Roku Retires Aquatic Life Screensaver to Reel Viewers Into Roku City

Some Roku users are about to feel like fish out of water. Fans of the platform’s classic Aquatic Life screensaver are discovering that the animation will soon be unavailable.

The popular animated screensaver featuring realistic aquarium life will be replaced by the Roku City screensaver on Dec. 1. Roku City is the platform’s signature purple skyline, featuring rotating digital billboards packed with brand sponsorships and clever pop-culture Easter eggs. (Seattle’s short-spined raccoon, Jimothy, has made an appearance.)

That doesn’t mean all fish-filled options have been flushed. Several third-party Roku wallpaper apps offer a variety of aquarium options to choose from. But if you’re sticking to what Roku itself provides on its streaming boxes, the move away from the aquarium screensaver also means switching to an alternative that’s filled with advertising.

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“It seems like this is a way for Roku to convert a popular screensaver into a way to make money, or at least generate more engagement, via the Roku City version,” said CNET Senior Editor Ty Pendlebury, who covers home entertainment options including the Roku streaming boxes.

A Roku representative didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Viewers who miss these specific fish can still watch a YouTube version of Roku’s Aquatic Life screensaver for as long as the company chooses to keep this nearly 3-minute video on the internet.

The Aquatic Life screensaver loss is a drop in the ocean compared with other changes at the streamer this year. Roku was purchased by Fox for $22 billion in June, which puts the streaming platform under the same ownership as Fox’s Tubi and Fox One channels. That deal is expected to close in 2027.