GAMING: RecRoom will be shutting down 1 Jun 2026

RecRoom in game photo from Tech Crunch.¹

Rec Room is one of the OG and beloved virtual reality game experiences recently announced they will be shutting down on 1 June 2026².³ Despite the popularity and maintained momentum, adapting to the fast paced every changing gaming industry, they had to make the tough decision. Sometimes, this is the unintended outcome even when a company provides a great service and does many things right.

What is RecRoom? RecRoom is a, free to play, social sandbox video game that contains minigames from dungeon crawlers, dodgeball, paintball, and even a Fortnite (battle royal) clone among a large assortment of experiences akin to RecRoom's namesake. Major features that it has includes a built in game creator for users and the ability to monetize user generated content. It originally launched for virtual reality (vr) and became playable without a vr device. RecRoom established itself as an experience that could be enjoyed by kids and adults alike. RecRoom originally released on Steam, 1 Jun 2016⁴.

RecRoom was known as one of the most approachable, "pick up and play", experiences when VR first released. The aesthetics could be best described to being closely related to "Roblox" with playful pastel colors. As the game's name suggests, the environment is a virtual recreation center with "dorms" and the rec center itself that acted as a hub for the different experiences players can enjoy, all with recreation center theme in mind. Games could be experienced either solo or with other players.

GRAPHICS: 👁️👁️👁️ 

SOUND: 👂👂👂 

CONTROLS: 🎮🎮🎮🎮🎮 

GAMEPLAY: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

RecRoom Logo from Wikipedia.²

Rec Room has a large and dedicated user base across multiple platforms, spanning across Playstation, Meta Headsets, Android, Xbox, PC, Nintendo, iOS, and Pico.² Many users were struck with grief when the news first released (My niece received the news from her long time friends she met in RecRoom notified her.⁵). Included are some comments from players on RecRoom's official Meta page:

Comments from meta⁶ Meta Quest score 4.1 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 39k ratings 9.5k reviews

Rec Room's Steam's Official page⁴ Very Positive ~58k

nov.vr "I loved this game while it’s been. It carried me through my childhood but now it’s sadly ending. This game helped me make many friends and social skills but it’s so sad to see it go😔. Hopefully one day they will remake the game and keep rec room alive."

NotPhenx "Rec room, you've given me the best memories especially with the friendgroup of mine, I remember beginning in 2021 clueless to what I'd Soon experience until my friends got the game. We used to play this all the time back in 22-24 and basically grew on this game, yknow we've hit puberty on this game. Thank you for everything you've gIven us. Goodbye."

tatertozz "I may have not played for as long as others. Two years is how long I’ve played. But I share the same sadness as others in the leaving of RR. This game felt, free. It changed vr as a platform, as a community, and as a whole. Nothing like Vrchat, roblox vr, etc. could do what Rec Room did. Rec Room was funny, creative, easy to learn, hard to master. And thats what made it different. So Rec Room, thank you. Thank you for a great time, thank you for the originals, the community made, and the fun times we had. So long, Rec Room. - Your friend, Tatertozz."

CoralSwordfish4784 "I know that there are some who use Rec Room as an escape, as a world away from their own, as a ward to loneliness. To anybody feeling genuinely upset about the shutting of Rec Room I hope the above fact will help with that. Your mental health is extremely important, and if a distraction is what you need, there are plenty more out there, and it's important to keep a healthy, stable support circle, you never know when you'll need it. There are many resources to help with your mental health. many of you still go to school, your school is always a good first place to go to if you feel uncomfortable talking to your family. They will help in any way that you may need. And remember that changes in life happen all the time. If your situation is really rough, stick through and things will change eventually, even if you think they won't. Life is rarely easy, but the more you grow and learn, the easier it becomes. So to everyone who is sad or happy or mad just remember new games will rise to the challenge new memories will be made and remember enjoy what time is left don't waste it."

RecRoom is a solid game that many anticipated was going to be a runaway success. The company evolved very quickly to build a larger user base by providing the game on multiple platforms that didn't require a vr headset along with adding monetization for creators. All of this having to be built on top of a capital intensive foundation. They overcame many, I mean MANY, challenges that include but not limited to the fast changing vr industry, competition, user retention, etc... I can't stress enough, they did so many things right.

Even though RecRoom is closing down, the positive impact that it has provided over the course of ten years will always be remembered by the players who've enjoyed it, as expressed by the many bittersweet comments and kind words they have shared. Ten years is a long time. For those who've played it over the years, you grew up with it. It was/is a part of your life. We say with kind words, "Thank You".

If you happen to be playing in RecRoom, look for me (chiliphrosting).

REFERENCES

(Some links could be broken.)

VERSIONS: 2026v.0.1.0

1. Tech Crunch: "Social gaming platform Rec Room, once valued at $3.5B is shutting down" image ↩

2. Wikipedia RecRoom. Rec Room Logo ↩ ↩² ↩³

3. Rec Room Official ↩

4. Steam's Rec Room Official page ↩ ↩²

5. My niece brought the news to me during Easter. She's a long-time player of RecRoom. She's made many friends throughout the years and it was one of those friend's who notified her about it. ↩

6. Meta's Rec Room Official page ↩