Current Events > The future of the Fandom business model - 2023 Interview with Fandom

(+) Yeah! (+)

Shamelessly stolen from 313...

If you are interested in this subject, you can read an August 2023 interview with the CEO of Fandom (parent company of GameFAQS) here:
https://www.theverge.com/23841327/fandom-wikia-perkins-miller-ads-ai-community-passion
If you listen to the podcast (also on the page) there's a bit more info vs the article.

As most of us know, their business model is based on monetising user-generated content provided by online communities which operate on their websites. This monetisation is largely through advertising and sponsorships.

On to GameFAQS. Originally the site was a place for people to share and consume game guides and cheats. However for many years already I think it's safe to assume that the vast majority of gamers looking for gaming guides now go to YouTube. It's easier and more entertaining to watch a video guide than to read a text FAQ while being bombarded by adverts. The exception might be retro games, where GameFAQS is possibly still the best destination.

Now if you are someone who is into writing or creating gaming guides do you:

• a) Provide it for free to Fandom/GameFAQS
• b) Provide to YouTube or another revenue-sharing platform with the hope of revenue share?

Interestingly SBAllen made a statement regarding revenue sharing and GameFAQS (7 years ago). You can read that here:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/2000094-gamefaqs-contributors-faqs-and-guides/74098567
tldr; It was too complicated so the idea was cancelled.

I can only foresee a continued decline of GameFAQS unless there's some major strategic changes.

Sell pp gamer pills obviously

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/a/a6aaafeb.jpg

I'm going to make the entirely unsubstantiated guess that their business model here is to invest exactly zero in the site, simply milking it dry and progressively adding more and more ads to get back whatever revenue they can and run it completely dry.

Even as I type this now (on my work computer, so no adblock) there are no less than 3 ads on screen. One is a video pop up taking up about 15% of the screen. To say it's obnoxious is an understatement, but I know that they are simply thinking about how they can take up even more of the screen real estate with this crap.