Mostly big-budget games scored above 7, with buy links that double as the business model.
What it's really for A games and entertainment outlet; the reviews carry affiliate buy links as the business model.
What our grade covers The grade on this page is about its hands-on game reviews and scores, not everything the site does.
High Scoring Confidence Checked against primary sources. We are confident in the facts and the grade here.
- Operating since
- 1996 (30 years) · source
- What it costs you
- Free to read The reviews are free to read.
- How they make money
- Makes money from display/video advertising, subscriptions, and affiliate commerce commissions earned when readers buy products through its links and "best of" buying guides.
- What they do
- IGN publishes hands-on reviews, scores, and buying guides for video games and entertainment (plus consumer tech and gaming gear).
- What to watch for
- It overwhelmingly reviews big-budget AAA games (so few score below 7 and niche or indie titles often go uncovered), and its product picks double as affiliate revenue generators, so "best of" lists are not a neutral filter.
- Composite score
- 2.70 / 5.00 → grade C+
How the grade was reached
Does the site take money from the very entities it ranks? Pay-for-placement, vendor-funded data, and affiliate commissions all pull this down. The less the ranking can be bought, the higher the score.
What is the ranking actually built on? Hands-on testing scores highest, then verified first-hand reviews, then opinion or popularity surveys and self-reported figures, then pay-to-rank, which scores lowest.
Is the methodology published, specific, and reproducible? Can a reader see how a given rank was reached, or is it a black box?
Are commercial relationships, sponsorships, and affiliate arrangements disclosed clearly and near the rankings themselves, rather than buried?
How hard is it to game? Controls against fake reviews, solicited reviews, and vendor gaming raise this; an open box anyone can stuff lowers it.
Evidence
- IGN was created by media entrepreneur Chris Anderson and launched on September 29, 1996 as the Imagine Games Network; it is a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc., which acquired it in February 2013. Source: Wikipedia: IGN →
- Ziff Media Group drives about $1 billion in last-click attributed affiliate-commerce revenue a year, with IGN named a key contributing property; commission rates vary by retailer (e.g., Amazon) and product, and product recommendations drive that revenue when content aligns with buyer intent. Source: AdExchanger: Inside Ziff Media Group's $1B Affiliate Commerce Biz →
- Critics argue IGN's reviews function as extensions of advertising, with few games scoring below 7 partly because it prioritizes heavily marketed AAA titles, and that failure to score in line with hype 'can result in the loss of review codes and heat from publicists.' Source: Unwinnable: Reviews Vs. Advertising →