Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British

mass media Mass media refers to a diverse array of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place include a variety of outlets. Broadcast media transmit informati ...

company based in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

. 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 ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson. Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EG ...

'', was launched alongside the company. In February 2018, Gamer Network was acquired by

ReedPop RELX plc (pronounced "Rel-ex") is a British multinational information and analytics company headquartered in London, England. Its businesses provide scientific, technical and medical information and analytics; legal information and analytics; ...

. Gamer Network also organises the EGX trade fair.

History

Gamer Network was founded under the name Eurogamer Network in 1999 by brothers Rupert and Nick Loman. It was formed alongside the opening of its flagship website, ''

'', which itself launched on 4 September 1999. Nick Loman left the business in 2004 to pursue a career in medicine and "competitive

BBQ Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke t ...

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

chief operating officer A chief operating officer or chief operations officer, also called a COO, is one of the highest-ranking executive positions in an organization, composing part of the " C-suite". The COO is usually the second-in-command at the firm, especially if ...

. On 26 February 2018, it was announced that

, the division of

Reed Exhibitions RELX plc (pronounced "Rel-ex") is a British multinational information and analytics company headquartered in London, England. Its businesses provide scientific, technical and medical information and analytics; legal information and analytics; ...

that organises video game exhibitions like PAX, had acquired Gamer Network. While Rupert Loman remained Gamer Network's

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especiall ...

, Maxwell became the company's

managing director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especiall ...

and a

vice-president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

for ReedPop's UK operations. Loman left the company in February 2020. 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.

Owned brands

Editorial websites

* ' – A

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a co ...

-centric website and

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

channel launched by Gamer Network in August 2019. Its

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

is Matt Jarvis. * ''

'' – Gamer Network's flagship website for video game news; launched in 1999 alongside the company. The Eurogamer brand is licensed to 8 regional sub-outlets, which report in their region's language. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson. * ''GamesIndustry.biz'' – A website focused on the business aspects of the

video game industry The video game industry encompasses the development, marketing, and monetization of video games. The industry encompasses dozens of job disciplines and thousands of jobs worldwide. The video game industry has grown from niches to mainstrea ...

; launched under Eurogamer Network in 2002. Its editor-in-chief is James Batchelor. * '' Outside Xbox'' – A

channel focusing on

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the ...

game news; launched in 2012 by Eurogamer Network and Andy Farrant, Mike Channell and Jane Douglas, three editors of other Xbox-focused outlets. *'' Outside Xtra'' - A

channel focusing on multi-platform (non-Xbox) news such as

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a di ...

Nintendo is a Japanese multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produced handmade playing cards ...

, VR and PC; launched in 2016 by Outside Xbox and Ellen Rose and Luke Westaway, Writer and Presenter of Xbox On and Senior Editor at CNET respectively. * ''

Rock Paper Shotgun ''Rock Paper Shotgun'' (also rendered ''Rock, Paper, Shotgun''; short ''RPS'') is a UK-based website for reporting on video games, primarily for PC. Originally launched on 13 July 2007 as an independent site, ''Rock Paper Shotgun'' was acquir ...

'' – A website focused on

personal computer A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or te ...

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. Its editor-in-chief is Katharine Castle. * ''

VG247 ''VG247'' is a video game blog published in the United Kingdom, founded in February 2008 by industry veteran Patrick Garratt. In 2009, CNET ranked it as the third best gaming blog in the world. History Founded in collaboration on 1 February 2 ...

'' – A video game news site formed in 2008 in a partnership between Eurogamer Network and Patrick Garratt. Its editor-in-chief is Tom Orry.

Other

* Jelly Deals – A website highlighting sales for video games; launched in 2016.

Former

* Gamer Creative – Gamer Network's in-house

creative agency An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generally ...

