GameStop Acquires Social Gaming Hub Kongregate

Leading US games retailer GameStop has entered into an agreement to acquire popular social gaming hub Kongregate.

Launched in 2007, Kongregate’s website is home to thousands of free-to-play games with community features like profiles, leaderboards, achievements, multiplayer and a site-wide levelling system. It currently hosts ten million monthly players who spend approximately 23 million hours per month on the site.

Kongregate enables indie developers to upload Flash and Shockwave games and monetise them via virtual transactions. It shares advertising and microtransaction revenue with creators, who retain full rights to their IP.

Terms of the transaction, which is expected to close on August 1, weren’t disclosed. Kongregate will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of GameStop, maintaining its current offices in San Francisco, California with the company remaining under the leadership of co-founders Jim and Emily Greer.

GameStop said that acquiring Kongregate strengthens “its commitment to become the gaming aggregator of choice”.

CEO J. Paul Raines said: "Kongregate advances GameStop's digital strategy by providing a gaming platform for casual, mobile and browser games that can be promoted and played by our existing gamers."

GameStop president Tony Bartel added: "Combining Kongregate's expansive catalogue of games with our well known consumer brand, powerful marketing and strong customer relationships, means that even more gamers will be able to enjoy their games anytime, anywhere and on any device."

Kongregate co-founder Jim Greer offered: "To date, our company's unique DNA has given more than 8,500 game developers the tools to make their games social, reach a huge audience and make money from over 30,000 innovative games… Our community will only be enhanced with GameStop's close relationship with millions of passionate gamers."