Room Escape Artist

In what is possibly the most anticipated comeback in American escape room history, Doors of Divergence has announced they will start running shows again in March 2026.

The Rift Reopens

Doors of Divergence operated two replayable escape rooms in New York City until they were forced to close their doors due to venue loss in October of 2023. Both Heresy: 1897 and Madness: 1917 were wildly popular examples of a form of replayability through branching narrative, with the latter placing 37th on TERPECA in 2023.

In recent months, the Paradox Bar and the rift beyond have been transported to a new location in Charlotte, NC. 

What We Know

I recently spoke with the Doors of Divergence team and asked them a few of the burning questions that have been keeping the community abuzz.

Why Charlotte? 

After years of searching for a suitable new home, an opportunity presented itself in North Carolina. There, Doors of Divergence found the right partner in Paranoia Quest, who helped them with securing a venue and will provide daily operations without compromising the artistic or operational quality fans of the original have come to expect.

What will be the same and what will be different?

“What will be the same is the stuff that worked and what will be different is the stuff that didn’t work.” – Zac Mackrell, Executive Producer/ COO at Doors of Divergence

“It will be 90% the same. The other 10% will be improvements on things that didn’t quite work as well as we wanted.” – Christian Vernon, Owner and Creative Director at Doors of Divergence

Will it be harder to find the acting talent you need now that you are no longer in New York City?

The team told me that the Charlotte area is well supplied with the type of actors they are looking for. The resumes of the current staff rival those of the New York-based cast from the original run.

What about the third game? 

The plan for the third game of The Paradox Cycle, Causality: 1971 remains the same, but the game is still very much in design mode and a future release date is not predictable at this time. 

Enter The Rift

Read more about Doors of Divergence on Room Escape Artist.

Listen to the creators talk about replayability and branching narratives on REPOD:

Go to doorsofdivergence.com, book your tickets to visit the Paradox Bar, and tell them Room Escape Artist sent you.