On Thursday, February 21, 2013. Gamespy published a formal announcement that the website was shutting down. They first opened in 1999, providing 14 years of service. The reason given for this sudden announcement is that the parent company Ziff Davis Inc. (who owns the IGN network Gamespy is a part of) has decided to trim back IGN into a smaller, more efficient company. For us, this means that video game websites Gamespy, UGO, and 1UP.com are no longer in operation.
Speaking as someone who has followed Gamespy for most of those 14 years, I am surprised and saddened by the news. I remember when Gamespy ran a multiplayer match making service, hosted the Daily Victim comic strip, and introduced us to a variety of interesting games across multiple platforms. While the site had its high and low points, overall Gamespy was one of the better sites for video game news out there. Over the last year in particular, under the leadership of PC Gamer alumni Dan Stapleton, the site seemed to be as strong as it ever was.
Regardless of whatever the future holds for the staff now, no one can argue that they’ve seen some incredible times. In the nearly fifteen years since Gamespy went online, we went through three generations of consoles, witnessed the birth of Steam, and watched as one Scandinavian man turned a simple idea into a game worth millions. Hopefully the next fifteen years of their careers will be just as exciting regardless of wherever life takes them….
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