Rec Room Junior Accounts are coming back to Meta Quest.
An upcoming policy change from Meta leaves the door open for those age 10 to 12 to use both Meta Quest and the online gaming platform Rec Room.
In November last year Meta forced Rec Room to block those age 12 and under from using the app on Quest headsets. This led Rec Room to remove support for limited functionality "Junior Accounts" on the platform. Junior Accounts are meant for those 12 and under and cannot "transmit or hear voice audio" nor can they "send or receive in game text messages" and they don't have access to custom room tools and their usernames are randomized. The accounts remain supported across a wide range of other devices with Rec Room.
While Meta historically set Quest usage at age 13 and above, the move late last year was the only time the company visibly enforced the policy. Later this year, Meta is changing its policy to officially support pre-teen usage from those age 10 to 12 on both Quest 2 and Quest 3, opening the door for the accounts to return.
"Yes they’re going to come back," Rec Room CEO Nick Fajt told UploadVR. "We think they’re a great safety feature for children and we’re excited to be able to bring them back to the quest platform."
We're curious to see how the next year plays out for social platforms like VRChat, Horizon Worlds, and Rec Room as a new generation of headsets arrive. Quest 3 is slated for release later this year and Apple's ultra high-end Vision Pro is scheduled to follow early next year. Notably, Rec Room has explored hand tracking support and the app was shown onscreen during Apple's recent reveal event.
