Originally,IGN was the flagship website of IGN Entertainment, a website which owned and operated several other websites oriented towards players' interests, games, and entertainment, such asRotten Tomatoes,GameSpy,GameStats,VE3D,TeamXbox, Vault Network, FilePlanet, andAskMen.IGN was sold to publishing companyZiff Davis in February 2013.
Created in September 1996 as theImagine Games Network, theIGN content network was founded by publishing executive Jonathan Simpson-Bint and began as five individual websites withinImagine Media:N64.com (later renamedign64.com),PSXPower,Saturnworld,Next-Generation.com andUltra Game Players Online. Imagine expanded on its owned-and-operated websites by creating an affiliate network that included a number of independent fansites such asPSX Nation.com,Sega-Saturn.com,Game Sages, andGameFAQs. In 1998, the network launched a new homepage that consolidated the individual sites as system channels under theIGN brand. The homepage exposed content from more than 30 different channels. WebsitesNext-Generation andUltra Game Players Online were not part of this consolidation; U.G.P.O. dissolved with the cancellation of the magazine, and Next-Generation was put "on hold" when Imagine decided to concentrate on launching the short-livedDaily Radar brand.
In February 1999,PC Magazine namedIGN one of the hundred-best websites, alongside competitorsGameSpot andCNET Gamecenter.[2] That same month, Imagine Media incorporated a spin-off that includedIGN and its affiliate channels as Affiliation Networks, while Simpson-Bint remained at the former company. In September, the newly spun-out standalone internet media company, changed its name to Snowball.com. At the same time, small entertainment website The Den merged intoIGN and added non-gaming content to the growing network. Snowball held an IPO in 2000, but shed most of its other properties during thedot-com bubble.IGN prevailed with growing audience numbers and a newly established subscription service calledIGN Insider (laterIGN Prime), which led to the shedding of the name "Snowball" and adoption of IGN Entertainment on May 10, 2002.
In June 2005,IGN reported having 24,000,000 unique visitors per month, with 4.8 million registered users through all departments of the site.IGN has been ranked among the top 500 most-visited websites according toAlexa.[3] In September 2005,IGN was acquired byRupert Murdoch's multimedia business empire,News Corporation, for$650 million.[4] IGN celebrated its 10th anniversary on January 12, 2008.[5]IGN was headquartered in the Marina Point Parkway office park inBrisbane, California, until it relocated to a smaller office building nearAT&T Park in San Francisco on March 29, 2010. On May 25, 2011,IGN sold itsDirect2Drive division toGamefly for an undisclosed amount.[6]
In 2011, IGN Entertainment acquired its rivalUGO Entertainment (owners of1Up.com) fromHearst Corporation. Ultimately, News Corp. planned to spin off IGN Entertainment as a publicly traded company, continuing a string of divestitures for digital properties it had previously acquired (includingMySpace andPhotobucket).[7]
On February 4, 2013, after a failed attempt to spin offIGN as a separate company, News Corp. announced that it had sold IGN Entertainment to the publishing companyZiff Davis, which was recently acquired byJ2 Global. Financial details regarding the purchase were not revealed. Prior to its acquisition by UGO, 1UP.com had previously been owned by Ziff Davis.[8] Soon after the acquisition,IGN announced that it would be laying off staff and closingGameSpy, 1UP.com, and UGO in order to focus on its flagship brands,IGN and AskMen.[9]
The role-playing video game interest website Vault Network was acquired byIGN in 1999.[10] GameStats, a review aggregation website, was founded byIGN in 2004. GameStats includes a "GPM" (Game Popularity Metric) rating system which incorporates an average press score and average gamer score, as well as the number of page hits for the game.[11] However, the site is no longer being updated. TheXbox interest site,TeamXbox, and the PC game website VE3D were acquired in 2003.[12][13] IGN Entertainment merged with GameSpy Industries in 2005.[14] The merger also brought the game download site FilePlanet into theIGN group; as of 2011 both FilePlanet and theGameSpy website still operate as video game-related web sites. IGN Entertainment acquired the online male lifestyle magazineAskMen in 2005.[15] In 2004,IGN acquiredfilmreview aggregatorRotten Tomatoes and in 2010, sold the website toFlixster.[16] In October 2017,Humble Bundle announced that it was being acquired byIGN.[17]
IGN Entertainment acquiredGamer Network and its properties in May 2024 for an undisclosed sum. These includedEurogamer,Rock Paper Shotgun,VG247 and others. As a result, some layoffs were made due to redundancies.[18]
A member of theIGN staff writes a review for a game and gives it a score between 0.1 and 10.0, which is assigned by increments of 0.1 and determines how much the game is recommended. The score is given according to the "individual aspects of a game, like presentation, graphics, sound, gameplay and lasting appeal". Each game is given a score in each of these categories, but the overall score for the game is an independent evaluation, not an average of the scores in each category.[19]
On August 3, 2010,IGN announced that the site would be changing to a new scoring scale. Instead of a 100-point scale, where games are scored in increments of 0.1, all future reviews would use a 20-point scale where games are scored in increments of 0.5. Under both systems, the maximum possible score a game can receive is 10.0. The scoring change was not retroactive: all scores on reviews written before the change would remain the same. This change also did not affect the scoring system for reader reviews.
