Digital Foundry has officially become fully independent and launched a brand new website on November 5, 2025, marking a significant moment in gaming media history. In partnership with Hookshot Media, the channel that revolutionized how we analyze game performance and hardware has built its own digital home at digitalfoundry.net, complete with custom CMS infrastructure and decades of archived content lovingly restored. This isn’t just a rebranding exercise. It’s a statement about what authentic, independent gaming journalism looks like in an era when AI bots and SEO-optimized garbage flood every search result.
Breaking Free From IGN
Digital Foundry has amicably parted ways with IGN, the media company that owned the channel for years. The separation was described as mutual and friendly, but the implications are profound. IGN is owned by Embracer Group, a massive publishing conglomerate with fingers in nearly every gaming pie imaginable. Digital Foundry choosing independence signals a desire to maintain editorial integrity and creative control separate from corporate pressures. This move echoes a broader industry trend where specialized outlets realize they don’t need massive corporate backing to thrive if they build direct relationships with their audience.
The timing isn’t random either. Digital Foundry announces this independence just as it launches its new website, positioning the move as a fresh start rather than a desperate exit. The team clearly wanted to build something new on their own terms, controlled by the people who actually make the content rather than managed by corporate bean counters optimizing for engagement metrics.
The New Website Vision
The freshly launched digitalfoundry.net represents everything the team wanted to build for years but couldn’t under previous organizational structures. The design is clean and easy to read on any device, prioritizing user experience over ads and pop-ups that plague most gaming websites. The site features Digital Foundry’s complete archive of content, meticulously migrated from its previous home and restored to look better than ever. Decades of video game analysis, hardware reviews, and technical investigations are now housed in one place accessible to everyone.
The site uses a custom framework built on top of Hookshot Media’s infrastructure, giving Digital Foundry the technical foundation to build whatever they want without limitations imposed by corporate bloat. For longtime DF fans, this represents a culmination of years of wanting the channel to have its own proper home. The team is already aware they might encounter bugs during the public launch and has established a dedicated forum thread for reporting issues, maintaining transparency with their audience.
What Digital Foundry Won’t Do
The team was explicit about their editorial philosophy: they won’t recycle other people’s posts, they won’t use sensationalist headlines designed purely to game SEO algorithms, and they won’t maul their work in pursuit of engagement metrics. This stance puts them at odds with most of modern web media, where clickbait reigns supreme and AI-generated content floods every search result. Digital Foundry is betting that as AI continues to dominate web search results with garbage, the value of smaller, independent, and genuinely authoritative voices will become increasingly obvious to audiences seeking real information.
It’s a calculated risk. By refusing to engage in the clickbait race and SEO manipulation that most websites depend on, Digital Foundry is betting everything on trust and quality. If that bet pays off, they become a model for what independent media can achieve. If it fails, they’ll have proven that integrity doesn’t generate enough traffic to sustain operations. The team clearly believes their audience values authenticity enough to support them directly through Patreon and other means rather than through traditional advertising-dependent models.
Forums for a Community
Forums might seem anachronistic in an era of Discord, Reddit, and social media, but Digital Foundry sees value in creating a lasting, owned community space. The new digitalfoundry.net includes forums divided between general gaming and tech discussion, DF-specific feedback channels, DF Retro conversations about classic games, and off-topic spaces for whatever else comes up. In the hands of the Digital Foundry audience – which tends to be more technical and thoughtful than average gaming communities – forums could actually become valuable resources rather than the cesspool they often become.
The team is clearly attempting to recreate the better aspects of forum culture before social media fragmented communities into ephemeral conversations that disappear into algorithmic oblivion. A good forum can develop institutional knowledge and maintain conversations across years. Discord channels get lost in message history. Reddit threads get archived. Forums, when maintained properly, endure.
Supporting Through Patreon
Digital Foundry is explicitly asking supporters to join the DF Supporter Program via Patreon. All paid-tier subscribers now get an ad-free web experience on both the main site and the new forums, with higher-tier members receiving additional perks and designations. It’s direct creator support rather than relying on advertising or corporate backing. The channel recognizes this approach requires ongoing support from an audience that values their work enough to pay for it directly.
This model aligns with how Digital Foundry operates on YouTube, where they’ve never recycled other people’s stories or used sensationalist clickbait. They built an audience based on genuine expertise and authentic analysis, and they’re banking that same audience will support them financially now that they control their own destiny. It’s a transparent approach that trusts the audience to understand the business model and support it willingly.
