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Gamer Network

From Wikipedia - Reading time: 13 min
Not to be confused with Game Network.

Gamer Network Limited
FormerlyEurogamer Network Limited (1999–2013)
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryDigital media
Founded1999; 25 years ago (1999)
Founders
Headquarters
London
,
England
Key people
Simon Maxwell (MD)
Parent
Websitegamer.network Edit this at Wikidata

Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British digital media company based in London. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and other video game businesses. Its flagship website, Eurogamer, was launched alongside the company. It began hosting the video game trade show EGX in 2008. ReedPop acquired Gamer Network in 2018 and sold it to IGN Entertainment in 2024.

History

[edit]

Gamer Network was founded under the name Eurogamer Network in 1999 by brothers Rupert and Nick Loman.[1] It was formed alongside the opening of its flagship website, Eurogamer, which itself launched on 4 September 1999.[1][2] Nick Loman left the business in 2004 to pursue a career in medicine and "competitive BBQ".[3]

In February 2011, Eurogamer Network acquired American publishing house Hammersuit, alongside its IndustryGamers.com and Modojo.com websites.[4] On 1 March 2013, in line with the international expansion, Eurogamer Network announced that it had changed its name to Gamer Network.[5] As part of the rebranding, Eurogamer Events was renamed Gamer Events, while Hammersuit also adopted the Gamer Network name.[5] In October, Simon Maxwell was promoted from group publishing director to chief operating officer.[6]

On 26 February 2018, it was announced that ReedPop, the division of Reed Exhibitions that organises pop culture conventions such as PAX, had acquired Gamer Network.[1] While Rupert Loman remained Gamer Network's chief executive officer, Maxwell became the company's managing director and a vice-president for ReedPop's UK operations.[1][7] Loman left the company in February 2020.[8] ReedPop implemented a number of layoffs across many of the Gamer Network sites in September 2020. In November 2020, the remaining USgamer staff, which had been reduced from nine to four after the earlier layoffs, reported that ReedPop was shuttering the site by the end of the year.[9]

In November 2023, ReedPop announced its intent to sell Gamer Network with its editorial brands, though excluding its events business.[10] IGN Entertainment was announced as the buyer in May 2024, and it immediately implemented layoffs of some editorial staff at GamesIndustry.biz and Rock Paper Shotgun.[11] Following the takeover, Dicebreaker cancelled their Tabletop Creators Summit at MCM Comic Con.[12][13] In an overview on the state of tabletop gaming journalism, Chase Carter of Rascal News highlighted that "the other professional website that fostered amateur talent, Dicebreaker, seems to be poised on the edge of collapse".[14] Carter, who formerly freelanced for Dicebreaker, commented that nothing has been published since the May 21 sale of the Gamer Network and the outlet's "ultimate fate remains unknown at time of writing" in June 2024.[14] Later that month, the Dicebreaker staff reported that they were made redundant.[15][16]

List of websites

[edit]

Owned

[edit]
  • Eurogamer – Gamer Network's flagship website for video game news; launched in 1999 alongside the company.[1] The Eurogamer brand is licensed to six regional sub-outlets, which report in their region's languages.[17] Its editor-in-chief is Tom Phillips.[18]
  • GamesIndustry.biz – A website focused on the business aspects of the video game industry; launched on Eurogamer in 2002.[19] Its editor-in-chief is James Batchelor.[20]
  • Jelly Deals – A website highlighting sales for video games; launched in 2016.[21]
  • Outside Xbox and Outside Xtra – YouTube channels focusing on Xbox and non-Xbox game news; launched in 2012 by Andy Farrant, Mike Channell and Jane Douglas, three editors of other Xbox-focused outlets,[22] and launched in 2016 by Outside Xbox, Ellen Rose, and Luke Westaway, writer and presenter of Xbox On, and Senior Editor at CNET, respectively.[23]
  • Rock Paper Shotgun – A website focused on personal computer game news launched in 2007 by Kieron Gillen, Alec Meer, John Walker and Jim Rossignol; partnered with Eurogamer Network in 2010 and acquired by it in 2017.[24][25] Its editor-in-chief is Katharine Castle.[26]
  • VG247 – A video game news site formed in 2008 in a partnership between Eurogamer Network and Patrick Garratt.[27] Its editor-in-chief is Dom Peppiatt.[28]

Former

[edit]
  • Dicebreaker – A board game and tabletop role-playing game news and reviews website and YouTube channel launched in August 2019.[29] Dicebreaker launched the Tabletop Awards in 2022[30] and the Tabletop Creators Summit in 2023.[31][32] The site was closed without public comment and staff including editor-in-chief Matt Jarvis made redundant in June 2024 following the sale of the Gamer Network.[15][16]
  • Gamer Creative – Gamer Network's in-house creative agency; founded and headed by Josh Heaton.[33]
  • Gamer's Edition – A project that produces merchandise and special edition releases for video games; launched in 2013, its first projects were special editions for Papers, Please and a compilation of Hotline Miami and Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number.[34][35]
  • Metabomb – A video game news website with emphasis on esports; launched in 2013.[36]
  • USgamer (USG) – Aimed at the United States, a sister site to Eurogamer; launched in 2013[37] and shut down in 2020.[38] After closure, the website's content was migrated to VG247.
  • Cosplay Central – A website founded in 2020 and focused primarily on Cosplay.[39] The website's content is now part of Popverse.

