GameFAQs
On the 5th of November 1995, a programmer named Jeff Veasey launched a small website called the Video Game FAQ Archive. The site originally hosted just ten pages and contained about one hundred guides. These early documents came from Andy Eddy's FTP archive located at ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/vi/vidgames/faqs. Veasey created the platform to gather scattered online resources into one central location for gamers. By 1996, the site moved to gamefaqs.com and listed fewer than one thousand FAQs. Two different design styles appeared in early 1997 to support web browser tables. A search engine and contributor recognition pages were planned during this period.
In 1997, GameFAQs became an independent affiliate of the Imagine Games Network (IGN). This partnership placed affiliate links on the home page and introduced user contests. The first monthly contest held in 1998 received two hundred fifty-three entries. On the 6th of May 2003, CNET Networks acquired GameFAQs for US$2.2 million along with two other unrelated websites. Veasey announced the merger to users on the 3rd of June 2003. He clarified that user-submitted content remained under the authors' ownership while CNET acquired rights to host them. Red Ventures acquired various properties including GameFAQs and GameSpot from ViacomCBS in 2020. Fandom then acquired these same properties from Red Ventures in October 2022.
All guides and walkthroughs on GameFAQs are contributed by volunteers without pay. Mary-Kate and Ashley: Winner's Circle; The Times (London); the 1st of July 2001; Stuart Andrews; p. Doors.2 describes the site as hosting guides compiled by gamers worldwide. Most FAQs cover gameplay aspects like strategy guides rather than simple question lists. From December 2009, formatted guides using mark-up loosely based on Wiki markup were accepted. In 2006, the site hosted over thirty-six thousand guides. By February 2009, over forty-nine thousand guides and one hundred thirteen thousand one hundred ninety-four reviews existed. As of 2012, this increased to over fifty-six thousand guides for twenty-one thousand six hundred thirty-nine unique games. Authors retain copyright on submitted material and their names appear in the Contributor Recognition section.
Custom-made message boards coded by Veasey began operation on the 7th of November 1999. Every day approximately twenty thousand topics and two hundred thousand messages are posted across sixty thousand individual boards. On the 7th of November 2006, there were more than one hundred thousand accounts actively in use. During October 2009, an average of eighty-four thousand eight hundred fifty-three unique logins occurred daily. Game-specific boards for older consoles often lack topicality rules and become social hubs known as secret or dead boards. Certain popular games have additional boards for social discussion while others cater to special interests like Anime or Pro Wrestling. Posts made on these boards mostly remain plain text with some HTML mark-up used for bold and italics tags.
Allen Tyner who uses the username SBAllen served as lead administrator for twenty years until stepping down on the 18th of October 2023. He had been employed with the site since 2004 when he took over from Veasey. On the 7th of May 2012, Tyner announced that long-time moderator Devin Morgan was hired as another administrator. His primary role involved working on the code of the site. Stephanie Barnes under the username Krystal109 was hired as Community Manager on the 5th of September 2014. She ran contests and managed Facebook and Twitter feeds but left the team by July 2015. The site is currently run by Community Manager DToast and Contributor Lead ZoopSoul.
Up Next
Continue Browsing
Common questions
When was GameFAQs launched by Jeff Veasey?
Jeff Veasey launched the site on the 5th of November 1995 as a small website called the Video Game FAQ Archive. The original platform hosted just ten pages containing about one hundred guides sourced from Andy Eddy's FTP archive.
Who acquired GameFAQs in 2003 and for how much money?
CNET Networks acquired GameFAQs for US$2.2 million along with two other unrelated websites on the 6th of May 2003. Veasey announced this merger to users on the 3rd of June 2003 while clarifying that user-submitted content remained under the authors' ownership.
How many guides did GameFAQs host by February 2009?
By February 2009, the site hosted over forty-nine thousand guides and one hundred thirteen thousand one hundred ninety-four reviews. As of 2012, this number increased to over fifty-six thousand guides covering twenty-one thousand six hundred thirty-nine unique games.
What happened to GameFAQs message boards in October 2009?
During October 2009, an average of eighty-four thousand eight hundred fifty-three unique logins occurred daily across sixty thousand individual boards. These boards often became social hubs known as secret or dead boards where posts mostly remain plain text with some HTML mark-up used for bold and italics tags.
Who served as lead administrator for GameFAQs until 2023?
Allen Tyner who uses the username SBAllen served as lead administrator for twenty years until stepping down on the 18th of October 2023. He had been employed with the site since 2004 when he took over from Veasey before announcing that Devin Morgan was hired as another administrator on the 7th of May 2012.