MobyGames - FAQ - History

History

Who is/was behind MobyGames?

The original founders of the site in 1999 were as follows: Jim Leonard owns the brain that gave birth to MobyGames and worked with the site for its first 10 years or so; Brian Hirt was MobyGames' chief code and worked on it from 1999 onwards, fading into the background in the 2010s; David Berk was the business brain behind the site and co-owner for the first few years; Rob is a long time MobyGames contributor and still a site admin.

Following a stint in the late 2000s owned by Gamefly, the site was acquired by Blue Flame Labs in late 2013, and is currently being run by Reed (coder, designer, and site owner), with help from advisor and site admin Simon Carless.

Why did the original creators make MobyGames?

Jim Leonard: "I got the idea for MobyGames several times over the last decade. Whenever I would play a game I really liked, whether it was the wonderful game design or a host of other factors, I found myself wanting to learn more about what other people though of the game, and also if there were more games like it. For particularly ingenious game designs or coding, I wanted to know more about who created it. MobyGames is the physical embodiment of those desires."

Where did all of the MobyGames database information come from?

All information entered in the database has been sourced from reliable sources - whether it be the original retail game's box, specific websites, or a host of other places. Approvers and admins check the facts on the way through so that the highest possible quality information appears on the site.

What are the latest changes to the inner workings of the site?

You can view a list of the latest features and fixes to the site by viewing our ChangeLog - and also read our site's News section for the regular Weekly Whale newsletters which detail plenty of other specifics!