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The clock is ticking.
Users of the official RPG Maker forums—a bustling community hub for the well-known game engine—are scrambling to preserve years of valuable conversations and assets following the announcement of its imminent closure.
RPG Maker has been utilized in the creation of numerous acclaimed indie titles, including *Lisa the Painful*, *Omori*, and *To the Moon*. Revealed in an official statement from administrator RPGMakerWeb, the forum will shut down on December 11, 2026, as part of "changes to the community management structure." A new forum will launch on a different platform run by the developers at Gotcha Gotcha Games, leading to the phasing out of the old one.
Crucially, however, the announcement notes that there are currently no intentions for an official archive or backup of the old forums after they close. Users are urged to personally save posts, guides, and resources prior to the shutdown.
The challenge is that the forums contain years upon years of precious development resources. If community members do not back them up, they will be lost forever. This represents a major loss, particularly for newcomers seeking to use RPG Maker for their own projects.
While the six-month notice period gives users a chance to start salvaging important information from the forums, it is a monumental task. The forums hold hundreds of thousands of messages on specialized subjects. For instance, the Legacy Engine support topic alone contains approximately 45,600 threads and 280,000 messages. In total, there are 1,416,549 messages on these forums, and although many may not be critical, a substantial number are—meaning all must be sifted through.
So the clock is ticking. Here's hoping there is enough time to archive essential information over the coming months. Alternatively, perhaps Gotcha Gotcha will respond to user feedback by creating its own archival plans.
Beyond the archiving issue, the overall sentiment surrounding the impending forum closure is largely one of sadness among users. Some, like user Reversalius, are trying to organize preservation efforts. Others are bidding farewell: "Gonna miss you guys," user Tsukistuffs wrote.
It's a difficult situation all around. On one hand, Gotcha Gotcha Games' desire to shift RPG Maker discussions to a newer, more modern platform may well be logical. They could potentially improve this next home, and the six-month advance notice is certainly a considerate gesture. However, this kind of news is bound to attract criticism regardless. Particularly with such an established website, many people understandably do not want to relocate.