- Updated: March 31, 2026
- 5 min read
Rec Room Shuts Down: VR Social Gaming Platform Closes After 150 Million Users
Skip to main contentThe homepageThe VergeThe Verge logo.The VergeThe Verge logo.TechReviewsScienceEntertainmentAIPolicyHamburger Navigation ButtonThe homepageThe VergeThe Verge logo.Hamburger Navigation ButtonThe VergeThe Verge logo.150 million users later, Roblox competitor Rec Room is shutting downGamingCloseGamingPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All GamingEntertainmentCloseEntertainmentPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All EntertainmentNewsCloseNewsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All News150 million users later, Roblox competitor Rec Room is shutting downThe company says it ‘never quite figured out how to make Rec Room a sustainably profitable business.’The company says it ‘never quite figured out how to make Rec Room a sustainably profitable business.’by Jay PetersCloseJay PetersSenior ReporterPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Jay PetersMar 31, 2026, 12:29 AM UTCLinkShareGiftIf you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.Image: Rec RoomJay PetersCloseJay PetersPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Jay Peters is a senior reporter covering technology, gaming, and more. He joined The Verge in 2019 after nearly two years at Techmeme.Rec Room, a Roblox-like social gaming platform that lets users create games and experiences for others to play, is shutting down on June 1st.Despite reaching more than 150 million players and creators and, at one point, being valued at $3.5 billion, the company says in a blog post that “we never quite figured out how to make Rec Room a sustainably profitable business” and that “our costs always ended up overwhelming the revenue we brought in.”The company also notes that “with the recent shift in the VR market, along with broader headwinds in gaming, the path to profitability has gotten tough enough that we’ve made the difficult decision to shut things down.” Rec Room laid off half of its staff in August, and a few days after the cuts were announced, Rec Room CEO and co-founder Nick Fajt said that that doing the layoffs when it did “gave us the ability to take care of people, while still setting up Rec Room for years, not months of funding.”RelatedLive-service games are such a mess even Fortnite is strugglingMeta is actually keeping its VR metaverse running, for nowRec Room isn’t the only social gaming platform that’s struggled as of late.Starting in June, Meta’s Horizon Worlds won’t get new VR experiences as the company shifts the focus of the platform to mobile. Last week, Epic Games laid off more than 1,000 employees due to a “downturn in Fortnite engagement” that meant the company was “spending significantly more than we’re making,” according to CEO Tim Sweeney.Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Jay PetersCloseJay PetersSenior ReporterPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Jay PetersEntertainmentCloseEntertainmentPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All EntertainmentGamingCloseGamingPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All GamingNewsCloseNewsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All NewsMost PopularMost PopularThere is no ethical consumption of HBO’s Harry Potter seriesFor $200 more, you can get a MacBook AirThese retractable studded tires might save our roads, ears, and lungsRank the 50 best Apple productsSteve Jobs and the greatest run of products in tech historyThe Verge DailyA free daily digest of the news that matters most.Email (required)Sign UpBy submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice. 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Andrii Bidochko
CTO UBOS
Andrii Bidochko is an AI entrepreneur and researcher focused on AI agents, reinforcement learning, and autonomous systems. He writes about the technologies shaping the future of machine intelligence, from frontier models and agent architectures to real-world AI applications.