GameSpy API

San Francisco – Feb. 24, 2011 – Starting Friday, February 25, GameSpy Technology, the leader in connected game services, will be making online game development faster and free by giving everyone complete and open access to the company’s entire catalog of connected game services across all platforms, including PC, Mac and game consoles, as well as iOS and Android mobile platforms. GameSpy Technology is allowing up-and-coming game developers to tap into the same technology powering more than one thousand of the biggest games ever made, including Red Dead Redemption, Bulletstorm, Crysis 2 and cross-platform indie hit Dungeon Defenders.  This is the first time that truly cross-platform, high quality development services have ever been offered to developers for no initial cost.

“Smart developers are looking at their games as a whole across multiple platforms,” said Todd Northcutt, Vice President, GameSpy Technology. “We want to empower everyone creating games to make great online experiences and to build bigger, better communities regardless of platform, team size or budget. In an industry first, we are making cross-platform services free, with the hope that we can help more folks make better games.”

On Friday, GameSpy Technology’s APIs will be available via an easy online self-service process, allowing all developers to access the APIs and begin adding online functionality to their games right away. The cross-platform SDKs include open APIs for rich player data tracking to gauge game performance and audience engagement, user-generated cloud storage content tools to enable actively-engaged communities to collaborate and extend the gameplay experience, social network integration, in-game or web-based commerce and competitive matchmaking services. GameSpy Technology’s services have been tested and proven at multiple levels of scale, from small indie games all the way up to multi-million selling online console titles.

All GameSpy services are integrated seamlessly into the gameplay experience, allowing developers to maintain full control over the relationship with their customers. GameSpy empowers developers, giving them the tools and data to control their own destiny.  PoweredByGameSpy.com will act as a single source for everything necessary to create world-class online experiences, including APIs and SDKs, community support, documentation and in-depth “dashboards” that show how a game is performing across a variety of metrics.

Trendy Entertainment’s Dungeon Defenders takes advantage of multiple elements of GameSpy Technology’s cross-platform online services, including multiplayer matchmaking and deep player data tracking, allowing cooperative games to be played by players on a PlayStation 3, PC, iOS and Android devices. Trendy was among the first studios to take advantage of GameSpy Open, GameSpy’s newly announced initiative to make all of its services available to start-up and independent developers for free.

The initiative is an important element of an ongoing effort by GameSpy Technology to broaden the field of game development to include up-and-coming startups and independent teams. GameSpy’s latest programs include the recently-launched “Indie Open House” program, through which IGN Entertainment has provided free office space in its San Francisco headquarters and resources for use by a selection of development teams. 

Join the open game development revolution this Friday at http://www.poweredbygamespy.com

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About IGN Entertainment

IGN Entertainment, a unit of News Corporation, is the leading Internet media and services provider focused on the video game and entertainment enthusiast markets. Collectively, IGN's properties reached more than 45 million unique users worldwide November 2010, according to Internet audience measurement firm comScore Media Metrix. IGN's network of video game-related properties (IGN.com, GameSpy, FilePlanet, TeamXbox, Direct2Drive and others) is one of the Web's leading video game information destinations.  IGN also owns the leading men’s lifestyle website AskMen.com and provides technology for online game play in video games.  IGN is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices across North America, Europe and Australia. 

About GameSpy Technology

A division of IGN Entertainment, GameSpy Technology is the leading provider of online services to video game developers. Founded in 1997, GameSpy has provided its connected gaming technology to the best-selling, most innovative games in the industry. Its various services—social, cloud, commerce, data and mutliplayer—are designed to make games more fun by helping players share their experiences. GameSpy’s technology is accessible on every gaming platform and has been utilized by more than 1000 titles to date, including landmark games like Rockstar Games’ Red Dead Redemption, Nintendo’s Mario Kart Wii, and Crytek’s Crysis franchise.

Contact Information

Kristen Sharbaugh

IGN Entertainment, Inc.

ksharbaugh@ign.com

415.896.3450 

Chris Kramer

fortyseven communications

kramer@fortyseven.com

415.543.9247 xt308