Wikipedia

Gamer Network

(Redirected fromUSgamer)
Not to be confused withGame Network.

Gamer Network Limited(formerlyEurogamer Network Limited) is a British digital media company based inLondon.Founded in 1999 by Rupert andNick Loman,it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating tovideo game journalismand other video game businesses. Its flagship website,Eurogamer,was launched alongside the company. It began hosting the video game trade showEGXin 2008.ReedPopacquired Gamer Network in 2018 and sold it toIGN Entertainmentin 2024.

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.networkEdit this at Wikidata

History

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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 "competitiveBBQ".[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 tochief operating officer.[6]

On 26 February 2018, it was announced thatReedPop,thedivisionofReed Exhibitionsthat organises pop culture conventions such asPAX,had acquired Gamer Network.[1]While Rupert Loman remained Gamer Network'schief executive officer,Maxwell became the company'smanaging directorand avice-presidentfor 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 remainingUSgamerstaff, 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 Entertainmentwas announced as the buyer in May 2024, and it immediately implemented layoffs of some editorial staff atGamesIndustry.bizandRock Paper Shotgun.[11]Following the takeover,Dicebreakercancelled their Tabletop Creators Summit atMCM Comic Con.[12][13]In an overview on the state of tabletop gaming journalism, Chase Carter ofRascal Newshighlighted that "the other professional website that fostered amateur talent,Dicebreaker,seems to be poised on the edge of collapse ".[14]Carter, who formerly freelanced forDicebreaker,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, theDicebreakerstaff reported that they were made redundant.[15][16]

List of websites

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Owned

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  • 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 thevideo 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 XboxandOutside Xtra–YouTubechannels focusing onXboxand 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 atCNET,respectively.[23]
  • Rock Paper Shotgun– A website focused onpersonal computergame news launched in 2007 byKieron Gillen,Alec Meer, John Walker andJim 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

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  • Dicebreaker– Aboard gameandtabletop role-playing gamenews and reviews website andYouTubechannel launched in August 2019.[29]Dicebreakerlaunched 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-housecreative agency;founded and headed by Josh Heaton.[33]
  • Gamer's Edition – A project that producesmerchandiseandspecial editionreleases for video games; launched in 2013, its first projects were special editions forPapers, Pleaseand a compilation ofHotline MiamiandHotline Miami 2: Wrong Number.[34][35]
  • Metabomb– A video game news website with emphasis onesports;launched in 2013.[36]
  • USgamer(USG) – Aimed at the United States, a sister site toEurogamer;launched in 2013[37]and shut down in 2020.[38]After closure, the website's content was migrated toVG247.
  • Cosplay Central – A website founded in 2020 and focused primarily onCosplay.[39]The website's content is now part ofPopverse.

Partnered

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  • Nintendo Life– A website focused on news and reviews ofNintendoproducts, including video games and software, owned and operated by Hookshot Media (formerly Nlife Media).[40]It has sections covering theNintendo Switch,Wii U,Wii,Nintendo 3DS,Nintendo DSi,WiiWare,DSiWareand classic titles re-released through Nintendo'sVirtual Consolegames. It was founded in late 2005,[41][42]acquired the sitesWiiWare WorldandVirtual Console Reviewsin 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 DBand Indie DB – A database website forvideo game modifications;launched in 2002 and partnered with Gamer Network in 2015.[48][49]And sister site for Mod DB that coversindie games;launched by Mod DB in 2010 and partnered with Gamer Network alongside Mod DB in 2015.[48][50]
  • Push Square– A website focused inPlayStationgame news; launched in 2012 byNintendo Life.[51]Its Editor is Sammy Barker.[52]
  • Pure Xbox– A website focused inXboxgame news; relaunched in 2020 by Nlife Media.[53][54][55]
  • Road to VR– A video game news website with emphasis onvirtual 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) – Aspiritual successorto magazineComputer and Video Games;launched in partnership with Gamer Network in 2019 by a team led by Andy Robinson.[60]

Reception

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In October 2015, Gamer Network siteVG247retracted their preview ofUncharted 4: A Thief's Endand issued an apology after being contacted by the publisher that the game they had played wasUncharted 2: Among Thievesfrom theremasteredUncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection.[61]

References

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