Never. Ever. Plan an escape room trip on the promise of a new game opening.

pinky swear!

29 January 2026

5–7 minutes

“Never. Ever. Buy a tech product based on the promise of future software updates.”

This has been a mantra of tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee, better known as MKBHD, for many years. I’ve long agreed with the statement. If the tech doesn’t do what you need it to on the day that you purchased it, I wouldn’t bet on it suddenly meeting your needs later on, regardless of what the company behind it claims.

Over the past few years, I have found myself preaching an escape room equivalent:

“Never. Ever. Plan an escape room trip on the promise of a new game opening.”

Two hands interlocking their little fingers in a "pinky swear."

Picking A Destination

If you’re planning a trip specifically to play escape rooms, you should plan it based on the games that you can book at the moment that you’re scheduling the travel.

If a company has promised an opening date, it’s not enough. It just isn’t. When it comes to launching games, escape room owners earnestly lie to themselves… but this can make them inadvertently lie to their customers.

You can believe that a new escape game is open when it’s open.

No Shade

I know that this reads like I am being mean. I’m really just trying to be honest and help everyone involved reduce stress and anger.

More often than not, when an escape room owner is wrong about when a game is opening, it’s because they are struggling. Building great things is hard, and creating one-of-a-kind experiences comes with a huge mess of variables that make timelines extremely difficult to project.

Often when an owner is declaring a future open date it is driven by a desperate business or personal need:

“We need to hit this open date because it’s right before our busy season, and if we miss it, then we forgo a ton of revenue.”
“We need to hit this open date because I am losing my %^&*ing mind. I cannot work on this $#!^ anymore. I just need it to open so that I can exhale and stop bleeding money and time.”

The brutal truth is that neither of these needs can force a positive outcome.

Set Yourself Up For Success

The best that you can do to make sure that you have a great trip is to design your journey based on games that exist right now.

This is a subject that has come up a few times over the past year in our wonderful Patreon Discord chat community. I won’t name names about the games that prompted the discussion, but rest assured, there are some exciting experiences likely coming in 2026. However, I’ve been around long enough to know that we should all be patient. Great things often take more time than their creators wish they would.

Special shout out to those who joined this month: David Rowan, Lo Co, Michael Swift, Jeremiah Sizemore, AJ Webster, Amy Schneider, Anjali Nath, Riddlehaven, Cath, Jonathan Cruz, Roger at Key To Escape, Anssi Tähtinen, Josh Russek, Chris Bittle, Brandi Miller, Katie Kasplode, and Emily Z. Jillette

303 Escape
Abi · Lyontree
Adam Johnson
Adam M
AJ Webster
Alex Epstein
Alex Rosenthal
Alexander Gierholz
Alisha Patterson
Alyssa Diaz
Amlesh Jayakumar
Amy Koo
Amy Schneider
andie auna
Andras Gal
Andrew Reynolds
Andrew Sturridge
Andy Bauch
Andy Mintzer
Angela Kensy
Anjali Nath
Anna Lysova
Anna Simon
Anne Lukeman
Anonymous
Anssi Tähtinen
Anthony Vu
Arcturus Wang
Austin Opler
Austin Reed
bananarama
Barry Joseph
Ben Enos
Ben Rosner
Bent Vent
Bill Chang
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Black Crow Productions
branden sayarath
Brandi Miller
Brandon gersick
Breakout Games
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Brent Mair
Brett and Kelly Johnson
Brett Kuehner
Brian Resler
Bronna Butler
Byron Delmonico
C.J. Smith
Cameo Wood
Captain Mew
Caro Murphy
Carol King
Casey Chattle from Brain Games Escape Room
Cath
Catie Catterwaul
CB Hart
Charles Rasnake
Chris Bittle
chris gileta
Chris Loughlin
Chris M. Dickson
Chris Post
Chris Waters
Chris White
Christopher Chanes-Mets
Christopher Holland
Connor Turley
Curt
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Dan Arnett
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Darren Miller
Darryl Anka
Dave
David
David Behar
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David Ryan
Dawnward
Dawson’s Escape
deadpan1113
Deejed
Derek Tam
Devin Sanders
Dino Paulo
Doug McKenzie
Drew Nelson
Dwayne Sanburn
Dylan Callery
Eddie Nguyen
Elaine
Eliviascape (Pat Toupin)
Elizabeth Griffin
Emily Z. Jillette
Emma Liddell
Encrypted Escape
Erik Horn
Erika Aquino

Escaparium
EscapeCouple
Evan Broder
Evan Meltzer
Expedition Escape
Farand Pawlak
Florian Thalmann
Fro
Gabe Berkovich
Gem Chien
Geneva Kaplan-Smith
Grant Luecke
Guy Ellis
Haley & Cameron Cooper
Ian Hickson
Imagination Junkie
Immersia
Jacky Chang
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Jana Erbes
Janelle Gallagher
Jared Butler
Jason Adair
Jayna Shea
Jeff Harper
Jeff Keys
Jen Merrill
Jenna
Jennifer Fonfara Tactical Escape 101
Jeremiah Sizemore
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Jess Noone
Jessica Schoolman
Jill Parisher
Jim of PARADOXsquared
Jim Williams
Joe Brown
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Josh Russek
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Julie Buchheit
Julie Burge
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Karin
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Kathryn
Katie Kasplode
Katrina Lat
Kelsey Ziegler
Ken Zinn
Kern Konwiser
Kevin & Alyssa
Kevin Burns
Kevin McKain
Keystone Escape Games ( Mark )
Kiley and Milaine
Kurt Leinbach
Kyle P Curlett
Laura Burkart
Laura E. Hall
Laura Reynes
Laurens van Laarhoven
Lawrence J. Alfano
Leanne
Lee-Fay Low
Live Action Attractions
Lo Co
Lonnie
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Manon (FOAS)
Marc P
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molly z
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Mystery Unfolds
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No Proscenium
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Rich Bragg
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Ricky Hvisch
Riddlehaven
Rob Tsuk
Robin Schriebman
Roger at Key To Escape
Roger L
Ryan Brady
Ryan Lee
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sagi meir
Sam
Samantha Koehler
Sarah Zhang
Scott
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Sendil Krishnan
Shay
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Sida
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steve stribling
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翊鸣项

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3 responses to “Never. Ever. Plan an escape room trip on the promise of a new game opening.”

tinah3

January 29, 2026 at 10:41 am

Grammar check for your content (titles) please.

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1. David Spira
  
  January 29, 2026 at 10:43 am
  
  Help me understand what you feel is wrong here?
  
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David L

January 29, 2026 at 11:00 am

So true!!!!!! Often times, the city building inspector is the culprit, sometimes it’s the bank, insurance company or landlord. But it’s always something, sometimes minor and sometimes it’s a years-long struggle.

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🖋️ Author

Written by

David Spira

Co-Founder of Room Escape Artist & Co-Host of Reality Escape Pod. David conceived of Room Escape Artist because he saw the potential of this new entertainment medium back in 2014. From the start, he applied his professional skills as a digital experience designer to the burgeoning industry of escape rooms. David is full of ideas: from in-depth research pieces to new content types… like cute animals solving puzzles. He is always pushing REA to try new things, take risks, and be something more.

Room Escape Artist