We’re Here.
It's been a rough month for our corner of the industry.
Horizon Worlds VR moved into maintenance mode. Rec Room announced yesterday that it's closing on June 1. Both were very well-funded platforms with real communities -- and both are winding down. If you're reading this and you built worlds there, made friends there, had a place you liked to hang out there, or even worked there -- we're sorry. Behind everything created, built, or experienced on these platforms is a lot of creativity, love, sweat, and tears. We are sad to see fewer compatriots in our space. Our heart goes out to you.
In case you were wondering, VRChat is not going anywhere.
Last New Year's Eve, nearly 150,000 people were in VRChat at the same time -- celebrating a worldwide event for yet another year. Most of those folks had visited us for New Years multiple times before, but for some, it was their first time.
It's been three months since, and we've broken that user record twice since then. Our latest record? Nearly 160,000 people in VRChat at the same time.
Not only that, but our creator economy, avatar marketplace, and first-party stores are all growing. Creators like Studio TrickForge, spookyghostboo, and nawty have made VRChat a place where they can create amazing communities, experiences, and identities, all while earning for their hard work. We onboard more creators every day.
The core reason we're still here, though, is you.
Our community is the thing that makes VRChat different from every platform that has come and gone. You create worlds that defy imagination. You build avatars that embody expression and identity in ways never seen before. You welcome strangers into your communities, make them feel at home, and often change their lives for the better.
You show up, every single day, in numbers that keep growing -- and you bring your friends. The loyalty, creativity, ingenuity, passion, and energy you bring to VRChat is the heartbeat that no amount of funding can replicate.
We don't take that for granted.
To anyone looking for a new home: we'd love to have you. VRChat has been here for over a decade, and we plan to be here for many more. Creators are building real careers on this platform -- the tools are deep and will help you build the skills you need to begin your game development career. Our economy continues to grow. You can easily build a community that gets excited for every update you put out or each event that you run. If you're looking for somewhere your work can live and grow, VRChat is it.
To our existing community: the people that are showing up now are showing up because of what you built. They'll stick around because of how you'll welcome them. They'll learn, grow, create, share, and play because of the communities that you're a part of. Thank you for all of the hard work you put in along with us. We see you.
We have a lot of work ahead of us, and we're moving fast. But we wanted to take a moment to say this plainly: we see what's happening in our industry, we're grateful to be in the position we're in, and we're not slowing down.
— GG & JJ
