TouchArcade is closing

This is a post I’ve known about for some time, but that doesn’t make it any easier to write down. After over 16 years, TouchArcade will likely be closing its doors and going out of business. There could also be an extra post here and there in the approaching weeks as we attempt to honor any previously agreed-upon commitments and likewise prepare a correct farewell post, but for now, our normal day-to-day operations have ceased. The reason we’re closing is probably not surprising: Money.

Many of you who’ve been following TouchArcade for some time are well aware that we now have struggled financially for a few years, and truthfully, I believe it is a miracle that we now have managed to survive this long. The truth is that a web site like ours simply doesn’t generate profits anymore. To our own detriment, we now have resisted things like obnoxious, intrusive ads, blatant clickbait headlines, or ethically questionable sponsorships, that are unfortunately the sorts of things that also generate profits on the web today.

There are many other reasons which have contributed to us getting so far, but I’d reasonably not go into details now. TouchArcade has been an establishment for tens of millions of individuals for the past 16 years, and I’ve been working full time for the past 14+ years. A solid third of my life. In some ways, it’s like one in all my children, and it is very hard to say goodbye to it. I’d really reasonably deal with all the good times we have had, than dwell on the things we will not change.

Also, as a person with a wife and two young children, a mortgage and all that adult fun, this is the tip of my life, and despite the fact that they’re technically “freelancers”, so are the opposite two individuals who were at the center of TouchArcade, Shaun Musgrave and Mikhail Madnani. Which brings me to my next point…

HIRE US!

The job market isn’t great anywhere, and finding a brand new job is tough, especially within the gaming industry. If you’re reading this and wish some very capable gaming industry veterans like us, please reach out to us.

Jared Nelson – That’s me! Of course, I actually have over 14 years of experience working in the course of the mobile gaming boom at TouchArcade. Writing, editing, managing staff, traveling to conventions. I’ve done all of it. I even have a reasonably diverse work history prior to TouchArcade, including management positions, which I believe gives me a extremely well-rounded skill set. You can reach me at LinkedIn or via email at jared (at) toucharcade (dot) com.

Shaun Musgrave – Shaun has been with TouchArcade for somewhat over 11 years, but has been in skilled gaming media for over 25 years. He is by far one of the crucial talented writers I actually have ever met, and if we wanted a review of an enormous, necessary game and needed it on very tight deadlines, Shaun was at all times reliable. He also uses his vast, almost uncanny knowledge of video game history to seek out interesting angles to write down about games that only he could find. Shaun lives in Japan and is fluent in each Japanese and English, which also makes him an important candidate for localization work. Contact him at muzkind (at) hotmail (dot) com.

Mikhail Madnani – As a member of TouchArcade for over 7 years, Mikhail is the workhorse of our team. Publishing most of what you see every day, our website wouldn’t have been capable of run for so long as it has without Mikhail’s contributions. An expert at sniffing out interesting news and publishing it in a timely manner, but additionally capable of create huge features like in-depth interviews and multiplatform reviews. His header images stuffed with coffee are also legendary. If you wish someone who can reliably and consistently publish video game related content, I can’t recommend Mikhail enough. Contact him at hello (at) failgunner (dot) com.

What will occur now?

If there’s a silver lining to all of this, it’s that for the foreseeable future, all the content ever published on TouchArcade will remain online and accessible to everyone. Over 33,000 articles published, including over 4,000 game reviews, not to say all of our annual Best Of content and Game of the Year picks. Hopefully, all of this content will continue to exist in the long run for reference and to easily look back on and see how drastically the mobile gaming landscape has modified over the past decade and a half.

We hope to proceed our podcast, The TouchArcade Show, which recently celebrated its 600th (!) episode. A number of co-hosts have come and gone over the course of the podcast (shout out to Brand and Mike!), but Eli Hodapp and I actually have been a relentless presence on the show because the starting, and it’s truthfully crazy that we’ve spent over 13 years of our lives putting out an hour-long podcast (almost) every week.

So it’s possible you’ll be wondering, our Patreon. Our Patreon support has been by far the most important contributor to TouchArcade’s existence since we launched in June 2015, almost a decade ago. Our thoughts are to redirect Patreon donations to support the podcast, and possibly the occasional post or special feature written by the team here. Maybe a random “SwitchArcade” or a review of a very high-profile mobile game launch. Maybe we could even squeeze in a Game of the Year this yr? It’s only a germ of an idea for now, but it surely can be pretty cool to see TouchArcade continue to exist, even on this small way.

Regardless of how this ends, I will likely be clearly changing the wording of our Patreon to state that it is not about supporting the web site, and if people determine to stop donating, that is completely comprehensible. If persons are giving us money every month, I need to be completely transparent about where it is going. Either way, search for more news on this in the approaching weeks, and on the very least be certain you follow us as a free member on our Patreon to not sleep thus far. If you’ve gotten any questions or concerns, you possibly can contact me at suggestions (at) toucharcade (dot) com or leave a comment below.

Well, I believe that is it. Speaking on behalf of all of us who’ve helped run TouchArcade over the past 16 years—from co-founders Arnold Kim and Blake Patterson to our first full-time worker and future editor-in-chief Eli Hodappa, and the handfuls of other writers and freelancers who’ve helped make TouchArcade what it is—we just wish to sincerely thanks for reading our site, listening to our podcast, or attending one in all our events. It was an absolute pleasure to have such a beautiful audience that appreciated what we did, and we’ll all be ceaselessly grateful for the time we got to spend together.