History of IGN in Timeline

IGN is an American video gaming and entertainment media website, launched in 1996 by Chris Anderson and currently operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. Headquartered in San Francisco and led by Peer Schneider, IGN features articles on a wide array of topics, including games, films, anime, television, comics, and technology. Originally a network of desktop websites, IGN's content is now distributed across various platforms, including mobile devices, console programs (Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch), PC, streaming services (YouTube, Twitch, Hulu), and social media (Snapchat).

September 1996: IGN Content Network Founded

In September 1996, the IGN content network was founded as the Imagine Games Network by Jonathan Simpson-Bint, comprising five individual websites within Imagine Media.

September 29, 1996: IGN Website Launch

On September 29, 1996, the IGN website, the brainchild of Chris Anderson, was officially launched. It features articles on games, films, anime, television, comics, technology, and other media.

1998: New IGN Homepage Launched

In 1998, IGN launched a new homepage consolidating individual sites as system channels under the IGN brand.

February 1999: IGN Named Among Best Websites

In February 1999, PC Magazine recognized IGN as one of the hundred best websites. Imagine Media also incorporated a spin-off that included IGN and its affiliate channels as Affiliation Networks.

1999: Acquisition of Vault Network

In 1999, the role-playing video game interest website Vault Network was acquired by IGN.

2000: Snowball.com IPO and Merger with The Den

In 2000, Snowball.com held an IPO and the entertainment website The Den merged into IGN adding non-gaming content to the network.

2000: Snowball.com Purchases IWO

In 2000, Snowball.com purchased the Internet Wrestling Organization (IWO), making it IGN's first official E-Fed.

October 2, 2001: IGN For Men Section Closed

On October 2, 2001, the IGN For Men section officially closed down and is no longer updated.

May 10, 2002: Name Change to IGN Entertainment

On May 10, 2002, IGN shed the name "Snowball" and adopted IGN Entertainment as its official name.

2002: Launch of Dedicated Video Game FAQs Site

In 2002, IGN launched a dedicated video game FAQs site designed to host user-submitted guides, following the cancellation of the affiliation with GameFAQs.

2002: End of IGN Wrestling

In early 2002, IGN Wrestling met its end as many staff departed, folding wrestling coverage into IGN Sports.

2003: TeamXbox and VE3D Acquired

In 2003, IGN acquired the Xbox interest site TeamXbox and the PC game website VE3D (Voodoo Extreme 3D).

2004: GameStats Founded by IGN

In 2004, IGN founded GameStats, a review aggregation website, which is no longer being updated.

2004: Launch of GameStats and Direct2Drive

In 2004, IGN launched GameStats as a more unbiased rating network and Direct2Drive.com for selling digital downloads of PC and Mac games, anime, comics and game guides.

June 2005: IGN Unique Visitors and Registered Users

In June 2005, IGN reported having 24,000,000 unique visitors per month and 4.8 million registered users.

September 2005: IGN Acquired by News Corporation

In September 2005, IGN was acquired by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation for $650 million.

2005: Merger with GameSpy Industries

In 2005, IGN Entertainment merged with GameSpy Industries, bringing FilePlanet into the IGN group. IGN Entertainment also acquired AskMen.

2005: Launch of Comics Site

In 2005, IGN launched its comics site, dedicated to Marvel and DC titles, manga, graphic novels, statues and toys.

May 30, 2006: IGN Dreamcast Restarted

On May 30, 2006, IGN Dreamcast was restarted, though updates were not posted on the main IGN webpage.

2006: Launch of Television Site

In 2006, IGN launched its television site, offering interviews, schedules, trivia, and news.

2006: Regional Website Launches

Since 2006, IGN Entertainment began launching regional versions of the website for various countries and pan-regions.

2007: Launch of Anime Site

In 2007, IGN launched its anime site, featuring anime and manga content, though the channel was later dropped after a site redesign.

2007: Accusations of Journalistic Misconduct

In 2007, Video Game Media Watch accused former IGN editor Doug Perry of "journalistic misconduct" for an exclusive review of Prey.

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January 12, 2008: IGN Celebrates 10th Anniversary

On January 12, 2008, IGN celebrated its 10th anniversary.

April 29, 2008: GTA 'Hood Website Launched

On April 29, 2008, IGN launched GTA 'Hood website for Grand Theft Auto IV, where people can submit and download user-created content.

March 29, 2010: IGN Relocates to San Francisco

On March 29, 2010, IGN relocated its headquarters to San Francisco.

