GameFAQs turned 30 years old on November 5, 2025, and if you’ve ever been stuck on a video game puzzle at 2 AM frantically searching for help, you probably owe this website a thank you. For three decades, GameFAQs has been the internet’s definitive source for walkthroughs, strategy guides, and answers to questions like “where is the third key in Water Temple” or “how do I beat the final boss without dying 47 times.” What started as a simple archive on America Online with about 100 FAQs has grown into a massive database covering everything from Atari 2600 classics to whatever dropped on Steam yesterday.
The Humble Beginnings
Jeff Veasey launched the Video Game FAQ Archive on November 5, 1995, hosted on America Online. The internet was a very different place back then. Google wouldn’t exist for another three years. If you wanted gaming help, you had to know where to look, and information was scattered across FTP servers, random personal websites, and Usenet groups. Veasey’s genius was recognizing that someone needed to gather all this knowledge into one centralized location.
The initial site had approximately 10 pages and 100 FAQs, mostly mirrored from Andy Eddy’s FTP FAQ archive. By 1996, the site moved to its own domain at gamefaqs.com and officially became GameFAQs. At that point it listed fewer than 1,000 guides and was updated irregularly whenever Veasey found time. Two different site designs were introduced in early 1997 to accommodate browsers that supported tables and those that didn’t, because yes, web browsers in 1997 were that primitive.
Why Plain Text Guides Still Matter
In 2025, when you can find YouTube video guides for basically any game within hours of release, GameFAQs’ plain-text format might seem outdated. But there’s something beautiful about a well-formatted text walkthrough that video can never replicate. You can search it instantly with Control-F. You can read it at your own pace. You don’t need to scrub through a 45-minute video looking for the one section you need. And most importantly, text guides load instantly even on terrible connections.
The ASCII art maps created by dedicated contributors are works of functional art. Someone spent hours making sure every wall, every enemy placement, every treasure chest is represented with letters and symbols in perfect alignment. These maps have guided millions of players through dungeons in Final Fantasy, towns in Pokemon, and fortresses in Metal Gear Solid. They work just as well today as they did in 1998.
The Legendary Contributors
GameFAQs isn’t successful because of sophisticated technology or venture capital funding. It succeeded because thousands of passionate gamers donated their time to write comprehensive guides for games they loved. Contributors like Muni Shinobu, who wrote over 100 guides covering RPG classics. Or split infinity, whose Pokemon guides became the gold standard for an entire generation. These people didn’t get paid. They wrote guides because they wanted to help other players and be part of something bigger.
To celebrate the 30th anniversary, GameFAQs featured interviews with several hardworking contributors who have been keeping the site alive for decades. The contributor recognition pages, implemented in 1997, gave these writers the credit they deserved. Every guide shows the author’s name prominently, and contributors can build reputations and karma scores based on their contributions. It’s community-driven content creation that predates Wikipedia, YouTube, and basically every modern platform we take for granted.
The Message Board Culture
Beyond the guides, GameFAQs developed one of the most active gaming forum communities on the internet. Each game in the database gets its own dedicated message board, along with broader discussion boards covering systems, genres, and random off-topic conversations. The GameFAQs boards have their own culture, inside jokes, and legendary threads that get referenced years later.
The annual Character Battles, which started on November 30, 1999, became a beloved tradition where users vote on matchups between gaming characters in bracket-style tournaments. These contests generated intense debates, strategic voting campaigns, and passionate arguments about whether Cloud Strife could beat Link in a popularity contest. The daily opinion polls asking random gaming questions have been running for over 25 years, creating a fascinating longitudinal dataset of gaming preferences and opinions.
The Ownership Changes
GameFAQs maintained its independence for over a decade before CNET Networks acquired it in 2003, integrating it with GameSpot. The domain eventually changed from gamefaqs.com to gamefaqs.gamespot.com in 2018, though the original URL redirects automatically. More recently, Fandom Inc. acquired GameFAQs in October 2022, marking another shift in corporate ownership.
Through all these acquisitions, the core mission remained remarkably consistent. New owners understood that GameFAQs worked because of its community, not despite it. Allen Tyner, known as SBAllen, served as lead Admin for twenty years before stepping down on October 18, 2023. The site is currently run by Community Manager DToast and Contributor Lead ZoopSoul, continuing the tradition of dedicated leadership that respects what makes GameFAQs special.
