IGN is an American website that provides information about video games and other forms of entertainment. It is operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., which is owned by Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's main office is in San Francisco's SoMa district, and it is led by Peer Schneider, who previously worked as the editor-in-chief. The IGN website was created by media entrepreneur Chris Anderson and launched on September 29, 1996. The site includes articles about games, movies, anime, television, comics, technology, and other media. Originally, IGN was a group of websites for desktop computers, but it is now available on mobile devices, gaming consoles such as Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch, as well as on computers, FireTV, Roku, and through platforms like YouTube, Twitch, Hulu, and Snapchat.

Before becoming part of Ziff Davis, IGN was the main website of IGN Entertainment, which also owned and managed other websites focused on gaming and entertainment, such as Rotten Tomatoes, GameSpy, GameStats, VE3D, TeamXbox, Vault Network, FilePlanet, and AskMen. In February 2013, IGN was purchased by the publishing company Ziff Davis.

History

IGN was created in September 1996 as the Imagine Games Network. The IGN content network was founded by publishing executive Jonathan Simpson-Bint. It began as five individual websites within Imagine Media: N64.com (later renamed ign64.com), PSXPower, Saturnworld, Next-Generation.com, and Ultra Game Players Online. Imagine Media added more websites by creating an affiliate network that included independent fansites such as PSX Nation.com, Sega-Saturn.com, Game Sages, and GameFAQs. In 1998, the network launched a new homepage that combined the individual sites into system channels under the IGN brand. The homepage displayed content from more than 30 different channels. Websites Next-Generation and Ultra Game Players Online were not part of this consolidation. Ultra Game Players Online ended when its magazine was canceled, and Next-Generation was paused when Imagine Media focused on launching the short-lived Daily Radar brand.

In February 1999, PC Magazine named IGN one of the top 100 websites, along with competitors GameSpot and CNET Gamecenter. That same month, Imagine Media created a spin-off that included IGN and its affiliate channels as Affiliation Networks, while Simpson-Bint stayed at the original company. In September, the newly formed standalone internet media company changed its name to Snowball.com. At the same time, the small entertainment website The Den merged with IGN, adding non-gaming content to the network. Snowball held an IPO in 2000 but sold most of its other properties during the dot-com bubble. IGN continued to grow with more visitors and a subscription service called IGN Insider (later renamed IGN Prime), which led to the name change to IGN Entertainment on May 10, 2002.

In June 2005, IGN reported having 24 million unique visitors per month and 4.8 million registered users across all sections of the site. IGN was ranked among the top 500 most-visited websites according to Alexa. In September 2005, IGN was bought by Rupert Murdoch’s media company, News Corporation, for $650 million. IGN celebrated its 10th anniversary on January 12, 2008. Its headquarters was in Brisbane, California, until it moved to an office near AT&T Park in San Francisco on March 29, 2010. On May 25, 2011, IGN sold its Direct2Drive division to Gamefly for an undisclosed amount.

In 2011, IGN Entertainment bought its competitor UGO Entertainment (owners of 1Up.com) from Hearst Corporation. News Corp. planned to spin off IGN Entertainment as a publicly traded company, continuing a series of sales of digital properties it had previously acquired.

On February 4, 2013, after failing to spin off IGN as a separate company, News Corp. sold IGN Entertainment to Ziff Davis, which was recently bought by J2 Global. Financial details of the purchase were not shared. Before being acquired by UGO, 1Up.com had been owned by Ziff Davis. After the acquisition, IGN announced it would lay off staff and close GameSpy, 1Up.com, and UGO to focus on its main brands, IGN and AskMen.

In 1999, IGN bought the role-playing game website Vault Network. In 2004, IGN started GameStats, a review site that used a "GPM" (Game Popularity Metric) rating system combining press and gamer scores with page hits. However, the site is no longer updated. In 2003, IGN acquired TeamXbox (an Xbox site) and VE3D (a PC gaming site). In 2005, IGN merged with GameSpy Industries, which also brought FilePlanet, a game download site, into the IGN group. Both FilePlanet and GameSpy still operate as gaming websites as of 2011. In 2005, IGN bought the male lifestyle magazine AskMen. In 2004, IGN acquired Rotten Tomatoes, a film review site, and sold it to Flixster in 2010. In October 2017, Humble Bundle was bought by IGN.

In May 2024, IGN Entertainment bought Gamer Network and its properties, including Eurogamer, Rock Paper Shotgun, and VG247, for an undisclosed amount. This led to some layoffs due to overlapping roles.

A member of the IGN staff writes a review for a game and gives it a score between 0.1 and 10.0, assigned in 0.1 increments. The score is based on aspects like presentation, graphics, sound, gameplay, and lasting appeal. Each category is scored individually, but the overall score is a separate evaluation.

