Subj : Rec Room is latest VR clo To : All From : Dumas Walker Date : Wed Apr 01 2026 12:28:04 Rec Room is the latest VR metaverse closure but I have hopes it'll return in AR Date: Tue, 31 Mar 2026 15:56:29 +0000 Description: 2026 gets another VR casualty as Rec Room announces shutdown, but Snap might have big AR plans for it. FULL STORY Rec Room a popular VR multiplayer platform that reached over 150 million players during its lifetime is shutting down in June as the company explains, "Our costs always ended up overwhelming the revenue we brought in." But it might live on in AR. This follows the semi-shutdown of Metas Horizon Worlds metaverse. That title will live on in full on mobile, and will be playable in VR but the once-flagship immersive experience on Quest headsets wont receive updates or new content, as Meta shifts its focus to smartphones and glasses. For Rec Room , a similar shift seems to be on the cards too. While not much is revealed in the Schools Out for Rec Room blog post , which details the final days for the platform such as 80% discounts, the removal of some RR+ membership exclusivity for certain items and for cashing out tokens, and the ability to download your created rooms as a standalone Unity app (only via the Steam PC build) its being reported that the teams efforts may be reborn in a form under Snap. The Snapchat and AR glasses-maker has reportedly acquired some Rec Room Inc. assets, including a few employees, according to Geek Wire . It hasnt been confirmed what theyll be doing, but based on my experience with Snapchats specs, I have an educated guess that these former Rec Room developers will help make Snaps AR software the virtual playground Im dreaming of. The metaverses AR future? -- Ive loved VR multiplayer, but having experienced AR multiplayer with Snaps Spectacles, the in-person digital experience is a cut above, even in my admittedly limited demo. Peridot multiplayer let a group of us see and interact with each others virtual pets, we could draw and create 3D art together in the room, and while not a game per se, multi-person AR translation with floating subtitles under each speaker felt like magic. With a pair of AR smart specs, you could turn a park into an AR paintball arena for you and your friends, turn your living room into a jungle adventure, or your back garden into a tennis court the list goes on. An AR version of Rec Room , with its blend of premade and user-generated content, could be a killer AR app. Rather than waiting for someone to make the AR game youve been wishing for, youd have the tools to simply build it yourself. Now, theres no promise that this is what Snap has planned, but from my conversations and demos with the team there, its clear the company has lofty AR aspirations so this kind of move wouldnt be out of the question. Well just have to wait and see what it has up its sleeve when its glasses debut later this year. Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/virtual-reality-augmented-reality/rec-room -is-the-latest-vr-metaverse-closure-but-i-have-hopes-itll-return-in-ar $$ SEEN-BY: 1/107 17/1 .