Wikipedia

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

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)

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.[3]

History

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Eurogamer (initially stylised as EuroGamer) was launched on 4 September 1999 under company Eurogamer Network. The founding team included John Bye, the webmaster for the PlanetQuake website and a writer for British magazine PC Gaming World; Patrick Stokes, a contributor for the website Warzone; and Rupert Loman, who had organised the EuroQuake esports event for the game Quake.[4] It became the official online media partner of the 2002 European Computer Trade Show.[5] Eurogamer hosts content from media outlet Digital Foundry since 2007, which was founded in 2004.[6] In November 2010, Eurogamer recorded 5.2 million visits.[7][8] By the end of 2012, visits to the Eurogamer website and its ten European foreign-language versions had increased by over ten percent compared to the previous year.[9]

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".[10][11] 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.[12][13] 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."[14]

In February 2018, Eurogamer's parent company, Gamer Network, was acquired by Reed Exhibitions,[15] a division of RELX. In September 2021, the community forum for Eurogamer closed, with the site recommending other platforms such as Discord instead.[16]

In May 2024, Gamer Network was sold to IGN Entertainment, a subsidiary of Ziff Davis.[17][18]

Editors

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Kristan Reed (left) and Tom Bramwell (right) were former editors of Eurogamer.

In January 2008, Tom Bramwell succeeded Kristan Reed as editor-in-chief,[19] a position he held until November 2014, marking the end of his 15-year tenure with Eurogamer.[20][21] Afterwards Oli Welsh served as editor for Eurogamer,[22][23] followed by Martin Robinson,[24] with Tom Phillips now being the current editor.[25]

Reception

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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 and 2024 Media Brand of the Year at MCV/Develop.[30][31]

References

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  1. ^ Bowden, Mike (20 October 2008). "Loman on EE2008: "Our biggest inspiration is probably the Penny Arcade Expo"". VG247. Archived from the original on 16 January 2025. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  2. ^ Alexander, Leigh (9 October 2013). "This Is What Video Games Are: A Dispatch From A Crowded Gaming Expo". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 16 January 2025. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  3. ^ Sinclair, Brendan (16 November 2020). "USgamer staff laid off". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 27 November 2024. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  4. ^ Eurogamer Staff (4 September 1999). "EuroGamer opens!". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 16 January 2025. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  5. ^ Schofield, Jack (29 August 2002). "Live from ECTS..." The Guardian. ISSN 1756-3224. Archived from the original on 16 January 2025. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  6. ^ "Digital Foundry". Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 16 January 2025. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  7. ^ Cullen, Johnny (17 February 2011). "Eurogamer hits 5.2 million unique visitors". VG247. Archived from the original on 16 January 2025. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  8. ^ Martin, Matt (17 February 2011). "Eurogamer passes 5.2m unique users". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 16 January 2025. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  9. ^ Pearson, Dan (30 January 2012). "Eurogamer's unique traffic surges 10% to 5.7m monthly users". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 16 January 2025. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  10. ^ Orland, Kyle (16 February 2015). "The spotty death and eternal life of gaming review scores". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 16 January 2025. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  11. ^ Scimeca, Dennis (29 May 2021). "Here's why you won't find review scores on Eurogamer anymore". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on 16 January 2025. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  12. ^ Push Square Staff (10 February 2015). "Talking Point: Do Review Scores Have a Future?". Push Square. Archived from the original on 16 January 2025. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  13. ^ Calvin, Alex (23 February 2015). "Why Eurogamer ditched review scores". MCV/Develop. ISSN 1469-4832. Archived from the original on 16 January 2025. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  14. ^ Phillips, Tom; Tapsell, Chris (10 May 2023). "Eurogamer reviews are changing". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 10 May 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ Webster, Andrew (21 May 2024). "IGN scoops up Eurogamer, Rock Paper Shotgun, and more". The Verge. Archived from the original on 30 December 2024. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  18. ^ Robinson, Andy (21 May 2024). "IGN agrees deal for Gamer Network sites, including Eurogamer and GI.biz". Video Games Chronicle. Archived from the original on 16 January 2025. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  19. ^ Martin, Matt (14 January 2008). "Bramwell steps up to editor role at Eurogamer.net". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 23 August 2022.
  20. ^ Sinclair, Brendan (9 September 2014). "Tom Bramwell leaving Eurogamer". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 16 January 2025. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  21. ^ Dickens, Anthony (27 November 2014). "Ninterview: Tom Bramwell On Nintendo and 15 Years at Eurogamer". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 16 January 2025. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  22. ^ "Oli Welsh Profile and Activity". Polygon. Archived from the original on 16 January 2025. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  23. ^ Handrahan, Matthew (4 September 2019). "Eurogamer at 20: Adapting to a changing industry". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 16 January 2025. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  24. ^ Dring, Christopher (26 November 2021). "ReedPop restructures editorial leadership team". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 16 January 2025. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  25. ^ "Tom Phillips". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 16 January 2025. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  26. ^ MCV Staff (15 October 2010). "PC Zone heads roll call of winners at Games Media Awards". MCV/Develop. ISSN 1469-4832. Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  27. ^ MCV Staff (27 October 2011). "GMA 2011: Eurogamer takes Best Website award fifth year running". MCV/Develop. ISSN 1469-4832. Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  28. ^ MCV Staff (18 May 2018). "All the winners from the Games Media Brit List". MCV/Develop. 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 (3 May 2022). "Announcing the winners of the 2022 MCV/DEVELOP Awards!". MCV/Develop. 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/Develop. ISSN 1469-4832. Archived from the original on 21 June 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
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