Kongregate

Kongregate is an American web gaming portal and publisher of mobile, computer and console games. Their site features over 120,000 online games and they've released more than 30 mobile titles. They were purchased by GameStop in 2010 then by Modern Times Group in 2017."GameStop Announces Agreement to Acquire Kongregate Inc". BusinessWire. July 27, 2010.
The site focuses on mid-core games spanning a wide range of genres. They're the home of several idle/clicker games, including AdVenture Capitalist, Crusaders of the Lost Idols and Anti-Idle: The Game.
Members could formerly upload Flash, HTML 5, JavaScript, Shockwave, Java or Unity games to the web portal with integrated high scores and achievement badges."New site aims to be the YouTube of gaming". Reuters. March 22, 2007."Kongregate: Your Gatorade For Flash Games". Solution Watch. December 20, 2006. New submissions are no longer accepted as of July 2020 however."Kongregate is shifting away from Flash gaming". Polygon. July 2, 2020.
==History==
Kongregate was launched in October 2006 by siblings Emily and Jim Greer into an alpha testing phase, which lasted until December."Gamers asking for Kongregate!". Jim on Web Games. September 1, 2006. During this time players and developers tested the site's interface and functionality before it formally opened to the public. The site then entered beta testing in early 2007."Kongregate Announces Funding, Launches". Mashable. March 22, 2007."Kongregate, the online social game hub". VentureBeat. March 21, 2007. By mid-2008 Kongregate had raised around $9 million in capital from investors Reid Hoffman, Jeff Clavier, Jeff Bezos and Greylock Partners."Kongregate Gets $3 Million From Bezos: Growing Fast and About To Unleash Its Games on Facebook". TechCrunch. April 30, 2008.
GameStop announced an agreement to acquire Kongregate in July 2010. As a result developers working through Kongregate could have their games promoted to shoppers at GameStop stores. 
The site revealed a $10 million fund devoted to mobile gaming in 2013."Kongregate launches $10M mobile games fund". Mobile World Live. February 4, 2013. The new program was led by former Zynga executive Pany Haritatos. "Kongpanions" were introduced in 2014, which act as a trophy system and metagame in the form of small animals or personified objects. The Kongpanions players collect can then be used in some of the site's games.
Kongregate disclosed plans in 2016 to help developers bring their games to Steam in the form of an updated development kit, enabling otherwise normally free-to-play games to take advantage of microtransactions."Kongregate expands to Steam, "exploring opportunities" in premium". gamesindustry.biz. October 28, 2016. The company's BattleHand and The Trail received Apple Editors' Choice awards that same year, along with Google Play Editors' Choice awards for Animation Throwdown and AdVenture Capitalist."Here are Apple's Best Apps and Games of 2016". AppAdvice. December 7, 2016. Both pairs of games also won best of 2016 awards from their respective stores."Apple reveals its best apps and games of 2016 – read the full list". TapSmart. December 8, 2016."These are the best Android games of 2016 according to Google". Nextpit. December 20, 2016.
In June 2017, Kongregate closed a deal to be acquired by the Swedish "Modern Times Group " for $55 million."MTG buys GameStop's mobile game publisher Kongregate for $55 million". VentureBeat. June 20, 2017. With the deal, focus shifted from merely hosting third-party games to driving game development as well. 
"...we’ll be deepening our investment in several areas, from marketing/marketing tech to platform engineering. We’re also going to be investing in first-party development and potential acquisitions of our own within the games space," said CEO Emily Greer.""More growth, more platforms, broader presence": Kongregate on its post-acquisition strategy". pocketgamer.biz. June 21, 2017.
Kongregate acquired Synapse Games later that year, the developer of Animation Throwdown."Kongregate acquires Animation Throwdown and Spellstone developer Synpase Games". pocketgamer.biz. October 5, 2017. Greer left the company in 2019, being replaced by COO Pany Haritatos as interim CEO."Kongregate CEO and cofounder Emily Greer is leaving the company". VentureBeat. May 2, 2019.
The site announced they would no longer accept game submissions in July 2020 as it prepared for Flash's end-of-life. Other features like the forums and chatrooms were also halted so they could focus more on game development."Important Kongregate Announcement". Kongregate. July 1, 2020.
==Kartridge==
Kongregate opened Kartridge in 2018, a digital storefront focusing on independent games."Kongregate's new games store Kartridge is open for business". Rock Paper Shotgun. November 1, 2018. It's available in-browser or via a desktop app and features premium paid titles as well as free browser-based ones."Kongregate's digital storefront Kartridge is now open for everyone". PC Gamer. November 1, 2018.
Unlike other storefronts such as Steam, Kartridge is heavily curated. The company hopes this will help spotlight quality titles and address discoverability issues indie games commonly face."Kartridge is a curated game store, now with more Indie Megabooth". Engadget. December 13, 2018.
Link: https://kartridge.com
==Jiggmin==
Jiggmin was an early supporter of Kongregate, joining during the site's beta in December 2006."Jiggmin's profile on Kongregate" He soon made it his primary posting site and Kongregate made him their featured developer during the summer of 2007."Featured Developer - Jiggmin". Kongregate. June 14, 2007.
He created Kongregate Racing and Competitive Line Waiting exclusively for the service. Kongregate sponsored Platform Racing 2 and received an exclusive hat and set in the game. They also offered to fund The Realm of Eamon before it was eventually shelved."Hiring an animator". Brackenwood. June 20, 2007.
===Games on Kongregate===
*Uber Pool (under dragongamez's account)
*The Game of Disorientation
*Click Upon Dots
*Beat Master 3000
*Uber Breakout II
*Rolley-Ball
*Kongregate Racing
*Platform Racing
*Uber Space Shooter
*Volly-Bounce
*Evenator
*Platform Racing 2
*Neverending Light
*Effing Hail (under aeiowu's account)
*Competitive Line Waiting
*Effing Meteors
*Creation
*War of the Web
== References ==
Category:Websites