Joystiq
| Company type | Blog |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video game journalism |
| Founded | 2004 |
| Founder | Peter Rojas |
| Defunct | 2015-02-03 |
| Fate | Closed, content merged into Engadget Gaming |
| Successor | Engadget Gaming, Massively Overpowered (from staff spin-off) |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Chris Grant (former editor-in-chief), Ludwig Kietzmann (final editor-in-chief), Justin McElroy (reviews editor), Griffin McElroy (weekend editor) |
| Parent | Weblogs, Inc., later AOL |
| Website | joystiq |
Joystiq was a video gaming blog that operated under the Weblogs, Inc. umbrella and was later acquired by AOL. Running from 2004 until 2015, it functioned as the primary gaming blog within the network alongside Engadget and related sites such as Massively. Beginning in 2007, it produced The Joystiq Podcast, hosted by editor-in-chief Chris Grant, reviews editor Justin McElroy, and Ludwig Kietzmann, with Justin’s brother Griffin McElroy serving as weekend editor. Although the original podcast concluded in 2011, various spin-off shows persisted in different formats.
In 2012, Grant and the McElroy brothers departed to establish the gaming platform Polygon, with Kietzmann stepping up as editor-in-chief at Joystiq. After experiencing a decline in audience numbers, AOL decided to close Joystiq on February 3, 2015. Its URL now redirects visitors to Engadget Gaming, which hosts a significant portion of its archived articles. Meanwhile, the team behind Massively branched off during this transition to create Massively Overpowered.
Zackheim era (2004-2005)
During the early 2000s, the blog network Weblogs, Inc. sought to broaden its coverage of video games. Recognizing that gaming topics were too extensive for their flagship site Engadget, founder Peter Rojas initiated the launch of Joystiq in April 2004, with an official public announcement on June 16. Positioned as a more focused alternative to larger corporate gaming sites like Kotaku, Joystiq aimed to serve a distinct segment within gaming journalism.
In June 2005, senior editor Ben Zackheim resigned after accepting a position at AOL's Games division due to a conflict of interest. Vladimir Cole was appointed as his replacement.
Cole era (2005-2007)
Following Weblogs' acquisition by AOL in October 2005, Joystiq underwent significant expansion by launching several console-specific blogs.
The initial offshoot, Xbox 360 Fanboy, was introduced in November 2005 to coincide with the North American release of the Xbox 360. This expansion was supported by new team members including Jennie Lees, Blake Snow, and Chris Grant. Additional launches followed: PSP Fanboy on November 28, WoW Insider on December 6, and DS Fanboy on December 12. Early 2006 saw the addition of Revolution Fanboy (later renamed Nintendo Wii Fanboy) and PS3 Fanboy, completing coverage of next-generation consoles through dedicated blogs. Although some critics viewed this segmentation unfavorably, Jason Calacanis defended it as a necessary approach for targeting specific market niches.
On January 26, 2006, Joystiq introduced the term "DS phat" to differentiate the original Nintendo DS model from the slimmer DS Lite, a phrase that remained informally used for several years.
Grant era (2007-2012)
Chris Grant took over as editor-in-chief in 2007 when Cole moved on to work within Microsoft’s Xbox division. Grant also co-hosted The Joystiq Podcast, a weekly show covering video game news and culture alongside Ludwig Kietzmann and Justin McElroy, which continued to be a central feature throughout Joystiq’s lifespan. That year also marked the debut of Massively, a new blog focusing on massively multiplayer online games beyond just World of Warcraft, expanding upon the content previously covered by WoW Insider.
Starting in 2009, Joystiq began consolidating its spin-off blogs. The "Fanboy" sites were rebranded and merged into main site sections: DS and Wii Fanboy became Joystiq Nintendo, PSP and PS3 Fanboy combined into Joystiq PlayStation, and Xbox 360 Fanboy was renamed Joystiq Xbox. These specialized sections remained active until June 2010 when the “Futurestiq” redesign integrated all content back into the primary Joystiq site, with their respective staff members transitioning to full-time roles within the main editorial team.
Kietzmann Period (2012-2015)
Ludwig Kietzmann assumed the role of editor-in-chief in January 2012, succeeding Chris Grant who departed to co-found the video game news platform Polygon under Vox Media. In April of that year, The Joystiq Show was discontinued and replaced by the more informal Super Joystiq Podcast, which revived the original podcast format.
