Echo VR shutdown

[128ajb]

To whoever it may concern, 

I am deeply saddened by the news that EchoVR will be closing its doors on 1st August 2023. The Echo community is huge, established and it will be a great loss to many of us should the game disappear entirely. This is why I write to you today, to show that there is still demand for the game and I hope that you will reconsider your approach to close down the servers for Echo VR on the due date. 

We do not need much, or for the game to continue to be developed, simply the request to keep the servers open so that we can continue to enjoy and play this game with the friends we have made and the teams we have formed over the years since the game was released. 

If it is a matter of cost, I am willing to offer, along with many others, monetary contribution to upkeep the servers. A small subscription fee each month should be enough to keep your servers open and I hope you will read and consider this proposal.

The community is huge, still growing, and it would be a shame to cut its potential short. There are community members holding tournaments, finding funding for LAN events and all this hard work will be lost the moment you shut down the servers for this game. Some of us play it daily, for exercise, with friends and for mental health and all this will also be lost. 

There is no good reason to cut the life of the game short just because you are putting resources into another game. I am not asking much of you, simply to honour the community that has dedicated so much of their time, energy and sweat into what I believe to be one of the best e-sports in the VR world today. 

I hope this message finds the relevant people with power to overturn the decision in August.

I would like to stress the importance of Echo VR to our community and I sincerely hope that you / Meta, reconsiders the decision to shut down the servers on the 1st August 2023.

[Greyyisgood]

Echo VR is one of my favorite games on the Quest 2 and one of the few reasons i keep getting back to the system. Please listen to the community and don't let this incredible game die

[Cynik-]

Is there any possible way that u guys could keep echo even if it’s just closing the game well RAD makes there new project then re opening it pls for once in my life I was happy I had friends of whom cared for me and made me wanna wake up every morning with a smile on my face knowing that there was a place I belonged now that this is going i just don’t know what to do😥 I would give anything for the game to keep going, to wake up every morning knowing there was a place I belonged please I beg of u guys don’t shut down my only source of happiness

[27_Luna_Z]

My first VR headset was Quest 2. Echo VR was not the first game I played but it is the only game I (and many other VR gamers) can not do without. Echo Area brought me into a vibrant community. The Echo community continues to grow and expand every day. With this decision the countless investments of time, money and effort will be wiped out completely. Production and casting will stop. Hard work and time will be lost. Leagues dedicated to this game will abruptly stop. This decision has ripple effects out into the world of gaming that we cannot yet comprehend, and they will be long lasting. If there were something else in development that will be an improvement on the game or even similar to the game, I would have hoped to hear that news first. I do not believe that whomever made this decision really comprehends the repercussions of the decision and the loss it will bring. There must be another solution and I have read several suggestions posted in this forum. Question is: will anyone from Meta listen? I hope so. I am sure the members of this community will be open to any suggestions brought to us that will result in keeping this game going. Again I am asking: please don't kill an entire community before taking another look at the devastation it will cause. Another solution is always possible. 

[GrahamCracker-]

This is an announcement that I sent to the community of teams that me and my friends made through Echo VR, please read what I had to say and I'll explain more after it.

"I'm sure you have all seen the news, and just like all of you, I am deeply saddened. As the owner of one of the only communities that put together a solid player base and had wonderful people surrounding it, I want to say thank you. I'm speaking for a lot of us when I say that I have met some of the best people through this game, had some amazing memories, and had the chance to teach people this game. All of you individually have grown the popularity of VR, which made it so much more fun for everyone. This is so much more than servers closing, it means so much more. In the end, we really can't do much, especially since they made this decision long before we heard about it. Don't go harassing RAD about any of it either, it truly wasn't their fault. As the owner of this community, I want it to go to the end of echo, and beyond. I want us to stay friends, so in these last few months, we build friendships that last outside of echo. There are so many of you that I won't talk to as much, and it is sad, but trust me I will still be active if anyone wants to talk. I hope through talking to some of you that I made a friendship, and I hope that friendship will last. This server will stay up after echo dies, maybe as a gaming place, a place to talk, or to chill, idk. But I won't get rid of it, I promise you that. For all the teams that are/was a part of this community, thank you so much for helping me and ash through it all. I know **bleep** well we had our ups and downs but you are all still here, thank you. Also, WE STILL HAVE A LOT OF TIME... I mean **bleep** 7 months is longer than some of you have been playing. MAKE THE MOST OF IT. I'm ending my echo career by playing with guys who I truly say are my friends, which is a great send-off for me. Listen, we have so much time, plus who knows, this project might be extremely similar to echo. For the next 6-7 months we still have this beautiful game. You are loved, remember that!"

That announcement truly pained me to type and send it to all the people that I have loved playing this game with, and people that I can now truly call my friends. This game is also just so ridiculously fun, probably the best VR experience I have ever had. I don't see a reason that Meta cut funding for this game, MAKE IT COST MONEY. If there is a way to make people have to rebuy this game, do it. It is so worth any pretty penny I could give up. 

This speaks for so many, let us keep our escape.

[Kari-]

Echo VR is one of THE MOST successful games in VR history, and coming out of the blue and shutting it down like that?! Echo VR has made people that all love a similar thing come together and have fun. With the shutting down of Echo your are also shutting down organizations, such as Nepa and VREL. People are loosing the game they love and some are even loosing their JOB, listen meta everybody that plays Echo can agree with me, shutting down this game is one of the stupidest decisions to make. It is one of maybe the biggest VR game currently and your stripping that from everybody because your mad your not making money off of it?! Please listen to everybody when we say this DO NOT SHUT DOWN ECHO. 

[HollowJack]

I am terribly saddened by the news that Echo is shutting down. There really is nothing out there like it. I’ve played the game for 4 years now and it’s literally the only thing keeping me in VR. I’ve spent hundreds of dollars on titles, from the big studios to the small but 99% of my play time goes to Echo. It’s the only game that matters to many of us because it’s not really a game. It’s a pickup game of basketball at your local community center. Competitive, hard to master, physical, strategic. I’ve tried the different eSports available and they are neat, but they are nowhere near the same league as Echo. If it ends I see my reason to keep logging in daily also ending, which is a real let down for me.

[SpartanVR1910]

#SaveEcho

[TheEaterOfWorlds]

It’s devastating that they would even consider discontinuing Echo!   Here’s hoping they see this, the petitions, the upset, and all the unhappiness this poor decision has caused!!! We’re here to save Echo! 

[Cynik-]

Is there any possible way that u guys could keep echo even if it’s just closing the game well RAD makes there new project then re opening it pls for once in my life I was happy I had friends of whom cared for me and made me wanna wake up every morning with a smile on my face knowing that there was a place I belonged now that this is going i just don’t know what to do😥 I would give anything for the game to keep going, to wake up every morning knowing there was a place I belonged please I beg of u guys don’t shut down my only source of happiness.

[TheEaterOfWorlds]

#SAVEECHO