Why are you bringing back the AIR client?
We’re not making enough progress with the Unity client. Bringing back the largely complete AIR client as a downloadable app allows our community to play Habbo the way they want to until the Unity client is satisfactory for both us and the community.
How long will the downloadable AIR client be around for?
This is unconfirmed. It’ll be around for as long as it takes for us to get the Unity client to a satisfactory state, after which we plan to permanently discontinue the AIR client.
Is the old furni-furni trading mechanic and room rights staying now that they’re back?
We intend to keep these old features (and the entire AIR client) until we feel we have reached a suitable compromise on key issues like trading, room rights, etc. The community has made it clear they need a better compromise, so that’s what we’ll aim to achieve in the coming weeks and months.
Why are some items not in the Shop still?
Some items won’t be brought back to the Shop until they’re functioning in both the Unity and AIR clients. Keep an eye on our news section to find out when we add furni, features or functionality to the Unity client.
How long did it take you to make the downloadable client?
Around a month. We decided to do it right after the drop off in user numbers in mid January when Flash client was discontinued.
If it didn’t take long, why didn’t you make this downloadable client available before?
There were discussions about this last year but we decided we would be able to get the Unity client to an acceptable state in time. In hindsight, we should have ploughed our effort into a temporary, downloadable version of the AIR client in the final quarter of 2020 so we could have continued the open beta even after the discontinuation of support for Flash on major browsers.
Why is Habbo being developed with Unity?
We need to continue to develop Habbo, and as gaming becomes ever more mobile-focused we need to give a much better crossplay experience to ensure Habbo is futureproof. Both of these objectives are much more easily achievable by using Unity.