On September 13, 2012,IGN revealed that as part of its new review format all future reviews would follow a 100-point scale again, but without using decimals, meaning a score of 8.5 would become an 85. Unlike the previous conversion to the 20-point scale, this latest scoring system change was retroactive and all previous IGN review scores were to be updated to follow the new system. However, despite the announcement, the article included a short addition, post-release; it stated that after much discussion, they had decided to retain the decimal point in all upcoming scores.[20]
In early 2014,IGN introduced a new policy, in which a game's review score can be re-reviewed and improved, provided that continuous updates form a significant change compared to the game at launch. Examples of games that have been re-reviewed wereLeague of Legends,Heroes of the Storm,Warframe, and the pocket edition ofMinecraft.[21]
In January 2020,IGN revealed that reviews would be reverted to a 10-point scale, from 1 to 10, finding that the finer distinction of the 100-point scale was difficult to maintain, whereas a 10-point scale would still be true to its reviews and would be easier to promote.[22]
IGN's 'Best of' is an end-of-year event to annually honor the year's best games, films, television shows and comics.[23] Winners of each award category are selected byIGN staff from a list of nominees, while readers are able to cast their own votes online to determine the 'People's Choice' award for each category.
In 2000, Snowball.com purchased anE-federation called the Internet Wrestling Organization (IWO).[24] Since Snowball owned both IWO andIGN, IWO would go on to becomeIGN's first official E-Fed, even doing a column on the website. TheIGN For Men section officially closed down on October 2, 2001, and is no longer updated.IGN has sites such asIGN Stars and AskMen.com that fulfil much of the function of the oldIGN For Men site.IGN Wrestling met its end in early 2002 when many of the staff departed. Interviews withprofessional wrestling personalities and coverage of wrestling games have been folded intoIGN Sports, headed by Jon Robinson.IGN Sci-Fi: Largely dead since 2002, this section of the site included movie news, comic book reviews, anime coverage and other associated items. It has since been discontinued. The site,SciFI.ign.com redirects to the recently createdSciFiBrain.ign.com, which covers some of the content of the old Sci-Fi site.[citation needed]
In 2002,IGN launched a dedicated video game FAQs site specifically designed to host user-submitted guides.[25] This was launched following the cancellation of affiliation withGameFAQs.[citation needed] In 2004,IGN launchedGameStats, which was intended to be a more unbiased rating network, as it takes in scores from every corporate-owned game rating site and averages them all into one score to give a general idea of the quality of a game.IGN also launchedDirect2Drive.com in 2004. Its primary focus is selling digital downloads of full PC and Mac video games, as well asanime,comics and game guides. In 2005,IGN launched its comics site, which is devoted to not just the staple Marvel and DC titles, but alsomanga,graphic novels, statues and toys.[citation needed]
In 2006,IGN launched its television site. It provides interviews with various television celebrities, in addition to a TV schedule, TVtrivia and TV news. Like the film section,IGN's TV section has a variety of exclusive clips from upcoming television shows.[citation needed]
On May 30, 2006,IGN Dreamcast was restarted; however, none of theDreamcast updates were posted on the mainIGN webpage.[citation needed]
In 2007,IGN launched its anime site. It provided features on anime and manga, including trailers and free episodes. It also included reviews of manga and anime from other sections ofIGN, such asIGN Comics andIGN DVD. The anime channel was dropped afterIGN redesigned the site. In 2008, theIGN Retro channel was launched to markIGN's 10th anniversary.[26] To coincide with the release ofSuper Smash Bros. Brawl,IGN created theSuper Smash Bros. World site. On the site, people can submit their user-created stages from the game and download ones made by other people.IGN subsequently launched a similar website calledGTA 'Hood on April 29, 2008, forGrand Theft Auto IV.[citation needed]
Along with its popular website content,IGN also publishes many differentpodcasts on both its website and oniTunes. Some of its podcasts include console-oriented shows like the PlayStation-focused "Podcast Beyond" and the Xbox-oriented "Podcast Unlocked", the Nintendo-oriented "Nintendo Voice Chat", andGame Scoop!, a podcast where a variety of editors discuss news and topics surrounding the video game industry.[27]
IGN has 28 editions in 25 languages, as of 2021.[28] TheUS & Canada,UK & Ireland, andAustralia & New Zealand editions are operated by Ziff Davis subsidiaries, with all others being franchised publishers. Since 2006, IGN Entertainment began launching regional versions of the website for various countries and pan-regions. Initially,IGN began opening new offices outside the United States in order to support those regional websites, but laterIGN beganfranchising its brand as a more cost-effective means of globalization, wherein it licensed various media publishers in many countries to use theIGN brand and manage regional websites on their own. Licensed regional publishers work on their own servers, albeit can link toIGN's HQ database, where they can import or translate articles, and use videos uploaded onIGN's servers that useIGN's own hosted video player.[citation needed]
