multiple devices, Woozworld Inc developed an innovative Isometric engine and redefined its graphic production pipeline that was initially based on Adobe Flash Technology to make it compatible  with Unity3D technologies. While a year later, Woozworld launched the official Android version of the Woozworld app. In 2015, Woozworld appointed Nicolas Lee as the President and Chief Executive Officer. As the founder and the CEO, Nicolas Lee has previously ready the company for a number of enhancements in technology and growth allowing a successful transition of the service to mobile, releasing in the iOS and Android markets. By June 2014, more than 25 million profiles were created, more than 29 million Unitz (virtual spaces) were created, and more than 375 million virtual goods were in circulation. Woozworld launched on  Amazon devices in 2017, and by this year was rapidly growing in French, Portuguese, and Spanish speaking countries. The Spanish Woozworld server launched in 2017. Woozworld had over 30 million profiles created by 2017, and more than 500,000 active monthly users. In July 2019, it was released in an official press statement that Azerion, a digital media and entertainment platform, purchased Woozworld, strengthening its position as the biggest casual gaming company in the Netherlands and a major player in the global market. Woozworld will form an important building block within Azerion’s gaming content business which consists of other leading  acclaimed products. Together, these attract well over 125 million gameplays. In early 2019, Woozworld announced that it would be releasing a beta version of the game's downloadable client for desktops and computers, away from Adobe Flash. Woozworld had a semi-relaunch and transition from Adobe Flash to Unity on desktop, with a range of interface changes and feature changes taking effect. This is known as Woozworld 10, the Unity version of the desktop game, launched in December 2020. Members of the player community were invited to beta test the new version. Several new features have been implemented, such as  crafting, resources, music, more outfit slots, reshapable spaces, BestiZs (replacing WooPetz, with a new pet system and pet features, such as pet XP, levels, tricks, training, foods, toys, and items), and a wide range of game advancements. Woozworld was the first MMO to transition to Unity and mobile in 2014 with a cross-platform experience, and Woozworld 10 eventually merged both the mobile and desktop interface environments, with improved perfomances. The game interface is now customisable, with users having the availability to pick what buttons they need on their menu menu bar, and the size of windows. Users can now  decide their gender pronouns and change their avatar gender. This was added by the company to ensure Woozworld remains a welcoming and diverse community. Users. Woozworld is a fashion social network and virtual world where users build and fully personalize their character to create stories expressing their styles and to entertain with thousands of stylish clothes and outfits. Users can practice virtual shopping, build businesses, attend live fashion parades and organize activities in a limitless universe. Woozworld is free to join, while only needing to enter a parent's email and their age. There is an option to become a  VIP for a certain number of months at a cost, either credit card or online cash earned on exterior websites. Users can upgrade to VIP through a virtual currency. VIPs can earn virtual "Wooz" and "Beex" (the virtual currency) and have access to clothing and features restricted to freeplay members. All users have access to the "Woozin", a virtual community designed to appear as social media with a comment section and the ability to post and share text and pictures. They can "friend" each other, like each other's avatars, create virtual relationships, and even raise pets. Users can play  and set up games with other users, create outfits, trade and sell items, decorate spaces, run shops, complete quests, craft items and collect resources, train and care for pets, chat with friends (both in private, public, and group environments), and more. Users can use "Wooz" and "Beex" to buy items in the virtual "ShopZ" and even sell items in their own store inviting users to purchase their clothes and furniture. "Wooz" is an exclusive currency which is hard to obtain unless it is bought with real money. Members can also buy and build rooms to fill with furniture, play games  in, build shops in, and even decorate their own house in. Security. Woozworld has a strict emphasis on protecting the private information of its users and creating a safe gaming environment that parents can trust. The company complies with all protective measures set forth by the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and the company is Privo Privacy Certified. These measures protect children's privacy on the Internet and ensure parental consent before account activation. If broken, Woozworld has the right to ban the offending user.