By January 2015, AOL announced plans to close content sites that were underperforming in order to concentrate on more profitable assets and advertising revenue. Reports suggested that due to a readership decline of at least 18% over the previous year, Joystiq was likely to be shut down. On January 30, 2015, the staff confirmed that Joystiq, along with its sister sites Massively, WoW Insider, and fellow AOL property TUAW, would cease operations following February 3. Coverage of gaming topics was integrated into Engadget. This shutdown sparked significant reflection within the industry, with outlets such as Kotaku recognizing Joystiq’s substantial influence on contemporary gaming journalism.
Legacy
In 2010, shortly before the conclusion of The Joystiq Podcast, Griffin McElroy and Justin McElroy, together with their brother Travis McElroy, launched the podcast My Brother, My Brother and Me. This show rapidly garnered a large following by leveraging their existing audience from Joystiq. In 2012, Grant and the McElroy brothers left Joystiq to establish the gaming journalism site Polygon. That same year, the McElroys initiated The Besties, a video game discussion show featuring Chris Plante and Russ Frushtick from Polygon. They eventually exited journalism in 2018 to dedicate themselves full-time to podcasting. Grant remained as editor-in-chief at Polygon until 2019 and currently serves as its publisher.
On February 10, 2015, former columnists from Joystiq's Massively launched Massively Overpowered, a website devoted exclusively to MMO coverage that continues to operate as of 2025.
Ludwig Kietzmann briefly held the position of U.S. Editor-in-Chief at GamesRadar+ before retiring from journalism in 2016 to take on the role of editing director at Assembly Media.
Editors
The final editorial team at Joystiq included Ludwig Kietzmann as editor-in-chief, Susan Arendt as managing editor, Xav de Matos directing feature content, Richard Mitchell overseeing reviews content, Alexander Sliwinski leading news content, senior reporter Jess Conditt, and contributing editors Sinan Kubba, Danny Cowan, Mike Suszek, and Earnest Cavalli. Weekend editorial duties were managed by Thomas Schulenberg and Sam Prell, while Anthony John Agnello served as community manager.
Earlier staff members comprised editor-in-chief Chris Grant; managing editor James Ransom-Wiley; features editor Kevin Kelly; reviews editor Justin McElroy; editors Griffin McElroy, J.C. Fletcher, Mike Schramm; East Coast Editor Andrew Yoon; and West Coast Editor Randy Nelson.
The Joystiq Podcast (2007-2011)
Debuting in 2007, The Joystiq Podcast was hosted by Chris Grant, Ludwig Kietzmann, and Justin McElroy. This weekly program covered gaming news through segments such as 'What Have You Been Playing?', 'Brush With Fame', and 'The Big Three'. The podcast featured guests from within the industry including CheapyD, Chris Remo, and Stephen Totilo. Griffin McElroy and their father Clint McElroy occasionally appeared as well. Special episodes were produced for events like the Game Developers Conference (GDC).
In 2008, fans created the Facebook group Joystiq Podcast Appreciation Group (JPAG), which was frequently mentioned during episodes. Starting in 2009, the show adopted "Gravity (Don't Let Me Go)" by Jon Black as its theme song—a track inspired by the Halo series. Jon Black himself was interviewed on episode 99.
The podcast ended in 2011 with its final episode livestreamed on May 12 and released on May 13. A holiday special aired later that year. After Joystiq’s closure in 2015, these episodes were not hosted on Engadget but remain publicly available through an archived collection on the Internet Archive.
The Joystiq Show (2011-2012)
Launched in June 2011 as a more serious podcast format, The Joystiq Show offered an in-depth exploration of titles such as Duke Nukem Forever, which included an interview with voice actor Jon St. John and a review panel discussion. As time progressed, its format evolved toward more spontaneous conversations while maintaining topical relevance. The original fan group JPAG continued independently after the cancellation of The Joystiq Podcast, moving to a new website and not recognizing the introduction of The Joystiq Show.
Super Joystiq Podcast (2012-2015)
Introduced at Joystiq’s PAX East panel in 2012 and premiering on May 4 that year, the Super Joystiq Podcast featured rotating participation from all editors across segments such as introductions, news updates, previews, and a recurring segment called "Joystiq Research Institute." This approach sought to revive the original podcast’s focus on industry-centric discussions. Its final episode aired on January 16, 2015, shortly before the website’s shutdown.
Awards
In 2005, Joystiq was ranked #19 in the Feedster 500 list. Two years later in 2007, it earned recognition from Forbes.com as part of their Best of the Web selections.
See also
External links
- Archived Joystiq website (Wayback Machine snapshot)