August 4, 2010

Xfire purchased by Titan Gaming, developers leaving

Xfire, a popular game-oriented messenger platform, has come under new ownership. According to official announcements today, Titan Gaming has purchased the service for an undisclosed sum, and most of the existing team is leaving. A developer bid his farewells in a message on the Xfire site. "We've enjoyed our time and I personally am sad that I was only able to do 127 releases. Good bye and game on!"


Launched in the early 2000s, Xfire was purchased by Viacom in 2006 for $102 million. Since then, it has quadrupled in users, with 16.7 million registered members today. In addition to instant messaging, the service provides a broad range of features, including game tracking, live broadcasts, an in-game browser, and a clan system.

Despite the shift in management, Titan Gaming says Xfire will continue to operate uninterrupted and vows to use the platform "to help gaming companies better engage and monetize their games." Although there are said to be over 16 million users, it's not clear how many are active. Plenty of members have abandoned the platform in favor of Steam and others. Do you still hop on Xfire regularly?

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