Why Now Is the Most Exciting Time for IGN

IGN is celebrating its 30th day this year, and I couldn’t beryllium much excited to springiness you each a sneak peek astatine the year-long festivities we person successful store. From heavy dive retrospective interviews with the biggest names successful entertainment, to an in-person solemnisation successful downtown Los Angeles, we’re inviting you to observe 30 years of popular civilization with us.

Everything Everywhere All At Once

It’s fitting we’re celebrating this milestone now, astatine specified an unthinkable clip for games, movies, and streaming. Super Mario is present a immense movie franchise. The Last of Us and Fallout are smash-hit shows. Netflix present hosts an ever-growing postulation of video games. And successful crook immoderate games, similar Dispatch, look and behave a batch similar Netflix shows. Thanks to the emergence of collab civilization successful general, fans of everything from Stranger Things to Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn tin amusement disconnected their fandom successful Fortnite. You tin get Dwight Schrute arsenic a Magic: the Gathering card.

Crucially, it isn’t conscionable the megabrands that person benefitted. At this aforesaid time, the enlargement of integer organisation platforms similar Steam and streaming person empowered formerly niche communities to scope caller heights arsenic well. If you similar chill, cozy games, they’ve ne'er been bigger. Or if you’re similar maine and privation to optimize conveyor belts and accumulation chains, automation games are besides having a moment. On the streaming side, we each person a person that has recovered immoderate astonishing caller subtitled amusement nary 1 is watching but them, but mightiness stroke up into the adjacent large happening (looking astatine you, Peer). Nowhere is this feeling much prevalent than the unthinkable maturation of anime and manga implicit the past 3 decades.

In different words, immoderate you’re into, popular civilization has evolved to let you to spell deeper into your passions, oregon observe thing astonishing and caller you didn’t adjacent cognize you were funny in.

In short, it’s an breathtaking clip to beryllium a instrumentality of…. conscionable astir anything.

At IGN, we’re privileged to person been close successful the mediate of this each for 30 years. IGN Entertainment institution co-founder Peer Schneider has published an representation assemblage from the precise earliest days of IGN you person to see.

"I americium what I take to become"

In immoderate ways the amusement scenery has been wholly transformed from what it was successful our earliest days. One somewhat startling information is that IGN has been astir longer than YouTube, Netflix, and Xbox, conscionable to sanction a few. But successful different ways, everything aged becomes caller again. In 1996 we were dreaming astir what Zelda would look similar connected the Nintendo 64. In 2026, we’re dreaming astir what Zelda volition look similar successful theaters. Tomb Raider made its debut successful 1996, and present successful 2026 we’re excited to beryllium covering some the caller amusement and the duo of upcoming games. It’s similar poetry… they rhyme.

But it’s these uncommon periods of much accelerated translation - similar the 1 we’re successful close present - that person ever fascinated maine most. I joined IGN successful 2011 arsenic Mobile Games Editor, reviewing games similar Angry Birds Star Wars and Infinity Blade (bring it backmost you cowards!). I spent different mates years moving features, and had a batch of amusive (and headaches) shepherding insane projects similar the Top 125 Nintendo Games. I precocious moved into a relation overseeing IGN’s perfectly astonishing editorial team.

After much than 15 years, the happening that excites maine astir astir moving present is inactive the same: it’s the infinitesimal erstwhile idiosyncratic says “...what if we tried this?” erstwhile reasoning astir however to lick a tricky problem.

Around 20 years ago, a small website called YouTube was conscionable taking off. More video crippled fans were funny successful watching videos astir their favourite games and movies, and not conscionable speechmaking astir them. IGN adapted quickly, and we present person 35 cardinal subscribers watching much than 2 cardinal videos each year.

Around 10 years ago, Snapchat was the biggest happening connected the planet, with TikTok and Instagram reels blistery connected its heels. IGN got connected board, and present has much than 60 cardinal societal followers watching much than 5 cardinal vertical videos annually.

A decennary later, we’re present successful the midst of different transformative moment. In an online scenery progressively dominated by text, videos, and full radical that were created astatine the click of a button, authenticity, transparency, and helpfulness are much important than ever.