On August 3, 2010, IGN changed its scoring system from a 100-point scale to a 20-point scale, with scores in 0.5 increments. The maximum score remained 10.0. This change did not affect older reviews. Reader reviews continued using the old system.

On September 13, 2012, IGN announced a return to the 100-point scale but without decimals, so a score of 8.5 became 85. This change applied to all previous reviews. However, the article later stated that decimals would remain in future scores.

In early 2014, IGN introduced a policy allowing games to be re-reviewed and have their scores updated if significant changes occurred after launch. Examples included League of Legends, Heroes of the Storm, Warframe, and Minecraft’s pocket edition.

In January 2020, IGN changed its scoring system back to a 10-point scale (1 to 10), stating the 100-point system was too detailed to maintain. The 10-point scale was easier to use and promote.

IGN'Best of' awards

IGN's "Best of" is a yearly event that honors the best games, movies, TV shows, and comics from the past year. Staff members choose winners from a list of possible winners in each category. Readers can also vote online to help decide the "People's Choice" award for each category.

Other sections

In 2000, Snowball.com bought an online wrestling organization called the Internet Wrestling Organization (IWO). Because Snowball owned both IWO and IGN, IWO became IGN’s first official online wrestling group. It also had a column on the website. The IGN For Men section stopped being updated on October 2, 2001, and is no longer active. Today, sites like IGN Stars and AskMen.com handle many of the same tasks as the old IGN For Men section. IGN Wrestling ended in early 2002 when many of its staff left. Interviews with wrestling stars and coverage of wrestling games are now part of IGN Sports, led by Jon Robinson. IGN Sci-Fi: This section was mostly inactive after 2002. It once shared news about movies, comic book reviews, anime, and other related topics, but it was later shut down.

In 2002, IGN started a website to host user-submitted guides for video games. This happened after IGN ended its partnership with GameFAQs. In 2004, IGN launched GameStats, a site that collects scores from multiple game rating platforms and averages them to show the overall quality of a game. Also in 2004, IGN created Direct2Drive.com, a site focused on selling digital downloads of PC and Mac games, anime, comics, and game guides. In 2005, IGN launched a comics site that covers popular Marvel and DC comics, manga, graphic novels, statues, and toys.

In 2006, IGN started a television website. It offers interviews with TV celebrities, a TV schedule, trivia, and news. Like the film section, the TV section includes exclusive clips from upcoming shows. On May 30, 2006, IGN Dreamcast was relaunched, but no updates about Dreamcast were posted on the main IGN website.

In 2007, IGN launched an anime site that shared anime and manga features, including trailers and free episodes. It also included reviews from other sections like IGN Comics and IGN DVD. The anime channel was removed when the site was redesigned. In 2008, IGN created the IGN Retro channel to celebrate its 10th anniversary. To match the release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, IGN made the Super Smash Bros. World site, where users can share and download custom game stages. Later, on April 29, 2008, IGN launched GTA 'Hood, a similar site for Grand Theft Auto IV.

Alongside its website content, IGN also produces many podcasts available on its site and iTunes. Examples include "Podcast Beyond" (focused on PlayStation), "Podcast Unlocked" (focused on Xbox), "Nintendo Voice Chat" (focused on Nintendo), and "Game Scoop!" (where editors discuss video game news and topics).

Regional websites

As of 2021, IGN has 28 editions in 25 languages. The US and Canada, UK and Ireland, and Australia and New Zealand editions are managed by Ziff Davis subsidiaries. All other editions are operated by franchised publishers. Since 2006, IGN Entertainment has created regional versions of its website for different countries and areas. At first, IGN opened offices outside the United States to support these regional websites. Later, IGN chose franchising as a more cost-effective way to expand globally. This involved licensing media publishers in many countries to use the IGN brand and manage regional websites independently. These publishers use their own servers but can connect to IGN’s main database to import or translate articles and use videos from IGN’s servers with IGN’s video player.

When someone visits www.ign.com from a region supported by IGN, the site automatically redirects them to the localized version using geolocation software based on their country’s IP address. Each version of the site has a modified logo with the region’s flag near the IGN logo. However, visitors can still access the original American website through a navigation bar above or below the page’s main template.

