Epic Games to shut down Houseparty next month
- Houseparty will be shutting down in October.
- The app is no longer available to download from the App Store and Google Play Store.
Epic Games is shutting down down popular video-chat platform Houseparty, which it acquired in 2019. The app has been removed from the App Store and Google Play Store, and will stop functioning in October, when it is shut down.
Houseparty is used by “tens of millions” of people, and its usage soared during global lockdowns last year. However, its reputation was damaged after rumors spread about how using the app could lead to Netflix and Spotify accounts being hacked. According to the BBC, Houseparty lost one million users because of this.
The developers say that they can’t give Houseparty “the attention that it deserves” and is “working on creating new ways to have meaningful and authentic social interactions”.
It comes as Apple will release iOS 15 to the public this fall, with major updates to FaceTime. The update brings the ability to join FaceTime calls from an Android or Windows device, and watch videos, listen to music, and share your screen through SharePlay (coming in a future software update). It could mean that thousands of users move to FaceTime to continue their conversations across devices.
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