Free beta launches today, with additional features to sit behind paywall after full launch

Image credit: MobyGames

Atari-owned industry database MobyGames has launched a new suite of tools for industry professionals, including rich profiles for people to record and share their career progress and achievements, and access to "personalized Job postings, insights and industry tracking." The service launches today as a free beta, with certain features to be paywalled at final launch.

The firm said the launch was motivated by the shortcomings of other professional networks that "don't cater to the nuances of working in gaming," and jobs boards that "don't capture the network and personalized intelligence that actually drives how careers move in this industry."

At launch, users can verify their identity and update their profile on the site to add more detail on their different roles and the titles on which they are credited. This service will remain free to use. The site describes it as enabling users to "provide your own context to what your work entailed," with examples including "which art assets you created, how you supported distribution, or which characters you voiced." Users can also specify which company they worked with for each credit.

A new "professional" tier adds the ability to "visualise their gaming network and connections," "see game launch and media coverage updates from their professional network," and "access personalized Job postings, insights and industry tracking, including recommendations, compensation ranges, connections working at target companies, and more."

Reece Denzel | Image credit: MobyGames

The Professional tier will be free for the beta period, which is expected to run until August, and be $14.99 a month (or $11.99 a month with an annual subscription) after full release, Product Manager Reece Denzel tells GamesIndustry.biz. The firm will "actively solicit feedback" from users during the beta period.

The site already offered paid "plus" tiers offering additional data access, which it describes as targeting hobbyists. That service was rebranded from MobyPro in December last year.

The service resembles IMDBPro, the professional tier of the long-established and now Amazon-owned movie database, but Denzel says that while MobyGames looked at IMDBPro as an inspiration "we are building features from the ground up to target the specific needs of those working in games."

"The information we track is very games-specific, and we are going beyond just being a directory. Our updates on jobs, game releases, and market trends provide a dynamic environment that delivers more value for games industry professionals than IMDbPro can," he says.

In a press release, the firm described MobyGames as "the most complete, structured record of game development credits in existence," claiming that it includes data on more than 350,000 games and add-ons, 1.3 million individuals, and 50,000 companies.

“Ask any games professional what platform they use to manage their career, and you'll hear the same frustrations — existing solutions were not designed for this industry," said Andreas Deptolla, President of Atari Europe. "MobyGames has documented game credits with more depth and accuracy than anyone else for decades. Combining that foundation with a purpose-built professional network was simply the obvious thing to do."

Atari acquired MobyGames in 2022 for $1.5 million from retro hardware manufacturer Antstream. The site was launched in 1999 and was purchased by game rental service GameFly in 2010, prompting an unpopular redesign which was rolled back after the site was purchased by design firm Blue Flame Labs in 2013, in collaboration with then-overseer of GDC Simon Carless..

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