• In 2006, IGN opened its first offices in the UK and Australia. These editions shared the same content as the American site but added articles written by editors in those regions.
• On May 16, 2012, IGN Middle East was launched in partnership with t-break Media for the Middle East gaming community. This replaced t-break Media’s ME Gamers website, which had been a major gaming media outlet since 2006. ME Gamers’ staff moved to IGN Middle East, translating or importing IGN’s English articles and writing new content for Middle Eastern events. The site offers content in both English and Arabic. Initially focused on video games, IGN Middle East expanded to include movie-related articles in English as IGN Movies Middle East in September 2012. IGN Middle East held the IGN Convention from 2013 to 2016.
• In September 2012, the Italian edition of IGN launched, managed by a local team that created original and translated content.
• On October 9, 2012, IGN Spain was launched in partnership with Marca. This replaced Marca’s Marca Player website. Marca Player’s editors joined IGN Spain, translating IGN’s English articles and writing new Spanish content about video games, movies, TV shows, and comics.
• In March 2013, IGN Russia was launched by Gameland publishing house. Its staff included former editors from Strana Igr, a video game magazine that closed later that year. IGN Russia was shut down in 2022 by American owners after the Russian-Ukrainian war began on February 24.
• On December 2, 2013, IGN Africa was launched.
• On December 17, 2013, IGN India was launched in partnership with Times Internet. The Indian edition uses AAA game reviews from the US version but focuses more on local gaming news, events, comics, movies, and technology. In 2016, Fork Media Group partnered with Ziff Davis to manage IGN India. The edition later expanded to cover pop culture, mainstream entertainment, and reviews of AAA games, TV shows, anime, and movies from India and abroad.
• On September 1, 2014, IGN Latinoamérica was launched in partnership with Publimetro, covering Latin America (except Brazil) with Spanish-language content.
• On November 11, 2014, IGN Israel was launched.
• On January 30, 2015, IGN Hungary was launched.
• On February 23, 2015, IGN Brazil was launched.
• In June 2015, IGN Romania was launched.
• On November 6, 2015, IGN Poland was launched.
• On January 4, 2016, IGN Adria was launched, covering ex-Yugoslavia countries: Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and North Macedonia.
• On April 11, 2016, IGN Japan was launched in partnership with Sankei Digital, the online arm of Sankei Shimbun. This was a major step, as IGN Japan plans to provide original content from Japan’s gaming industry, one of the world’s largest markets with limited Western media coverage.
• On April 12, 2016, IGN Pakistan was launched in partnership with Express Publications. Pakistan previously shared content with IGN Middle East and later IGN India before becoming an independent edition focused on local gaming and pop culture. IGN Pakistan is available only in English.
• In August 2018, IGN Korea was launched, covering South Korea.
• On August 7, 2019, Media Prima partnered with Ziff Davis to launch the Southeast Asian version of IGN for Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
• In September 2020, IGN China was launched as an “editorially independent” outlet of Tencent.

IGN Con

IGN Convention (IGN Con) is an event that celebrates video games, movies, comics, and pop culture. It takes place in several cities across the Middle East. The event usually includes celebrities, video game tournaments, tabletop games, card games, movie previews, comic book booths, and a cosplay competition. Many artists and game developers from the Middle East also display their work at the convention. IGN Convention is organized by IGN Middle East, which is the Middle Eastern version of the popular video game website IGN.

IGN Convention replaced GameFest, a smaller event held twice a year. GameFest was first hosted by T-break Media, the parent company of IGN Middle East, between 2010 and 2012. After that, AMD EMEA took over hosting responsibilities. The IGN Convention logo was created by Ashraf Ghori, a well-known artist from the Gulf region.

Conferences have included:

• IGN Convention Dubai 2013: Held on July 5–6, 2013, at Meydan IMAX, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Special Guests: Kevin Nash, Naomi Kyle, Ashraf Ghori, Royce Gracie. Key Attractions: Cosplay Competition, The Last of Us on IMAX screen.
• IGN Convention Bahrain 2013: Held on October 18–19, 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 Bahrain 2014: Held on October 24–25, 2014, at Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain. Special Guests: Troy Baker, Naomi Kyle, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, Julia Voth, The Experiment, Mohammad Fikree, Hamad Qalam. Key Attractions: Cosplay Competition, Troy Baker Concert, Celebrity Q&A, Workshops in Film and Gaming Topics, DJ Session, Sumo Tournament, Freestyle Performance.
• IGN Convention Dubai 2014: Held on November 21–22, 2014, at Dubai International Marine Club, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Special Guests: Troy Baker, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, Ryan Hart, Riddle, Falah Hashim, Amal Hawijeh, S.A Zaidi, Ghanem Ghubash, Mohammad Fikree, Haidar Mohammed, Ashraf Ghori, Faisal Hashmi. Key Attractions: Cosplay Contest, Troy Baker Concert, Celebrity Q&A, Panels and Workshops.
• IGN Convention Qatar 2015: Held on February 26–27, 2015, at Qatar National Convention Center, Doha, Qatar. Special Guests: Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, Adam Harrington, Dave Fennoy, NadiaSK. Key Attractions: Celebrity guests, video games showcase, retro gaming museum.
• IGN Convention Bahrain 2015: Held on October 2–3, 2015, at Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain. Special Guests: Booker T, Dave Fennoy, Adam Harrington, Julia Voth, Riddle. Key Attractions: Cosplay Competition, Celebrity Q&A, Workshops in Film and Gaming Topics, DJ Session, Sumo Tournament, Freestyle Performance.
• IGN Convention Abu Dhabi 2015: Held on October 16–17, 2015, at du Forum, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Special Guests: Jack Gleeson, Naomi Kyle, Dave Fennoy, Adam Harrington, NadiaSK. Key Attractions: Cosplay Competition with $10,000 Prize Money, PlayStation VR showcase, HTC Vive showcase, Celebrity Q&A, Workshops in Film and Gaming Topics.
• IGN Convention Bahrain 2016: Held on October 22–23, 2016, at Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain. Special Guests: Kurt Angle, Giancarlo Esposito, Alodia Gosiengfiao. Key Attractions: Cosplay Competition, Celebrity Q&A, Workshops in Film and Gaming Topics, DJ Session, Sumo Tournament, Freestyle Performance.
• IGN Convention Oman 2016: Held on December 9–10, 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.

