The official South Park Discord server has been permanently shut down by its volunteer moderators due to a lack of support and communication from South Park Digital Studios and its parent company, Paramount. The moderators announced the closure, stating that contact with the studios has become increasingly infrequent over the past two years, with gaps in communication stretching up to six months.
In their announcement, the volunteer committee expressed that they were effectively left to manage the official property without consistent support from Paramount. A recent update to Discord's bot policies rendered a crucial moderation bot offline. The team sought assistance from Paramount to restore the bot, as providing the necessary personal information would have put the volunteers at risk of doxxing. According to the moderators, they received no response from Paramount.
The recent merger between Paramount and Skydance has further exacerbated the situation, making it an "impossible task" to find the necessary contacts for support. The moderators noted that they had exhausted all avenues to contact the relevant parties.
This closure marks another consequence of the Skydance merger, which has also been linked to a significant leak of Cartoon Network data, including show bibles, artwork, storyboards, and production guides. While the leak of the Avatar Aang movie earlier this year led to an arrest and was not attributed to Paramount, the South Park Discord's closure is directly tied to the company's inaction.
The moderators emphasized their role as volunteers and fans, not as employees of South Park Digital Studios, Skydance, or Comedy Central. They have locked the server in the hope that Paramount will engage with them to facilitate its restoration. The team is seeking communication to resolve the issues that led to the server's shutdown.