Partnered

[edit]
  • Nintendo Life – A website focused on news and reviews of Nintendo products, including video games and software, owned and operated by Hookshot Media (formerly Nlife Media).[40] It has sections covering the Nintendo Switch, Wii U, Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo DSi, WiiWare, DSiWare and classic titles re-released through Nintendo's Virtual Console games. It was founded in late 2005,[41][42] acquired the sites WiiWare World and Virtual Console Reviews in April 2009,[42] and partnered with Gamer Network (then Eurogamer Network) in 2011.[43][44][45] In 2015 the site expanded its YouTube channel to receive regular content.[46] Its editor is Gavin Lane.[47]
  • Mod DB and Indie DB – A database website for video game modifications; launched in 2002 and partnered with Gamer Network in 2015.[48][49] And sister site for Mod DB that covers indie games; launched by Mod DB in 2010 and partnered with Gamer Network alongside Mod DB in 2015.[48][50]
  • Push Square – A website focused in PlayStation game news; launched in 2012 by Nintendo Life.[51] Its Editor is Sammy Barker.[52]
  • Pure Xbox – A website focused in Xbox game news; relaunched in 2020 by Nlife Media.[53][54][55]
  • Road to VR – A video game news website with emphasis on virtual reality; launched by Ben Lang in 2011 and partnered with Gamer Network in 2017.[56][57]
  • Time Extension – A website focused on retrogaming; launched in 2022 by Hookshot Media.[58] Its Editor-in-Chief is Damien McFerran.[59]
  • Video Games Chronicle (VGC) – A spiritual successor to magazine Computer and Video Games; launched in partnership with Gamer Network in 2019 by a team led by Andy Robinson.[60]

Reception

[edit]

In October 2015, Gamer Network site VG247 retracted their preview of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End and issued an apology after being contacted by the publisher that the game they had played was Uncharted 2: Among Thieves from the remastered Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection.[61]

