Eurogamer

This article is about the principal website. For the parent company, formerly called EuroGamer Network, see Gamer Network. For the board game class, see Eurogame.

Eurogamer
Type of businessSubsidiary
Type of site
Video game journalism
Headquarters
United Kingdom
Founder(s)
  • John Bye
  • Patrick Stokes
  • Rupert Loman
EditorTom Phillips
IndustryVideo game industry
ParentGamer Network
URLwww.eurogamer.net Edit this at Wikidata
CommercialYes
RegistrationOptional
Launched4 September 1999; 25 years ago (1999-09-04)

Eurogamer is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 alongside parent company Gamer Network.

In 2008, it started in the formerly eponymous trade fair EGX (Eurogamer Expo until 2013) organised by its parent company.[1][2] From 2013 to 2020, sister site USGamer ran independently under its parent company.

History

Eurogamer Expo 2009
Kristan Reed served as Eurogamer's editor from 2002 to 2008.
Tom Bramwell edited Eurogamer from 2008 to 2014.

Eurogamer (initially stylised as EuroGamer) was launched on 4 September 1999 under company Eurogamer Network. The founding team included John "Gestalt" Bye, the webmaster for the PlanetQuake website and a writer for British magazine PC Gaming World; Patrick "Ghandi" Stokes, a contributor for the website Warzone; and Rupert "rauper" Loman, who had organised the EuroQuake esports event for the game Quake.[3] It became the official online media partner of the 2002 European Computer Trade Show.[4] Eurogamer hosts content from media outlet Digital Foundry since 2007, which was founded by games journalist Richard Leadbetter in 2004.[5]

In February 2015, Eurogamer abandoned its ten-point scale for review scores in favor of highlighting games the reviewer felt particularly strongly about with labels such as "Essential", "Recommended" or "Avoid". The change was driven by doubt about the score system's usefulness and its desire to be delisted from review aggregator Metacritic because of its "unhealthy influence" on the games industry.[6][7] In May 2023, Eurogamer returned to scoring reviews, opting for a five-point scale due to them being "universally understood, simple to take in at a glance, and easily shared."[8]

In February 2018, Eurogamer's parent company, Gamer Network, was acquired by Reed Exhibitions,[9] a division of RELX. In September 2021, the community forum for Eurogamer closed, with the site recommending other platforms such as Discord instead.[10] In the same month, Eurogamer also launched a supporter program, offering readers an ad-free experience and access to paywalled content.[11]

In May 2024, the Gamer Network was sold to IGN Entertainment, a subsidiary of Ziff Davis.[12]

Editors

In January 2008, Tom Bramwell overtook the role of editor-in-chief from Kristan Reed, remaining in that role until he resigned in November 2014.[13][14] Afterwards Oli Welsh served as editor for Eurogamer,[15] followed by Martin Robinson,[16] with Tom Phillips now being the current editor.[17]

Regional websites

Current

Eurogamer has several regional publications:

Former

  • Brasilgamer for Brazil; established in 2012.[21]
  • Eurogamer.dk for Denmark; launched in June 2009 and headed by Kristian West.[22]
  • Eurogamer.fr for France; launched as a joint venture with Microscoop in October 2007.[23]
  • Eurogamer.it for Italy; closed in 2022.[24]
  • Eurogamer.ro for Romania.
  • Eurogamer.se for Sweden; established in 2015, closed in 2016.[25]

Reception

Eurogamer has won several trade awards, including:

  • 2007–2011 Best Website at the Games Media Awards.[26][27]
  • 2018 Online Editorial Team and Best Streamer at the Games Media Brit List.[28][29]
  • 2022[30] and 2024[31] Media Brand of the Year at MCV/Develop.

