Earlier this week, Polygon reported that IGN and its sister-sites, including Gamespy, File Planet, and 1Up, had been sold to Ziff Davis, a digital publishing company. Though the actual sum for which Ziff Davis bought the network from News Corp was not disclosed, rumors indicate it was for a total of less than $100 million. More details are included after the jump.
IGN was founded in 1996 and acquired by News Corporation in 2005, for a total of $650 million. At the time, IGN was brought on to strengthen the online entertainment and media divisions, but as of this year News Corp is moving to separate its entertainment and publishing businesses. The sale of IGN is allegedly part of that development. News Corp itself has not made any comments on the sale, though the editor-in-chief of IGN UK, Alex Simmons, has stated that “the deal enables IGN to do what it does best — delivering to you the very best games and entertainment content — and makes Ziff Davis one of the largest digital publishers for tech, video games and entertainment, with over 53 global million monthly unique visitors.”