August 3, 2010: Change to New Scoring Scale

On August 3, 2010, IGN announced a change to a new scoring scale, moving from a 100-point scale to a 20-point scale, with scores in increments of 0.5.

2010: Beginning of GameFest

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.

2010: Rotten Tomatoes Sold to Flixster

In 2010, IGN sold the film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes to Flixster.

May 25, 2011: IGN Sells Direct2Drive Division

On May 25, 2011, IGN sold its Direct2Drive division to Gamefly for an undisclosed amount.

2011: FilePlanet and GameSpy Still Operate

As of 2011, both FilePlanet and the GameSpy website still operate as video game-related web sites within the IGN group.

2011: IGN Acquires UGO Entertainment

In 2011, IGN Entertainment acquired its rival UGO Entertainment from Hearst Corporation.

2011: IGN Pro League Launched

In 2011, IGN launched IGN Pro League, a professional esports circuit running tournaments for various games.

September 13, 2012: Return to 100-Point Scoring Scale

On September 13, 2012, IGN revealed that future reviews would follow a 100-point scale again, but without using decimals, though decimals were later retained.

2012: End of GameFest

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.

February 4, 2013: IGN Sold to Ziff Davis

On February 4, 2013, News Corp. announced it sold IGN Entertainment to Ziff Davis.

February 2013: IGN Sold to Ziff Davis

In February 2013, IGN was sold to the publishing company Ziff Davis.

March 6, 2013: IPL 6 Finals Canceled

On March 6, 2013, IGN abruptly canceled the finals of IPL 6 and discontinued the league, citing inability to compete with the increasing number of esports events.

April 8, 2013: Blizzard Acquires IPL Staff and Assets

On April 8, 2013, Blizzard Entertainment announced it acquired the staff and assets of the IPL from IGN, reassigning former staff to in-house esports productions.

2014: Introduction of Re-Review Policy

In early 2014, IGN introduced a new policy allowing for the re-review and improvement of a game's review score, provided that continuous updates formed a significant change compared to the game at launch. Some of the games re-reviewed were League of Legends, Heroes of the Storm, Warframe, and the pocket edition of Minecraft.

2016: Sexual Harassment Allegations

In 2016, an IGN editor, Vince Ingenito, allegedly sexually harassed Kallie Plagge and another female employee, also making inappropriate comments. Human resources allegedly responded by saying she "needed to have better judgment about who [she] was 'friends' with" and that she was an "equal participant" in "inappropriate flirtation".

October 2017: IGN Acquires Humble Bundle

In October 2017, Humble Bundle announced it was being acquired by IGN.

November 2017: IGN Employees' Solidarity Stance

In November 2017, IGN employees showed solidarity with Kallie Plagge, a former editor. She alleged that in 2016, another editor, Vince Ingenito, sexually harassed her and another female employee and made inappropriate comments.

August 2018: Plagiarism Accusations and Dismissal

In August 2018, IGN reviewer Filip Miucin was accused of plagiarizing a Boomstick Gaming video review of the game Dead Cells. On August 7, IGN acknowledged substantial similarities, apologized, and dismissed Miucin. On August 10, IGN published a new review of Dead Cells by Brandin Tyrrel, including an editor's note apologizing and stating that the new review represented the new reviewer's opinion.

April 19, 2019: Miucin Admits Plagiarism

On April 19, 2019, Filip Miucin admitted to plagiarism and issued an apology on his YouTube channel regarding the Dead Cells review.

January 2020: Return to 10-Point Scale Reviews

In January 2020, IGN reverted reviews to a 10-point scale (from 1 to 10), citing difficulty in maintaining the finer distinctions of the 100-point scale.

2021: IGN Has 28 Editions

As of 2021, IGN has 28 editions in 25 languages, with the US & Canada, UK & Ireland, and Australia & New Zealand editions operated by Ziff Davis subsidiaries, and all others being franchised publishers.

2021: Israel-Palestine Crisis Article Controversy

During the 2021 Israel-Palestine crisis, on May 14, the main IGN site posted an article urging readers to donate to charities helping Palestinian civilians and linked to relevant news reporting. A Palestinian flag was added to the IGN logo. After criticism from IGN Israel, the flag was replaced with a Red Cross. On May 16, the article was deleted. On May 17, IGN staff condemned the article's removal. On August 24, IGN reinstated the article under a new headline with new editorial policies.

May 2024: IGN Acquires Gamer Network

In May 2024, IGN Entertainment acquired Gamer Network and its properties, including Eurogamer, Rock Paper Shotgun, and VG247, leading to some layoffs.