When visitingwww.ign.com from anIGN-supported region, the site automatically redirects visitors to their localized version usinggeolocation software, based on their countries' IP addresses. Each version of the site has a modified logo with their country's/region's respective flags near theIGN logo. However, it is still possible to access the original American website using a navigation bar above or below (depending on the regional website) the page's master template.[citation needed]
In 2006,IGN opened its first offices in the UK and Australia, which both shared the same information as the American site but with added content authored from editors within each respective region.[citation needed]
On May 16, 2012, in collaboration withEmirati-based company t-break Media,IGN Middle East was announced for theMENA gaming community. The site replaced t-break Media's own ME Gamers website, which was formerly one of the largest Middle Eastern-based gaming media outlets that was originally launched in 2006. ME Gamers' entire staff converted their duties toIGN Middle East, importing or translating many ofIGN's English articles, whilst writing up their own articles, especially for Middle Eastern-specific events.IGN Middle East is available in both English and Arabic languages.[29] While the site was initially launched to cover only video games, t-break Media announced in September 2012 that it would begin posting movie-related articles under theIGN brand asIGN Movies Middle East, merging most of the duties from its own ME Movies website, which was originally established in 2009, under a similar manner to its video game content.[30] Unlike video games, however, most movie-related content will be in English only.IGN Middle East organizedIGN Convention from 2013 to 2016.[31]
In September 2012 the Italian edition ofIGN launched, managed by a local team, providing both original and translated contents.[32]
On October 9, 2012, in collaboration with the Spanish-based media companyMarca,IGN Spain was announced. The site effectively replaces Marca's own Marca Player gaming news website. Marca Player's editors converted their duties toIGN Spain, translating many ofIGN's English articles, whilst writing up their own Spanish articles as well, covering various topics including video games, movies, TV series and comics.[33]
In March 2013,IGN Russia was launched. The Russian version is managed byGameland publishing house, and its staff was initially completed by former editors and writers fromStrana Igr,Gameland's printed video game magazine that was closed later that year.[34]IGN Russia was closed without prior notice by American owners in 2022 after Russian-Ukrainian war began on February 24, effectively wiping out years of work of local editors.
On December 2, 2013,IGN Africa was launched.[35][36]
On December 17, 2013, in collaboration withTimes Internet,IGN India was launched. The Indian edition takes AAA game reviews from its US counterpart and focuses more on coverage of gaming news and events in the country, apart from writing about comics, movies, technology.[37] In November 2016, Fork Media Group partnered with Ziff Davis to operateIGN India.[38][39][40] The Indian edition has since then expanded its coverage to pop culture and mainstream entertainment news and events in the country, as well as doing its own reviews for AAA games, TV series, and movies from both India and abroad.[41]
On September 1, 2014,IGN Latinoamérica was launched in collaboration withPublimetro and cover the whole Latin American region (except Brazil) with content in Spanish.[citation needed]
On January 4, 2016,IGN Adria was launched.IGN Adria covers countries of ex-Yugoslavia region: Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and North Macedonia.[47][self-published source]
On April 11, 2016, in collaboration with Sankei Digital, the online publishing arm of Japanese newspaper publisherSankei Shimbun,IGN Japan was publicly launched, and was expected to have a full-scale release by summer 2016. The launch ofIGN Japan is considered a critical development: In addition to translation of English articles,IGN Japan is hoping to also contribute much original content for otherIGN editions from the Japanese end of the gaming industry,[48] one of the world's largest video game markets with little mainstream journalism for Western media.
On April 12, 2016, in collaboration with Pakistani-based Express Publications,IGN Pakistan was publicly launched. Pakistan originally shared some media coverage withIGN Middle East, and laterIGN India, before spinning off to a completely independentIGN edition with focus on local gaming and pop culture events in Pakistan.[49]IGN Pakistan is initially only available in English, but anUrdu language version was expected to launch later in 2016.[needs update]
IGN Convention (IGN Con) is avideo games,movies,comics andpop culture convention held in various cities in theMiddle East. The event generally includes celebrities, video game tournaments,table top games,card games, movie previews,comic book stalls and acosplay competition. A number of Middle Eastern artists and game developers also showcase their work at IGN Convention. This convention is owned and operated by IGN Middle East, the Middle Eastern edition of popular video games website IGN.