References

[edit]
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  2. ^ "EuroGamer opens!". Eurogamer. 4 September 1999. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  3. ^ "History – About". Gamer Network. Archived from the original on 2 May 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  4. ^ "Eurogamer acquires Hammersuit". MCV/Develop. 21 February 2011. Archived from the original on 21 July 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  5. ^ a b Parfitt, Ben. "Eurogamer Network is no more as it rebrands to Gamer Network". MCV/Develop. Archived from the original on 4 March 2013.
  6. ^ "Simon Maxwell becomes Gamer Network COO". MCV/Develop. 22 October 2013. Archived from the original on 16 February 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  7. ^ Dring, Christopher (26 February 2018). "PAX organiser ReedPop acquires Gamer Network". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 27 February 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  8. ^ Martin, Matt (26 February 2020). "Rupert Loman leaves Gamer Network and ReedPop after 20 years". VG247. Archived from the original on 30 November 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  9. ^ Sinclair, Brendan (16 November 2020). "USgamer staff laid off". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 16 February 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
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  13. ^ "Dicebreaker owner Gamer Network bought by IGN, redundancies begin across group -". Boardgame Wire. 22 May 2024. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  14. ^ a b Carter, Chase (6 June 2024). "Tabletop journalism deserves better than this, and so do you". Rascal News. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  15. ^ a b Didymus-True, Mike (12 June 2024). "Dicebreaker's future remains unclear as silenced site makes editor-in-chief, senior staff writer redundant after IGN takeover -". BoardGameWire. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  16. ^ a b Plunkett, Luke (12 June 2024). "Things Are Not Looking Good For Dicebreaker, One Of The Few Good Board Game Websites". Aftermath. Archived from the original on 13 June 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
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  21. ^ Wallace, Jamie (9 July 2016). "Introducing a weekly deals roundup from Jelly Deals". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 9 November 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  22. ^ Weber, Rachel (15 August 2012). "Eurogamer launches new dedicated Xbox website". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 25 November 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  23. ^ "Outside Xbox launches multi-platform channel, expands team". GamesIndustry.biz. 19 October 2016. Archived from the original on 9 January 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  24. ^ Martin, Matt (1 June 2010). "Eurogamer strikes Rock, Paper, Shotgun partnership". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  25. ^ Pearson, Dan (3 May 2017). "Gamer Network acquires Rock Paper Shotgun". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 28 June 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  26. ^ Smith, Graham (2 July 2021). "I'm not editor-in-chief of RPS anymore, here's who is". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on 3 July 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  27. ^ Garratt, Patrick (1 February 2011). "It's our third birthday – welcome to the new VG247". VG247. Archived from the original on 30 June 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  28. ^ Peppiatt, Dom (3 July 2023). "Dom Peppiatt is the new editor-in-chief of VG247". VG247. Archived from the original on 3 July 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  29. ^ Chiodini, Johnny (22 August 2019). "Introducing Dicebreaker, a new hub for tabletop gaming". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 14 September 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  30. ^ Gechev, Krasen (19 October 2022). "Dicebreaker Announces Their New Annual "Tabletop Awards"". The Meeples Herald. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  31. ^ Jarvis, Matt (19 May 2023). "Want to turn your video game into a board game? Free industry event Tabletop Creators Summit next week". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  32. ^ "Dicebreaker's owner investigates putting site up for sale alongside video game stablemates -". BoardGameWire. 30 November 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  33. ^ "MCV's 30 Under 30 2017". MCV/Develop. 24 November 2017. Archived from the original on 16 February 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  34. ^ "Gamer Network moves into physical games publishing". MCV/Develop. 9 March 2015. Archived from the original on 16 February 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  35. ^ Purslow, Matt (9 March 2015). "Gamer Network is crowdfunding collector's editions of Hotline Miami and Papers, Please". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on 20 July 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  36. ^ Bedford, John (17 May 2013). "Welcome to Metabomb!". Metabomb. Archived from the original on 16 February 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  37. ^ Owen, Dave (16 December 2013). "Gamer Network websites record 20 million unique visitors in November 2013". VG247. Archived from the original on 3 October 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  38. ^ Bailey, Kat (29 December 2022). "Press Start to Continue". VG247. Archived from the original on 14 July 2021. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  39. ^ "New Website Launched Dedicated to Cosplay | Invision Game Community". 20 April 2020. Archived from the original on 2 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  40. ^ "Publishers of Nintendo Life & Push Square". Nlife Media. 19 July 2018. Archived from the original on 20 December 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  41. ^ Dickens, Anthony (7 November 2005). "Our Nintendo Life Begins..." Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 26 January 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  42. ^ a b "About Nintendo Life". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 12 August 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  43. ^ Cullen, Johnny (9 September 2011). "Eurogamer partners with Nintendo Life in ad deal". VG247. Archived from the original on 23 August 2015. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  44. ^ Pearson, Dan (9 September 2011). "Eurogamer partners with Nintendo Life in ad deal". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 23 August 2015. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  45. ^ Dickens, Anthony (9 September 2011). "Site News: A Better Nintendo Life". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 27 September 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  46. ^ Calvert, Darren (18 September 2015). "Site News: Nintendo Life's Alex Olney Revealed As YouTuber Finalist For Games Media Awards 2015". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 26 May 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  47. ^ "Author: Gavin Lane | Nintendo Life". www.nintendolife.com. Archived from the original on 2 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  48. ^ a b "Mod DB and Indie DB join Eurogamer parent Gamer Network". MCV/Develop. 21 July 2005. Archived from the original on 16 February 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  49. ^ Helps, Rachel (30 July 2012). "ModDB celebrates 10 years of modding". Kill Screen. Archived from the original on 16 February 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  50. ^ Tim (19 June 2010). "ModDB Launches Indie Community Site IndieDB". Indie Games Plus. Archived from the original on 16 February 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  51. ^ Newton, James (2 February 2012). "Push Square is Open for Business!". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 4 May 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  52. ^ "Author: Sammy Barker | Push Square". www.pushsquare.com. Archived from the original on 2 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  53. ^ McFerran, Damien (17 March 2020). "Site News: Say Hello To Our Resurrected Sister Site, Pure Xbox". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 16 July 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  54. ^ Barker, Sammy (17 March 2020). "Site News: Don't Forget to Visit Our Sister Site Pure Xbox". Push Square. Archived from the original on 16 July 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  55. ^ "Site News: Pure Xbox Is Back!". Pure Xbox. 13 March 2020. Archived from the original on 16 July 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  56. ^ Lang, Ben (13 October 2011). "Following the Road to Virtual Reality". Road to VR. Archived from the original on 21 November 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
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  58. ^ "Say Hello To Time Extension, The Newest Member Of Our Network". Nintendo Life. 29 July 2022. Archived from the original on 21 September 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  59. ^ "Author: Damien McFerran | Time Extension". www.timeextension.com. Archived from the original on 2 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  60. ^ Dealessandri, Marie (5 April 2019). "CVG veterans form games news website Video Games Chronicle". MCV/Develop. Archived from the original on 21 April 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  61. ^ Leack, Jonathan (14 October 2015). "Journalist Mistakes Uncharted 2 For Uncharted 4, Hilarity and Embarrassment Ensues". Game Revolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
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