December 20, 2021 – Rec Room, a social virtual reality (VR) gaming platform for user generated content, has today announced the close of USD $145 million in new funding, bringing the company’s total valuation to USD $3.5 billion. This latest funding announcement follows a capital raise earlier this year, in which the company raised USD $100 million. This latest round was led by Coatue Management, with participation from existing investors Sequoia Capital, Index Ventures and Madrona Venture Group.
Launched in 2016, Rec Room enables users to create and immerse themselves in highly-customizable, interactive rooms, or digital hangouts. With over 12 million rooms and counting, Rec Room has created a space that promotes human connection where community members can interact, build, create and play games. According to the company, Rec Room’s monthly user count jumped nearly 450% since November 2020 with mobile users increasing more than tenfold during that same time. Free to play, Rec Room is available on mobile devices, game consoles, PC and VR headsets, including iOS, Android, Xbox, PlayStation, Oculus, and Steam.
“It’s been amazing to watch Rec Room grow from a tiny collection of mini-games into a global platform with millions of experiences built by the community. The platform has become a place where people can come together to form meaningful connections, build communities, and share their creativity,” said Rec Room Co-Founder and CEO Nick Fajt. “There’s still so much more we want to do, and as we head into 2022, we’re excited to build more experiences, expand to new platforms, invest in best in class trust and safety systems, and continue to expand our creator tools.”
Rec Room noted that 2021 has been a significant year of growth for the company. In August, the platform launched on Android, making the immersive world available to Android’s +2.5 billion users. In September, Rec Room launched Rec Rally, a fully-realized, multiplayer vehicle experience to its massive global community, enabling players to race with up to six friends.
By leveraging Rec Room’s suite of creative tools, users are able to design a range of immersive digital hangouts for friends to gather and interact. The platform also offers opportunities for more experienced users to leverage their skills and earn money selling their creations inside of Rec Room. Furthermore, Rec Room’s social features translate well as a metaverse offering, with the platform becoming a place for everything from small gatherings to play games, to virtual weddings and business meetings.
“We love the world Rec Room has created for friends to build and play together,” said Matt Mazzeo of Coatue Management. “From phones to VR, millions of players are hanging out in Rec Room, and we’re excited to partner with the team as they make the digital world more fun and immersive.”
For more information on Rec Room and its social VR platform, please visit the company’s website.
Image credit: Rec Room
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Sam Sprigg
Sam is the Founder and Managing Editor of Auganix. With a background in research and report writing, he has been covering XR industry news for the past seven years.