Every azygous portion of IGN contented is created by a human.“

You’ve seen a small spot of this from america already, and we’re excited to treble down crossed the remainder of 2026 and beyond. As 1 tiny step, we’re present including an extended treatment with our critics astatine the extremity of astir reviews, to larn much astir the reviewer’s circumstantial tastes, past with the genre oregon franchise, and more.

Every azygous portion of IGN contented is created by a human. We volition springiness you much opportunities to get to cognize idiosyncratic creators’ quirks and tastes successful ways beyond conscionable our unchangeable of podcasts, including much letters from the exertion similar this one. (Seriously - deed maine up if you’re playing immoderate caller mill automation games).

We’re besides doubling down connected making ourselves arsenic adjuvant to each of you arsenic possible, successful large ways and small. HowLongToBeat does precisely what's successful the name: enactment with the assemblage to log information connected precisely however galore hours it takes to wide immoderate video game. Tools similar Maxroll and Mapgenie person besides joined the IGN household successful caller years, serving arsenic complement to our human-powered taste commentary, helping you get the astir retired of your games.

Finally, conscionable arsenic we privation to find much opportunities for you to get to cognize us, we’re besides excited to link with and unfastened a person speech with each of you more directly, arsenic well. Again, this isn’t thing marque new. Among different things, our yearly Reddit AMA gives america a accidental to chat with you each straight and hopefully demystify however IGN works a bit. The AMA has been 1 accidental for america to punctual everyone that IGN reviews person ne'er and volition ne'er beryllium paid for - each erstwhile successful a portion it’s important to restate the obvious.

But for maine personally, IGN Live is the astir breathtaking mode we amusement up for our audience, and it’s been astonishing to spot truthful galore of you amusement up for us, too. The (for now) once-a-year lawsuit kicked disconnected successful 2024, with attendees getting to play dozens of unreleased games, and to spot unrecorded on-stage interviews with caput of Xbox Phil Spencer, the formed of Critical Role, movie manager Eli Roth, and plentifulness more. We grew to a 2nd level successful 2025. And successful 2026 we’re excited to stock much soon astir what we person successful store. But it whitethorn not astonishment you to perceive it's not conscionable going to beryllium a look up astatine this year’s biggest games, shows, and movies, but volition treble arsenic a monolithic solemnisation 30 years successful the making.

I’d emotion to spot you determination this June.

A Year-Long Celebration

In summation to IGN Live, you’re going to spot peculiar 30th anniversary-themed contented connected IGN each twelvemonth long.

In IGN30: Icons, we’re conducting heavy dive, longform interviews with manufacture luminaries from crossed gaming and amusement to larn much astir what they were doing successful 1996, get their instrumentality connected the past 30 years of groundbreaking changes, arsenic good arsenic their look up astatine the adjacent 30 years.

1996 was an unthinkable twelvemonth for games, featuring the debut of Super Mario 64, Crash Bandicoot, Tomb Raider, Resident Evil, and Pokemon Red & Blue, conscionable to sanction a few. And though we didn’t privation excessively overmuch of our IGN30 solemnisation to conscionable beryllium axenic nostalgia, we couldn’t walk up this accidental to revisit those all-time greats. So this twelvemonth we’ll beryllium producing peculiar IGN30 editions of Art of the Level, Is It Still Fun Today?, and more. IGN Cinefix is besides joining successful connected the fun, with Art of the Scene: IGN30 Edition.

This twelvemonth we’re getting you progressive successful the celebrations too, via interactive face-offs, polls, and brackets to assistance settee immoderate of the top and astir storied characters, games, and consoles from the past 3 decades.

Finally, IGN Store and Humble Bundle volition beryllium getting successful connected the IGN30 celebrations, with throwback merchandise and a best-of-the-best crippled bundle.

I privation to adjacent with a genuine convey you, whether you’re present with america each day, oregon if this is your archetypal clip backmost successful a while. I grew up poring implicit issues of EGM, and past conscionable a fewer abbreviated years aboriginal obsessively checking websites similar CheatCC, AICN, The GIA and yes, ign64.com (among truthful galore others). So to person the accidental to speech astir the games, movies, and shows I emotion for a surviving is genuinely a imagination travel true.

It’s an grant and a privilege to person you present with america astatine all, and connected behalf of everyone astatine IGN, I’m truthful excited to observe with you this year.