Even though I’ve known this post was coming for a while, writing it is still difficult. TouchArcade will be closing its doors and ceasing operations after more than 16 years. As of right now, our regular daily activities have stopped, though there might be a few more posts in the upcoming weeks as we attempt to fulfil any already committed duties. A fitting farewell post is also in the works. Money is certainly the most obvious cause for our closure.
As many of you who have been TouchArcade’s long-time fans are aware, we’ve been struggling financially for a number of years. To be honest, I consider it a miracle that we’ve survived this long. In actuality, a website such as ours simply no longer generates revenue. To our own cost, we have rejected things like blatant, in-your-face advertising, outrageous clickbait headlines, or unethical sponsorships—things that, regrettably, are nonetheless profitable on today’s internet.
We have arrived at this place for a variety of other reasons, but I would prefer not to discuss them all at this time. I have worked at TouchArcade full-time for the past 14+ years, and it has been an institution for millions of people over the previous 16 years. a good one-third of my existence. It is incredibly difficult to say goodbye to something that is like one of my children in many respects. I would much rather remember all of the wonderful moments we shared than obsess about the things we cannot alter.
In addition, even though Shaun Musgrave and Mikhail Madnani, the other two individuals who have been the backbone of TouchArcade, are technically “freelancers,” this is the end of my livelihood as a man with a wife, two young children, a mortgage, and all that other fun adult stuff. And that leads me to my next point.
PLEASE HIRE US!
Finding new employment is difficult everywhere, but it’s particularly difficult in the video game industry. Please get in touch if you’re reading this and require highly qualified veterans of the game business like us.
Jared Nelson That’s who I am! Naturally, I have almost 14 years of experience working at TouchArcade, smack in the middle of the mobile gaming explosion. writing, editing, staff management, and convention travel. I’ve done almost everything. In addition, I have a somewhat diverse employment background prior to TouchArcade, including managerial positions, which I believe contributes to my well-rounded skill set. I may be reached by email at jared [at] toucharcade [dot] com or on LinkedIn.
Shaun Musgrave – Shaun has been in professional games media for more than 25 years, but he has been with TouchArcade for just over 11 of those years. Shaun is without a doubt one of the most talented writers I have ever met, and he was always dependable whenever we required a review for a significant game with a short turnaround time. Additionally, he finds intriguing writing perspectives for games that only he could discover by drawing on his extensive, almost uncanny knowledge of video game history. Shaun is an excellent candidate for localisation work because he resides in Japan and speaks English and Japanese fluently. His email address is muzkind [at] hotmail [dot] com.
Mikhail Madnani – Mikhail has been the mainstay of our team for almost 7 years at TouchArcade. Without Mikhail’s contributions, our website could not have lasted this long, posting the majority of what you would see on a daily basis. a master at identifying compelling news items and promptly publishing them, as well as capable of assembling massive features like in-depth interviews and reviews across several platforms. He is also famous for his coffee-soaked banner photos. I couldn’t say enough good things about Mikhail if you’re looking for someone who can consistently and reliably post articles about video games. You can contact him at hello [at] failgunner [dot] com in the future.
So What Happens Now?
If there is a bright side to all of this, it is that all of the content that has ever been uploaded to TouchArcade will be available online for everyone to view for the foreseeable future. In addition to all of our annual Best Of content and Game of the Year selections, we have over 33,000 published articles, including over 4,000 game reviews. For reference purposes and simply to observe how significantly the mobile gaming landscape has altered over the past ten and a half years, these should all hopefully continue to exist into the future.
Additionally, we hope to continue with The TouchArcade Show, our podcast, which recently achieved its 600th episode. Throughout the program, a few co-hosts have appeared and disappeared (kudos to Brand and Mike!). However, Eli Hodapp and I have been a regular on the show since the start, and it’s incredible that we have both dedicated more than 13 years of our lives to producing hour-long podcasts almost every week.
In connection with that, you might be curious about our Patreon. Since we started TouchArcade in June 2015, about ten years ago, the most significant factor in its survival has been the support from our Patreon. We intend to redirect Patreon contributions to support the podcast and possibly sporadic posts or unique features authored by this staff.
Maybe a review on a particularly well-known mobile game launch or a random “SwitchArcade.” Perhaps this year we could even fit in a Game of the Year award? Although it’s only a modest idea at this point, it would be awesome to see TouchArcade survive even in that limited capacity.
In any event, I will clearly amend our Patreon’s language to clarify that it is no longer about sustaining the website and that it is completely acceptable for users to cease contributing. If someone donates money to us on a regular basis, I want to be completely open about what it will be used for. In any case, stay tuned for additional updates on this in the upcoming weeks, and don’t forget to subscribe as a free member on our Patreon to stay updated. Additionally, feel free to contact me at tips [at] toucharcade [dot] com or by leaving a comment below if you have any issues or concerns.
Well, I believe that’s about it. We would like to express our gratitude to everyone who has helped us run TouchArcade over the past 16 years, from the co-founders Arnold Kim and Blake Patterson to Eli Hodapp, our first full-time employee and future Editor in Chief, and the dozens of other writers and freelancers who have contributed to the success of TouchArcade.
Thank you for ever visiting our website, listening to our podcast, or attending one of our events. We will all always be thankful for the time we were able to spend together, and it has been a true pleasure to have such a fantastic audience that truly valued what we did.