Popular Seattle-Based Video Game To Shut Down, Despite 150 Million Users

The idea was revolutionary, but the creators now say they are pulling the plug.

  Seattle-Based Rec Room Game to Go Dark

 Rec Room was first created in 2016, under the name of Against Gravity. Rec Room is a virtual reality massive multiplayer game, some say similar to the game Roblox.

The creators, based out of Seattle, quickly established it into a popular pasttime, and at its peak and today, has about 150 million players.

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According to Geekwire, their value in 2021 was assesed at $3.5 billion, and had 100 million lifetime players. However, according to Geekwire, their ambitions outpaced their revenue. Company officials said the company needed to become more self-sufficient so they could avoid having to raise more capital.

Sources said they had enough revenue to operate until at least 2029, but eventually would have run out of money, and then have to lay off all the workers.

   Rec Room Will Go Dark June 1st.

The company has already begun steps for the shutdown, blocking new friend requests, new account creation, and new subscriptions to its Rec Room Plus club. Creator earnings will cease May 18th, and the platform will 'turn of' or go dark June 1st.

 The Pandemic Did Wonders for Their Memberships

After several years of steady growth, it exploded during the pandemic, but then the financial issues began. They laid off 16 percent of their staff last March, then cut half of those remaining. Eventually they went from 310 to 100 workers.

They had also rolled out a device called Roomie, that anyone create their own game on any device, but the costs of the program exceeded the number of subscriptions. This was a farewell video they posted on YouTube.