Horror game Quantum Backrooms uses real qubits

A new online horror game, Quantum Backrooms, was built with a real quantum computer to generate its maze-like levels. Developers say it’s designed to make players feel trapped inside the constantly shifting quantum states of qubits—without requiring anyone to

By the time players realize they’re not navigating a normal maze, it’s already too late to forget the rules the game is quietly imposing.

Quantum Backrooms is a horror game developed using a real quantum computer to create its labyrinthine levels. and it’s available to play online. The concept borrows from “the Backrooms,” a horror legend built on internet forums in which people move through endless rooms. In Quantum Backrooms, each room maps onto the quantum state of a part of a quantum computer called a qubit. The links between rooms mirror the possible paths between those qubits, turning abstract hardware behavior into a navigable dread.

James Wootton. at Moth Quantum. says the game is meant to convey what it feels like to be trapped in a quantum computer. In his description, the player can look in a fixed direction, but everything they aren’t looking at keeps changing. Only when the player focuses their gaze does the game settle the scene—an experience meant to echo the idea that the states of quantum objects change when they are observed.

Quantum Backrooms doesn’t require players to access quantum computers. Wootton says quantum hardware was used during development, and the finished game can be played without any special setup. He also hopes the experience can reach horror fans who might enjoy “the new flavour of creepiness generated by the qubits. ” adding that a player could receive the link and not realize it was run on a quantum computer.

The appeal isn’t limited to this one title. Laura Piispanen at Aalto University in Finland says hundreds of quantum games already exist. Some use quantum hardware to generate content such as in Quantum Backrooms. while others rely on simulating quantum states on conventional computers. While access to quantum hardware still isn’t widespread, Piispanen says interest in quantum games is growing.

Michael Cook at King’s College London argues that Quantum Backrooms may not represent a breakthrough for quantum computing. but it could be the most polished and playable version of a quantum game so far. He points out that game developers often push at the edges of new computing approaches. and giving them access to quantum hardware—still impractical for most people—can create pressure for innovation. Cook says that “often, their unusual demands or ideas for new technology drives real change in research.”.

The developers’ ambition goes beyond a single Halloween-style release. Wootton and the Moth Quantum team hope Quantum Backrooms becomes a step toward quantum technology becoming more integrated into everyday consumer products. He draws a parallel to AI. saying that just as AI moved from being a research product to becoming relevant to consumers within the past few years. quantum computing could follow the same path.

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