Rec Room, a social virtual-reality platform often likened to Roblox, will be discontinued after roughly ten years of operation, the developers announced. The service, which amassed about 150 million users over its lifespan, will fully shut down on June 1.
The team cited an inability to find a financially sustainable business model as the primary reason for ending the project. In a statement, developers said multiple attempts to reach viability were unsuccessful, and recent conditions in the VR market and broader challenges across the gaming industry made profitability harder to achieve.
Immediate changes and user options before shutdown
Several restrictions are already in effect: new account creation has been disabled, users can no longer add friends, and paid subscription services are closed to new sign-ups. At the same time, features that were previously reserved for premium subscribers have been unlocked and made free until the platform goes offline.
Developers also announced that players will be able to download some in-game creations, such as custom environments, easing the transfer of user-made content to other services in the future.
Staff and assets acquired by Snap
Part of Rec Room’s team and certain company assets have been acquired by Snap, the parent company of Snapchat. The announcement did not detail which staff members or specific assets were included in the acquisition.
Origins and industry context
Rec Room launched in 2016 and initially gained traction on PSVR before expanding to additional headsets and even non-VR platforms. Its core proposition was to let users build digital spaces and interact with one another inside those shared environments.
The shutdown comes amid uncertainty across the VR sector, where several leading companies have undergone restructuring and shifted priorities, including increased investment in artificial intelligence. The notice referenced this broader climate as a factor complicating Rec Room’s path to long-term financial stability.
