RARBG, one of the biggest torrent sites in the world, said "goodbye" to millions of users. The website, which has been a prominent and consistent source of new movie and TV show releases, cited various reasons behind its decision to cease operations. The sudden closure marks the end of an era.
Founded in 2008, RARBG has grown to become a major player in the torrent scene.
The site not only had millions of monthly visitors from around the world, but was also a major traffic hub, bridging the gap between the scene and the public piracy public.
Today, the website's fifteen-year run came to an unexpected end. In a message posted on the front page of the site, the team says goodbye.
The RARBG cites several reasons behind the sudden decision, including health issues related to COVID that led to the tragic death of one of the ebluelying down. The war between Russia and Ukraine also affected the group, with RARBG suggesting it had members fighting on both sides.
“The last 2 years have been very difficult for us – some of the people in our team have died due to complications from the coronavirus, others are still suffering from its side effects – and they cannot work at all. Some are also fighting the war in Europe – and ON BOTH SIDES,” the group writes.
The rising cost operation in data centers in Europe also played its part. With income struggling to keep up with rising costs, shutting down the site ultimately seemed like the best solution.
"Inflation makes it impossible to cover our daily expenses. Therefore, we can no longer run this site without huge expenses that we can no longer cover out of pocket. After a unanimous vote, we decided that we can no longer do this."
"Sorry :( Goodbye," the message concludes.
The shutdown also marks the end of the popular RARBG releases, many of which were also released through other pirate websites. These high quality versions, never including CAM, (apart from the early days of the group) are among the most downloaded in history.