How It Compares to Modern Alternatives
Wikipedia has gaming content but focuses on encyclopedic information rather than strategic help. YouTube offers video walkthroughs but requires watching through content sequentially. Reddit has gaming communities but discussions get buried quickly. IGN and other gaming sites publish professional guides but can’t match the comprehensive coverage of volunteer contributors writing about niche titles nobody else bothers with.
GameFAQs fills a unique niche that no other platform replicates. If you’re playing a Japanese import that never got an official English release, someone on GameFAQs probably wrote a translation guide. If you’re trying to find every hidden item in an obscure PS2 RPG from 2004, there’s a GameFAQs guide for that. The site covers everything from mainstream blockbusters to forgotten handheld games that sold 10,000 copies.
The Mobile and Modern Era
GameFAQs has adapted to changing technology while maintaining its core identity. The site works on mobile browsers, though the experience isn’t always optimal. The database has expanded to include mobile games, acknowledging that smartphone gaming is now a massive part of the industry. Game saves, screenshots, box art images, and reviews complement the traditional FAQ and walkthrough content.
The site still gets regular traffic despite competition from newer platforms. According to 2009 data, GameFAQs was one of the 300 highest-trafficked English-language websites. While precise current numbers aren’t publicly available, the active message boards and steady stream of new guide submissions suggest the community remains healthy. Major publications like The Guardian, Entertainment Weekly, and The Canadian Press have positively reviewed the site over the years.
What Happens Next
Looking forward, GameFAQs faces challenges that didn’t exist in 1995. AI-generated content could theoretically flood the site with low-quality guides. Younger gamers may prefer Discord communities or short-form video content over reading lengthy text documents. The decline of traditional gaming forums across the internet suggests changing preferences in how people discuss games online.
However, GameFAQs has survived three decades by being useful rather than trendy. As long as people play video games and occasionally need help, there will be value in having comprehensive, searchable, text-based guides. The archive of content covering 30 years of gaming history is irreplaceable. Even if no new guides were added tomorrow, GameFAQs would remain valuable just as a historical record of gaming culture.
FAQs
When was GameFAQs founded?
GameFAQs was founded on November 5, 1995, by Jeff Veasey as the Video Game FAQ Archive, originally hosted on America Online.
Who owns GameFAQs now?
GameFAQs has been owned by Fandom Inc. since October 2022, after being previously owned by CNET Networks and integrated with GameSpot.
Are GameFAQs guides still being written?
Yes, volunteer contributors continue to write and submit new guides, walkthroughs, and FAQs covering both new releases and older games.
How many guides does GameFAQs have?
While the exact current number isn’t specified, GameFAQs started with about 100 FAQs in 1995 and has grown to host tens of thousands of guides covering multiple decades of gaming across all platforms.
Why are GameFAQs guides in plain text?
Plain text formatting allows for fast loading, easy searching with Control-F, compatibility with all devices, and accessibility for users with limited internet connections or assistive technologies.
What are GameFAQs Character Battles?
Character Battles are annual tournament-style popularity contests where users vote on matchups between video game characters in bracket format. They’ve been running since November 30, 1999.
Can anyone write a guide for GameFAQs?
Yes, GameFAQs accepts volunteer contributions from anyone willing to write quality guides following their formatting standards and submission guidelines.
Is GameFAQs free to use?
Yes, all guides, forums, and resources on GameFAQs are completely free to access without any subscription or payment required.
Who was CJayC?
CJayC was the online handle for Jeff Veasey, the founder of GameFAQs who created and ran the site from 1995 until stepping away after the CNET acquisition.
Conclusion
Thirty years is an eternity in internet time. Most websites from 1995 are long dead, preserved only in Wayback Machine archives. GameFAQs survived by staying true to its core mission: helping people enjoy video games by providing reliable, comprehensive information created by passionate community members. It’s not flashy, it’s not backed by millions in venture capital, and it hasn’t tried to become the next big social media platform. GameFAQs just keeps doing what it’s always done, and that consistency is exactly why it’s still relevant three decades later. Whether you discovered the site in 1998 looking for help with Ocarina of Time or used it last week for Elden Ring DLC secrets, GameFAQs has been there. Here’s hoping it’s still around for another 30 years, because as long as games have obscure puzzles and hidden collectibles, we’re going to need those plain-text guides written by people who care enough to help.