IGN Convention is the spiritual successor to GameFest, a biannual, smaller scale gaming gallery which was originally hosted by IGN Middle East's parent company T-break Media between 2010 and 2012,[52] before the hosting duties were subsequently taken over byAMD EMEA. The IGN Convention logo was designed by prominent Gulf based artistAshraf Ghori.
IGN Convention Bahrain 2013: Held on 18–19 October 2013 at Bahrain Exhibition Center,Manama,Bahrain. Special Guests:Troy Baker,Keiji Inafune,Ryan Hart. Key Attractions:PlayStation 4 Preview, Oculus Rift, Cosplay Competition, Bahrain Game Developers
IGN Convention Qatar 2015: Held on 26–27 February 2015 atQatar National Convention Center,Doha,Qatar. Special Guests: Hafthór Júlíus Björnsson, Adam Harrington, Dave Fennoy, NadiaSK. Key Attractions: Celeb guests, video Games showcase, retro gaming museum
IGN Convention Oman 2016: Held on 9–10 December 2016 at Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre,Oman. Special Guests:Kristian Nairn,Dave Fennoy,Adam Harrington. Key Attractions: Cosplay Competition, Celebrity Q&A, Video Games Zone, Table Top Games
In 2011,IGN launched IGN Pro League, a professionalesports circuit that ran tournaments forStarCraft II: Wings of Liberty,ShootMania Storm andLeague of Legends.[53] On March 6, 2013, only weeks prior to the event,IGN abruptly canceled the finals of IPL 6—which were to be held inLas Vegas from March 28 through 31, and discontinued the league.IGN indicated that it was no longer in a position to commit to compete with the increasing number of esports events that were being held.[54][55] On April 8, 2013,Blizzard Entertainment announced that it had acquired the staff and assets of the IPL fromIGN; its former staff were reassigned to work on in-house esports productions.[56]
In November 2017, someIGN employees refused to work to show solidarity with Kallie Plagge, a former editor who alleged that in 2016, another editor, Vince Ingenito, sexually harassed her and another female employee and made inappropriate comments.Human resources allegedly told her that she "needed to have better judgment about who [she] was 'friends' with" and that she was an "equal participant" in "inappropriate flirtation". This incident was widely circulated across social media.[59][60]
In August 2018, the owner of YouTube channel Boomstick Gaming accused theIGN reviewer Filip Miucin ofplagiarizing his video review of the gameDead Cells.[61] On August 7,IGN stated that it had found "substantial similarities" between the reviews, apologized, and announced that it had dismissed Miucin.[61] On August 10,IGN published a new review by Brandin Tyrrel, which included an editor's note apologizing again and stating that "this review (and its score) represents solely the opinion of the new reviewer".[62]
In a subsequently unlisted video,[63][64] Miucin responded that while he took "complete ownership over what happened", the similarity was not intentional.[65]Kotaku found similarities between Miucin's other reviews, reviews onNintendo Life andEngadget[66] and material posted on the games discussion forumNeoGAF.[67] On August 14,IGN announced that it would remove all of Miucin's work pending further review.[67] On April 19, 2019, Miucin admitted plagiarism and issued an apology on his YouTube channel.[68]
During the2021 Israel–Palestine crisis, the mainIGN site posted an article on May 14 urging readers to donate to charities helping Palestinian civilians such as thePalestine Children's Relief Fund and linked to relevant news reporting.[69][70] APalestinian flag was also added besides theIGN logo.[70] Shortly after the article went upIGN Israel made statements on social media condemning the article.[71] The Palestinian flag was soon replaced with aRed Cross.[69] On May 16, the article was deleted and a statement was made on theIGNTwitter account saying that it was wrong to only highlight one side of the conflict.[70] A reposted version on South Africa-basedIGN Africa was also removed.[71] On May 17, over 60 members ofIGN's staff signed an open letter condemning the article's removal for going against the site's editorial freedom and policies for retracting or correcting articles, as well as the lack of communication withIGN staff.[69]IGN reinstated the article on August 24 under a new headline alongside a statement of newly formalized editorial policies.[72]
^Sanz, David (October 9, 2012)."Bienvenidos a IGN España" (in Spanish). IGN Spain. Archived fromthe original on December 12, 2013. RetrievedDecember 3, 2012.
^""Страна Игр" №04(344)".Strana Igr (in Russian). Gameland.Archived from the original on July 27, 2019. RetrievedDecember 6, 2024.
