Habbo Hotel is getting a brand new “classic” server based on a 2005 build of the game, to entice players with that sweet, sweet childhood nostalgia. As announced, Habbo Hotel: Origins will be launching from today, with players invited to create a new character and explore a rebuilt version of Habbo Hotel – complete with classic locations like the Lido Deck, which have been missing from the base game for several years now.
For those who haven’t paid much attention to Habbo Hotel in recent years – and to be fair, that’s a lot of people – it’s important to know the Habbo Hotel of today isn’t the same as the one many fell in love with in the early days of the “metaverse” and online games.
Habbo Hotel was a pioneering website of the early 2000s, and enthralled many kids who were getting their first taste of the internet. Arguably, it exposed a few too many kids to adult concepts, with games like roleplay and “sugar baby-ing” being fairly common in private rooms – but the fact remains that Habbo Hotel was an innovative, transformative game for many folks. It allowed them to express themselves in a virtual world, and to meet all sorts of folks online.
Read: The metaverse is not new, and it won’t change the world
Speaking from experience, kids who were more cautious about strangers in Habbo Hotel still had a great time with invented party games like “Falling Furni” and “Costume Change” – or just decorating their rooms.
Over the years, and with web changes, Habbo Hotel lost the vast majority of its core audience. A series of world revamps didn’t help matters – in 2024, the base version of Habbo Hotel is fairly quiet, and contains none of the most popular rooms and locations of the 2000s. There is no pool anymore, cafes are empty, and a lot of the fun games and functionality of the original Habbo has been lost.
Habbo Hotel: Origins looks set to change that, reopening doors to a classic version of Habbo Hotel that hasn’t been seen in nearly a decade.
What is Habbo Hotel: Origins?
As revealed, Habbo Hotel: Origins is a completely rebuilt and “lovingly restored” version of Habbo Hotel, as it was in 2005. Long-time Habbo developer Macklebee put it together, and has spent significant time reprogramming the game to ensure smooth entry for new and returning players.
Once servers for this version of the game go live, players worldwide will be able to jump in and re-experience Habbo Hotel as they remember it, complete with the Lido Deck, personal rooms, and plenty more. Per details shared on the Habbo website, this version of the game will also be more player-driven, with its community determining the development and direction of Origins.
“The simplicity, charm and magic of that early version of Habbo are things we want to retain and protect, so we intend to be careful about what we add, and when,” the Habbo team said.
Players keen to jump in will be able to enter Habbo Hotel: Origins from today, 18 June 2024. Keep an eye on the Habbo website for updates, and stay patient. There’s likely to be high enthusiasm for the launch of this 2005-era version of Habbo, and server trouble may be on the menu.
Even if that’s the case, it won’t be long before Habbo Hotel: Origins opens its doors to everyone.