What This Means for Gaming Media
Digital Foundry’s independence represents a potential inflection point for gaming media. If an established channel with millions of followers can successfully go independent and build a sustainable business through direct audience support, it could inspire other outlets to pursue similar paths. The gaming media landscape has been consolidating under a few massive corporations, and that consolidation has arguably made the content worse as everything gets optimized for engagement algorithms rather than genuine quality.
Digital Foundry proving that independence is viable could have outsized influence. The channel has decades of credibility, deep industry connections, and an audience that genuinely cares about its work. If anyone can make independent media work in gaming coverage, it’s them. However, most outlets don’t have these advantages, so while Digital Foundry’s success would be meaningful, it wouldn’t automatically make independence viable for everyone else.
The Content Archive
One of the most valuable aspects of the new website is the complete archive of Digital Foundry’s legacy content. Videos, articles, reviews, and analysis spanning decades have been migrated from Eurogamer and now live on the new site looking better than ever. This archive represents an incredibly valuable resource for understanding how game technology has evolved. A DF Retro video from 2015 discussing N64 graphics technology sits alongside recent analysis of PS5 Pro performance – it’s a timeline of how we’ve come to understand gaming technology.
For researchers, journalists, and gaming historians, having this archive in one accessible place is genuinely valuable. Digital Foundry has done the work to preserve their legacy rather than letting it scatter across defunct websites and dead links. That commitment to maintaining institutional history deserves recognition.
Looking Forward
Digital Foundry has outlined ambitious plans for the future beyond just launching a new website. They want to continue doing what they do best: putting games and hardware through rigorous analysis, talking to industry developers and engineers, and delivering informed opinions about gaming technology’s future. The new platform gives them the freedom to pursue stories they find interesting rather than stories that would maximize engagement metrics.
The team is also discussing whether to add PC Linux benchmarking to their analysis portfolio, recognizing growing Windows dissatisfaction among some segments of their audience. These are the kinds of decisions that independent media can make based on audience interest rather than corporate strategy.
FAQs
When did Digital Foundry become independent?
Digital Foundry officially became independent in November 2025, having amicably separated from IGN and Embracer Group.
Where is the new Digital Foundry website?
The new website is located at digitalfoundry.net, featuring a custom CMS built in partnership with Hookshot Media.
Are Digital Foundry’s videos still on YouTube?
Yes, Digital Foundry continues to post content on YouTube. The new website complements the YouTube channel but doesn’t replace it.
How can I support Digital Foundry?
You can support Digital Foundry through the DF Supporter Program on Patreon, which provides ad-free browsing and forum perks.
Will Digital Foundry still do reviews and analysis?
Yes, the core mission remains unchanged: rigorous game and hardware analysis, industry interviews, and informed opinions on gaming technology.
What’s included in Digital Foundry’s archive?
Decades of legacy content from previous websites, including reviews, technical analysis, DF Retro videos, and historical coverage of gaming technology.
Does the new website have forums?
Yes, the site includes forums divided into gaming/tech discussion, DF feedback, DF Retro conversations, and off-topic spaces.
Are there any bugs on the new website?
The team expects some bugs during the public launch and has established a dedicated forum thread for reporting issues.
What does the custom CMS allow Digital Foundry to do?
The custom framework gives Digital Foundry complete control over site functionality and design without limitations from corporate systems.
Is Digital Foundry affiliated with Embracer Group anymore?
No, Digital Foundry has completely separated from Embracer Group and IGN, operating as a fully independent outlet.
Conclusion
Digital Foundry’s launch of a new independent website marks more than just a technical refresh. It represents a statement about what gaming media can be when freed from corporate pressures and optimized purely for engagement. The team’s commitment to authentic analysis without clickbait, sensationalism, or SEO manipulation might seem quaint in 2025, but that’s exactly the point. As AI floods the internet with garbage content designed purely to rank in search results, the value of genuine expertise and independent voices becomes more obvious. Digital Foundry is betting that audience members who’ve watched their videos for years will support them directly, and that a clean, ad-free website with honest analysis will prove more valuable than engagement-optimized clickbait. Whether that bet pays off remains to be seen, but for gaming enthusiasts who’ve valued Digital Foundry’s work for decades, seeing them finally launch their own independent platform feels like a long-overdue homecoming. Welcome to the new Digital Foundry – may you thrive as an independent voice of authenticity in increasingly cluttered media landscape.