References

  1. ^ Bowden, Mike (20 October 2008). "Loman on EE2008: "Our biggest inspiration is probably the Penny Arcade Expo"". VG247. Archived from the original on 4 April 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  2. ^ "This Is What Video Games Are: A Dispatch From A Crowded Gaming Expo". Kotaku Australia. 10 October 2013. Archived from the original on 6 September 2022. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  3. ^ "EuroGamer opens!". Eurogamer. 4 September 1999. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022.
  4. ^ Schofield, Jack (29 August 2002). "Live from ECTS..." The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  5. ^ "About Us". Digital Foundry. Archived from the original on 7 August 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  6. ^ Calvin, Alex (23 February 2015). "Why Eurogamer ditched review scores". MCV/Develop. Archived from the original on 27 September 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  7. ^ Welsh, Oli (10 February 2015). "Eurogamer has dropped review scores". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 16 May 2023.
  8. ^ Phillips, Tom; Tapsell, Chris (10 May 2023). "Eurogamer reviews are changing". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 10 May 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  9. ^ Frank, Allegra (26 February 2018). "PAX organizer acquires USgamer, Eurogamer and more". Polygon. Archived from the original on 17 June 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  10. ^ Plunkett, Luke (16 September 2021). "Please Stop Closing Forums And Moving People To Discord". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 29 May 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  11. ^ Welsh, Oli (28 September 2021). "Support Eurogamer to view the site ad-free - and much more". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 7 August 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  12. ^ Dring, Christopher (21 May 2024). "IGN Entertainment acquires Eurogamer, GI, VG247, Rock Paper Shotgun and more". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 28 May 2024. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  13. ^ Martin, Matt (14 January 2008). "Bramwell steps up to editor role at Eurogamer.net". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 23 August 2022.
  14. ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (28 November 2014). "Eurogamer vs Tom Bramwell". Eurogamer.
  15. ^ Eurogamer staff (17 August 2010). "The Eurogamer Staff". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 4 April 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  16. ^ "Editor's blog: I'm leaving Eurogamer at the end of the year". Eurogamer.net. 26 November 2021. Archived from the original on 11 May 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  17. ^ Phillips, Tom (28 April 2023). "Hello from Eurogamer's new editor-in-chief". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 29 April 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  18. ^ Bramwell, Tom (4 August 2006). "Eurogamer.de announced". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 4 April 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  19. ^ Bramwell, Tom (18 August 2008). "Eurogamer Benelux launches!". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 4 April 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  20. ^ Gibson, Ellie (21 May 2008). "New Eurogamer Portugal site launches". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023.
  21. ^ Loureiro, Jorge (1 March 2013). "Eurogamer Network é agora Gamer Network" [Eurogamer Network is now Gamer Network]. Eurogamer.pt (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 26 January 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  22. ^ Gibson, Ellie (25 June 2009). "Eurogamer Denmark launches". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 30 June 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  23. ^ Eurogamer staff (25 October 2007). "Eurogamer France launches!". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 4 April 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  24. ^ "La fine di un bel viaggio". Eurogamer.it (in Italian). 4 November 2022. Archived from the original on 12 November 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  25. ^ Göransson, Andréas (11 December 2016). "Eurogamer.se lägger ner – tack för att du läste" [Eurogamer.se closes – thank you for reading]. Eurogamer.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 30 April 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  26. ^ "PC Zone heads roll call of winners at Games Media Awards". MCV. 15 October 2010. ISSN 1469-4832. Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  27. ^ "GMA 2011: Eurogamer takes Best Website award fifth year running". MCV. 27 October 2011. ISSN 1469-4832. Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  28. ^ "All the winners from the Games Media Brit List". MCV/Develop. 18 May 2018. ISSN 1469-4832. Archived from the original on 7 October 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  29. ^ Taylor, Ivy (18 May 2018). "Eurogamer scoops multiple awards at first-ever Games Media Brit List". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  30. ^ Wallace, Chris (13 May 2022). "Announcing the winners of the 2022 MCV/DEVELOP Awards!". MCV. ISSN 1469-4832. Archived from the original on 3 May 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  31. ^ Shoemaker, Richie (21 June 2024). "The winners of the MCV/DEVELOP Awards 2024!". MCV. ISSN 1469-4832. Archived from the original on 21 June 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
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