RPG Maker Official Website to Shut Down After 15 Years
The official RPG Maker community portal, accessible via the domain rpgmakerweb.com, will cease all operations on December 31, 2024. Gotcha Gotcha Games, the developer and publisher behind the long-running game creation software, confirmed the closure will end a 15-year tenure for the site as the primary hub for international users, resources, and support.
Closure of the Global Community Portal
Gotcha Gotcha Games announced that the website will undergo a complete shutdown at the end of the year. The portal has served as the centralized English-language resource for the RPG Maker series, hosting forums, tutorials, and asset repositories for developers using various iterations of the engine, including RPG Maker VX, MV, and MZ.
According to the official notice, the company is shifting its focus toward more integrated support channels. Users who have relied on the site for software updates, plugin documentation, and community discussions are being redirected to official social media channels and alternative digital storefronts. The company stated that while the website is retiring, the software development and support for the engine itself will continue through other digital platforms.
Impact on Community Resources and Forums
The shuttering of rpgmakerweb.com represents the loss of a significant archive of user-generated content and historical community discourse. For over a decade, the site functioned as the primary bridge between the Japanese-based development team and the global community.
Industry analysts note that the move mirrors a broader trend among software publishers to consolidate community engagement onto platforms like Discord or Steam, where moderation and traffic are easier to manage than on standalone proprietary forums. While the forums are slated for closure, the company has not provided a public plan for the preservation of the extensive tutorials and community-created assets currently hosted on the domain.
Next Steps for Software Users
Users currently registered on the platform are advised to migrate their project data and personal information before the December 31 deadline. Gotcha Gotcha Games has indicated that after the closure date, the domain will no longer be accessible, and the associated accounts will be permanently deactivated.
The developer has yet to disclose whether specific legacy assets or official documentation will be migrated to a new, centralized support portal or if they will be dispersed across partner platforms. Official communication regarding the transition remains limited to the site’s landing page notification, with no further updates provided on the future of the community-led initiatives that were housed on the site.