; founded and headed by Josh Heaton. * Gamer's Edition – A project that produces

merchandise Merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of products to a retail consumer. At a retail in-store level, merchandising refers to displaying products that are for sale in a creative way that entices customers to purchase more ...

and

special edition The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, or collector's edition, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints, ...

releases for video games; launched in 2013, its first projects were special editions for ''

Papers, Please ''Papers, Please'' is a puzzle simulation video game created by indie game developer Lucas Pope, developed and published through his production company, 3909 LLC. The game was released on August 8, 2013 for Microsoft Windows and OS X, for ...

'' and a compilation of '' Hotline Miami'' and '' Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number''. * ''Metabomb'' – A video game news website with emphasis on

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 sports, professional players, individually or as ...

; launched under Gamer Network in 2013. * ''USgamer'' (''USG'') – A sister site to ''Eurogamer'' helmed by American staff; launched in 2013 and shut down in 2020.

Partnered websites

Editorial websites

* ''Nintendo Life'' – A website focused on news and reviews of

products, including video games and software, owned and operated by Hookshot Media (formerly Nlife Media). It has sections covering the

Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a tablet that can either be docked for use as a home console or used as a portable device, making it a ...

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. ...

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, ...

Nintendo 3DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. It was announced in March 2010 and unveiled at E3 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS. The system features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS video games. As an eighth-generati ...

, Nintendo DSi,

WiiWare WiiWare was a service that allowed Wii users to download games and applications specifically designed and developed for the Wii video game console made by Nintendo. These games and applications could only be purchased and downloaded from the Wii ...

DSiWare This is a list of games and applications, collectively known as DSiWare, for the Nintendo DSi handheld game console, available for download via the DSi Shop and unplayable on earlier DS models. An update released for the Nintendo 3DS in June 20 ...

and classic titles re-released through Nintendo's

Virtual Console A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, U ...

games. It was founded in late 2005, acquired the sites ''WiiWare World'' and ''Virtual Console Reviews'' in April 2009, and partnered with Gamer Network (then Eurogamer Network) in 2011. In 2015 the site expanded its YouTube channel to receive regular content. * ''Push Square'' – A website focused in

game news; launched in 2012 by ''Nintendo Life'' and Sammy Barker. * ''Pure Xbox'' – A website focused in

game news; relaunched in 2020 by Nlife Media. * ''Road to VR'' – A video game news website with emphasis on

virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), edu ...

; launched by Ben Lang in 2011 and partnered with Gamer Network in 2017. * ''Time Extension'' – A website focused on retrogaming; launched in 2022 by Hookshot Media. * ''Video Games Chronicle'' (''VGC'') – A

spiritual successor A spiritual successor (sometimes called a spiritual sequel) is a product or fictional work that is similar to, or directly inspired by, another previous work, but (unlike a traditional prequel or sequel) does not explicitly continue the product ...

to magazine ''

Computer and Video Games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') was a UK-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot website w ...

''; launched in partnership with Gamer Network in 2019 by a team led by Andy Robinson.

Other

Mod DB Mod DB is a website that focuses on general video game modding. It was founded in 2002 by Scott "INtense!" Reismanis. As of September 2015, the Mod DB site has received over 604 million views, has more than 12,500 modifications registered, and ...

– A database website for video game modifications; launched in 2002 and partnered with Gamer Network in 2015. *

Indie DB Mod DB is a website that focuses on general video game modding. It was founded in 2002 by Scott "INtense!" Reismanis. As of September 2015, the Mod DB site has received over 604 million views, has more than 12,500 modifications registered, and ...

– A sister site for Mod DB that covers

indie games An indie game, short for independent video game, is a video game typically created by individuals or smaller development teams without the financial and technical support of a large game publisher, in contrast to most "AAA" (triple-A) games. ...

; launched by Mod DB in 2010 and partnered with Gamer Network alongside Mod DB in 2015.

References

External links

* {{video game journalism 1999 establishments in England 2018 mergers and acquisitions Companies based in Brighton Video game companies of the United Kingdom