GameFly

GameFly is a privately held American online video game rental subscription service that specializes in providing games for game consoles and handheld game consoles such as: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, GameCube, Xbox, Wii U, PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance, DS, 3DS, PSP, and PlayStation Vita.

GameFly, Inc.
Private
Industryvideo game industry 
FoundedApril 15, 2002 (2002-04-15)
FoundersSean Spector (Co-Founder)
Jung Suh (Co-Founder)
HeadquartersLos Angeles, California, U.S.
Key people
  • Jeff Walker (CEO)
  • Tim Hinsley (President)
  • Chris Anderson (VP of Product)
Websitegamefly.com

The business model of GameFly is similar to the DVD-by-mail subscription service Netflix and Blockbuster online. In 2009 GameFly sued the U.S. Postal Service alleging the favoring of Netflix and Blockbuster by sorting their DVDs at no charge.[1] GameFly sends games to subscribers for a monthly fee. Over 8,000 titles are available.

In May 2018, Electronic Arts announced that they acquired cloud gaming technology assets and personnel from GameFly (including its Israeli outpost).[2]

History

In May 2002, Sean Spector and Jung Suh partnered with founding CEO Toby Lenk to start GameFly. GameFly later received venture capital funding from Sequoia Capital.[3] In February 2009, GameFly acquired the gaming news and community site Shacknews, along with its download and streaming video sites.[4] It was reported in February 2011 that GameFly had acquired MobyGames.[5] Despite filing plans in February 2010 for an initial public offering, GameFly remains a privately owned company as of 2017.[6] GameFly shut down the streaming service on August 31, 2018.

Purchase of Direct2Drive

In 2011, Gamefly announced that they had acquired Direct2Drive, an online distribution service previously owned by IGN. Direct2Drive later merged with GameFly; subscribers that had both D2D and GameFly accounts were migrated to a single account.

Shortly after the merger, GameFly introduced a new "GameFly Client", which combined the services previously offered by Direct2Drive and GameFly individually; the client came out of beta on November 8, 2012, and allows direct download and installation of PC games, as well as the rental of games without visiting the GameFly website itself.

As of April 2014, GameFly has since sold Direct2Drive to AtGames.[7]

gollark: Well, no, not really.
gollark: Or PinePhone Pro, even.
gollark: PinePhone + keyboard cover?
gollark: https://store.planetcom.co.uk/products/cosmo-communicator although it is *apiously* expensive.
gollark: Gemini PDAs and such?

References
  1. Postal Service must stop favoring Netflix DVDs over GameFly ones, says appeals court
  2. Musil, Steven. "EA acquires GameFly subsidiary's cloud technology assets". CNET. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
  3. "Gamefly - How it works".
  4. Morris, Chris (February 4, 2009). "GameFly 'Shacks' Up". Forbes. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
  5. Kyle Orland (2011-02-07). "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
  6. Matt Krantz (2013-04-10). "Ask Matt: Did GameFly ever go public?". USA Today. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
  7. Nutt, Christian. "Direct2Drive is back under new owner: GameFly Digital is no more". Retrieved 2017-04-05.
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