IGN is celebrating its 30th Anniversary on September 29, 2026. Before it was later rebranded IGN64, our first site, N64.com launched the same day the Nintendo 64 came out in the US back in 1996.

While we didn’t found the company, IGN Entertainment, until February 1999, IGN’s first article – a news story about Howard Lincoln commenting on the decision to drop the N64’s launch price from $249 to $199 – is dated September 23, 1996 and published a few days before IGN’s first site launch: N64.com.

A Celebration of 3D Gaming

IGN's story began with the advent of 3D console gaming and the desire to go beyond the monthly magazines with long lead times and share daily content about N64, PlayStation, and Saturn for our favorite pasttime. Content preservation wasn’t a big thing in the ‘90s, but many of the original articles are still online, along with prelaunch damage control like “Why is the site so slow?”, early examples of story formats that now dominate the internet (like text-and-image-only unboxings), and previews of games that would never see the light of day. Other content is lost to the ages, victims of media server migrations gone wrong, or someone not confirming with the content team that yes, we would like to keep the articles written on Saturnworld.com after merging them all into the new site, IGN.com, in 1999.

Spun out from publisher Imagine Media, IGN.com combined existing gaming content from a few formerly standalone websites, such as IGN64 and PSXPower, the movies and lifestyle site The DEN (Daily Entertainment Network), and GameSages, a gaming community with codes and tips. From there, we expanded IGN with new channels, new formats, experimented with new platforms, and eventually got to where we are today: a content brand covering the things you love that you can find wherever you like to hang out. I’ll spare you the corporate rah-rah with reach and follower numbers, but we’ll never forget to be thankful for the many fans that watch and read our content and use our tools every day.

Though one of gaming’s biggest players, Nintendo, is nearly as old as Hollywood, video games were still a relatively young art form when IGN first arrived on the scene. Sticking with the example of 1889’s hippest playing card company turned video game giant, we witnessed the rise and fall and rise of Nintendo, SEGA doing what nintendidn’t and making games for all platforms, FPS dev royalty Steam and Epic making fortunes by building stores and making engines, and a little comic book company rising from bankruptcy to become one of the biggest players in entertainment. The heroes we once only read about are now the characters we watch and play as. In a glorious full-circle, the heroes we played as are now greeting us at theme parks and packing seats in movie theaters.

Party Like It's 1996

Creating content for YouTube, podcasts platforms, and social media has ensured that IGN has continued to grow over the years even as the way people browse the “internet” has fundamentally changed. Those of you who have visited us via office tours, hung out at IGN Live in LA, or tuned in to our podcasts hopefully encountered that same small team spirit that we feel whenever we get together to plan a new event, video, article, strategy guide, or map.

Lots of work goes into publishing IGN every day – and I’m just as thankful for the contributions from staff members present and past – but instead of making this anniversary celebration entirely about us, we’ll be rolling out lots of fun pieces of content that celebrate the last 30 years of games and entertainment throughout 2026.

If you’re interested in traveling down memory lane with us, IGN’s newly crafted editorial lead, Justin Davis, is sharing what we’ve got in store all year long for IGN30. Check that article out here: Why Now is the Most Exciting Time for IGN.

If you’re not sick of me yet, take a look at my occasional retro gaming column, Forgotten Gems, or join Daemon, Sam, Justin, and me for a special video episode of IGN Game Scoop as we open some dusty boxes with gaming artifacts in IGN’s storage space, right here and now:

Thanks for sticking with us! I hope you enjoy our lookbacks throughout 2026 -- and see you in 2046 for IGN50! (In space.)

Peer Schneider is one of the founders of IGN Entertainment, the company that runs IGN. After two decades of heading up editorial, he created a tools and game help group a few years ago and oversees the next generation of content publishing via IGN Guides, Maxroll, Map Genie, Gamer Network, HowLongtoBeat, and more.