''4Players'' is a German

online magazine An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print magazine format to being online only was the computer magaz ...

that provides news and reviews of

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

s and related content. Established in August 2000, ''4Players'' is owned by the

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

-based company 4Players GmbH, an indirect subsidiary of the Marquard Group conglomerate.

History

The company 4Players GmbH was established in May 2000 by the internet agency Active Newmedia GmbH in association with

Freenet AG Freenet AG (formerly freenet.de AG) is a German telecommunications and web content provider. The company was formerly a subsidiary of . In 2004, its EBITDA was 471.5 million euro. In 2007, Freenet.de merged with Mobilcom, a deal which took aroun ...

. 4Players GmbH subsequently launched the website ''4Players'' in August that year. Freenet sold 4Players GmbH to

Computec Media Computec Media GmbH is a German computer media company headquartered in Fürth. It is a subsidiary of the Swiss Marquard Media Group. The company publishes multiple magazines and websites related to computers, video gaming and media. History Co ...

in December 2012, with the purchase taking effect on 1 January 2013. On 30 June 2020, Computec Media owner Marquard Group transferred 4Players GmbH to 4Players AG, a newly formed ''

Aktiengesellschaft (; abbreviated AG, ) is a German word for a corporation limited by Share (finance), share ownership (i.e. one which is owned by its shareholders) whose shares may be traded on a stock market. The term is used in Germany, Austria, Switzerland (wh ...

'' in Switzerland owned directly by Marquard Group. The conglomerate stated that it expected "extraordinary expansion" of ''4Players'' as a result of the move. However, the site announced in August 2021 that it was to close on 31 October 2021. Consequently, 40 of 4Player GmbH's 50 employees would be laid off, while the remainder would continue to operate the company's other businesses, including the

game server A game server (also sometimes referred to as a host) is a server (computing), server which is the authoritative source of events in a multiplayer video game. The server transmits enough data about its internal state to allow its connected Client ...

hosting service 4Netplayers, the communication software Odin, and the multiplayer tool Scill. Shortly after the last article was published, 4Players AG announced that there had been multiple offers to continue operating the site. Reporting resumed on 11 November with Mathias Oertel as the acting editor and several freelances who nominally work for Computec as writers.

Features

''4Players'' provides news, reviews and downloads for various video games platform. The mainpage is split into sections for every platform the portal covers: PC,

PS4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in E ...

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...

Wii U The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4. The W ...

, VR and

handhelds A mobile device (or handheld computer) is a computer small enough to hold and operate in the hand. Mobile devices typically have a flat LCD or OLED screen, a touchscreen interface, and digital or physical buttons. They may also have a physical ...

. Additionally ''4Players'' providers coverage around the general video games community,

eSports Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams. Although orga ...

, a tips section, an internet forum as well as a video section with video reviews. The portal also provides additional features such as an iPhone and android app as well as a teamspeak server service.

Reception

As of February 2016, ''4Players'' was one of the largest German online video gaming portals, with about 7 million page impressions and 801.000 unique visits per month. In 2008, ''4Players'' was one of the main reviewers of Atari's new game '' Alone in the Dark'' which were threatened with legal action after they gave the game a mediocre rating. ''4Players'' was accused of obtaining an illegal version of the game before it was released and Atari wanted to force ''4Players'' to pull the review from their webpage. At the same time Atari also cancelled an advertising campaign on the ''4Players'' website, which was interpreted as applying further pressure on the online portal. This garnered an enormous media echo nationally and internationally, which forced Atari to row back on its demands, and both ''4Players'' and Atari were able to settle differences out of court.

References

External links

* * {{Video game journalism 2000 establishments in Germany Internet properties established in 2000 Video game magazines published in Germany