In the realm of virtual reality gaming, certain titles stand out as truly iconic. Games like Beat Saber, Superhot, and Rec Room immediately come to mind. It is with regret that we must report one of these beloved VR experiences will soon be shutting down permanently.
It has been announced that Rec Room will cease operations on June 1st. This news comes despite the game attracting a massive audience of over 150 million players since its launch. The official statement detailing this decision highlighted the incredible success of its user-generated content platform, which accumulated over 68,000 combined years of gameplay, with some of its most popular rooms alone boasting more than 500 years of playtime each.
Addressing the reasons for this closure, the developers stated: “Despite this popularity, we never truly figured out how to make Rec Room a sustainably profitable business. Our costs consistently ended up exceeding the revenue we generated.”
They elaborated: “We spent a significant amount of time trying to make the numbers work. However, with the recent shifts in the VR market, coupled with broader headwinds in the gaming sector, the path to profitability became sufficiently challenging that we made the difficult decision to shut everything down.”
The decision was made at this juncture, they added: “while we still have the ability to thoughtfully wind things down and do right by the people who built this with us.”
In light of this impending change, players planning to enjoy Rec Room until its final moments will find that first-party content is now 80% cheaper. Furthermore, certain Rec Room+ items no longer require a subscription to access. Existing RR+ subscribers have had their memberships extended until the June 1st shutdown at no additional cost. However, newcomers hoping to experience the game during its last days will be unable to do so, as new account creation for the title has been disabled.
The developers concluded their statement by expressing that working on the game was “an honor and a career highlight,” and witnessing the community’s enjoyment of the title was a “source of great inspiration and joy.”