Habbo Hotel fans have a major issue with the game’s return

Have we stepped into a TARDIS and suddenly been transported back to 2005? Revenge of the Sith is in cinemas, Jen and Brad have just split up, and Guitar Hero is soaring up the charts. It's been 24 years since Habbo Hotel first launched in Finland, and while some sites are still in operation, Sulake is about to give us a proper blast from the past.

Set in the titular Habbo Hotel, those of a certain age have fond memories of chatting with pals, racking up the phone bill while buying furni, and being rightly peeved that the pool is still closed. Now, Habbo Hotel has returned to its peak 2005 form via the new Habbo Hotel Origins.

Habbo Hotel Origins takes us back to 2005 Haboo Hotel

Sulake has confirmed that after it discovered "an old decrepit server with some long-lost files," it's been restoring a classic version of Habbo Hotel. Dubbed Habbo Hotel Origins, the servers go live today (June 18), as Sulake promises, "The simplicity, charm and magic of that early version of Habbo are things we want to retain and protect."

As we mentioned, Habbo Hotel still exists and is running just fine in 2024, facing a particular boom during the pandemic. Still, it looks a lot different from how it did way back when - even boasting NFTs. Habbo Hotel Origins hopes to take us back to the game's vanilla form, although not everything will be the same.

Aside from whether the pool will be open, the other big question is if casinos will also be making a return. As Origins' terms and conditions make it an 18+ game, it's certainly possible. However, with gambling being 21+ in the USA, it means casinos are being left in 2005. 

On the official Habbo Origins site, the bans and appeals section mentions T&C violations. Alongside promoting drugs, terrorism, and predatory behaviour, there's a line referring to "gambling participating in casino activities."

Habbo Hotel fans want to get their gambling fix

Back in the day, casinos were a major part of the Habbo experience. You could gamble your Credits to get some rare furni, but as you can imagine, casinos were rife with scammers. In the end, SKAT (The Danish Tax Authority) deemed it illegal and Sulake issued a gambling ban in 2014. Some saw this as a contributing factor in the game's demise. 

While many were happy to hear that Habbo Hotel Origins is coming back, there were grumbles that a more moderated version of casinos won't be part of it. Responding to news that casinos are banned, one disgruntled gamer wrote, "My prediction is that regardless of the content this won't ever be more than a short-term quirky nostalgia fad."

Someone else added, "If there are no casinos then it's completely useless, no economy. Same for randomized player-made games. I hope they're aware of this, otherwise they never listened to their community needs," while a third said, "Man I miss my norm casino. I'd be back in a heartbeat if that weren't the case." 

Wanting to get their gambling fix, someone else concluded, "No casinos = no dice. No pun intended lol." it remains to be seen whether Habbo Hotel Origins can hit that sweet spot of nostalgia and still lure in newcomers or if it's a flash in the pan. Either way, Sulake had better not 'bobba' this one up.