RPG Maker Community Faces Loss of 14 Years of Valuable History Due to Shutdown

For years, RPG Maker has been a cornerstone for countless game developers, giving rise to beloved titles like Omori, Lisa, Yume Nikki, Fear and Hunger, Corpse Party, and many others. However, it appears that one of the platform’s most significant information hubs is set to vanish—thanks to its own creators.

Recently, Gotcha Gotcha Games Inc. revealed plans to shut down the existing official RPG Maker forums, replacing them with the newly established RPG Maker Guild website. This transition means that the current forums will be completely erased, including all archives, which serve as a vital resource for many developers in their game-building endeavors. The process has already begun, with new account registrations disabled. By June 18, posting and other functionalities will be turned off, rendering the site read-only. The entire forum and its archives are scheduled for deletion on December 11.

Unsurprisingly, this decision has sparked outrage among RPG Maker developers, with the official announcement post flooded with disbelief and calls for the studio to reconsider. Anyone familiar with programming or game development knows that a significant part of the process involves utilizing search engines, forums, and existing tutorials to troubleshoot issues. With the current forums being dismantled and erased, many searches will lead to dead ends. Additionally, the RPG Maker forum hosts download pages for numerous plugins—essential tools for crafting intricate games—which are likely to vanish along with the forum.

In light of this news, many RPG Maker users are rushing to archive as much content from the forums as possible. Another major concern is that the RPG Maker Guild, the site meant to replace the old forum, has been criticized for its lack of features and poor user interface.

This move comes a few years after Gotcha Gotcha Games parted ways with its previous publisher, allowing it to take control of RPG Maker’s distribution. The decision may stem from the fact that the old forum is still managed by the former publisher, while Gotcha Gotcha Games oversees the new site. While it’s difficult to fathom a more detrimental action than erasing such a vast knowledge base, the company currently appears committed to this course of action.