IGNPro League

In 2011, IGN started the IGN Pro League, a professional esports competition that held tournaments for StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, ShootMania Storm, and League of Legends. On March 6, 2013, just weeks before the event, IGN suddenly canceled the finals of IPL 6, which were scheduled to take place in Las Vegas from March 28 to March 31. The company also ended the league. IGN explained that it could no longer keep up with the growing number of esports events being held. On April 8, 2013, Blizzard Entertainment announced it had purchased the staff and resources of the IPL from IGN. The former IGN employees were reassigned to work on Blizzard's own esports productions.

Controversies

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

In November 2017, some IGN employees refused to work to support Kallie Plagge, a former editor who said that in 2016, another editor, Vince Ingenito, sexually harassed her and another female employee and made inappropriate comments. Human resources reportedly told her 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 shared on social media.

In August 2018, the owner of the YouTube channel Boomstick Gaming accused IGN reviewer Filip Miucin of copying his video review of the game Dead Cells. On August 7, IGN said it found "substantial similarities" between the reviews, apologized, and announced that it had dismissed Miucin. 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."

In a later unlisted video, Miucin said he accepted full responsibility for the incident but claimed the similarity was not intentional. Kotaku found similarities between Miucin's other reviews and content on Nintendo Life, Engadget, and the game discussion forum NeoGAF. On August 14, IGN announced it would remove all of Miucin's work pending further review. On April 19, 2019, Miucin admitted to plagiarism and issued an apology on his YouTube channel.

During the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis, the main IGN site posted an article on May 14 encouraging readers to donate to charities helping Palestinian civilians, such as the Palestine Children's Relief Fund, and linked to news reports. A Palestinian flag was added next to the IGN logo. Shortly after the article was posted, IGN Israel made social media statements criticizing the article. The Palestinian flag was soon replaced with a Red Cross symbol. On May 16, the article was deleted, and a statement on the IGN Twitter account said it was wrong to focus only on one side of the conflict. A reposted version on South Africa-based IGN Africa was also removed. On May 17, over 60 IGN staff members signed an open letter criticizing the article's removal, saying it violated the site's editorial freedom and policies for retracting or correcting articles, as well as the lack of communication with staff. IGN reinstated the article on August 24 under a new headline alongside a statement about newly formalized editorial policies.

Television and films

• Gamer Nation (2003)
• Bill Fillmaff's Secret System (2006 Video)
• Game Scoop! (2006–)
• IGN Originals (2008–)
• IGN Daily Fix (2009–)
• Up at Noon (2012–2021)
• Cheap Cool Crazy (2012–2013)
• IGN Presents (2012–)
• Castlevania: Hymn of Blood (2012)
• IGN Live (2012–)
• Project: SERA (2013–)
• Not Another Zombie Apocalypse (2013)
• Dave Gorman: Modern Life Is Goodish: Badgers Don't Vote (2013)
• Assassin's Creed 4: Making Black Flag (2013)
• 9 Reasons We're Excited for Destiny (2013 Video)
• Optimus Prime in Titanfall (2014 Video)
• Making Assassin's Creed Unity: A New Beginning (2014)
• Fast to the Future (2015 Video)
• Star Wars on Netflix (2016 Video)
• IGN Access NYCC Cosplay (2016–2017)
• The 20th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards (2017 TV Special)
• IGN Now (2019–)
• Devs React to Speedruns (2019–)