This is a post that I’ve known was coming for quite some time, but that doesn’t make it any easier to write. After more than 16 years TouchArcade will be closing its doors and shutting down operations. There may be an additional post here or there in the coming weeks as we try to honor any previously agreed to obligations, and a proper farewell post is in the works too, but as of now our normal daily operations have ceased. The reason we’re shutting down probably isn’t a surprising one: Money.
Many of you who have followed TouchArcade for a long time are well aware that we’ve had financial troubles for many years now, and to be frank I think it’s a miracle that we’ve been able to last as long as we have. The truth of the matter is that a website like ours just doesn’t make money anymore. To our own detriment we’ve resisted things like obnoxious in-your-face advertising, egregious clickbait headlines, or ethically questionable sponsorships, which sadly are the types of things that actually still make money in the internet of today.
There are a number of other reasons that have contributed to us reaching this point, but I’d rather not get into all that right now. TouchArcade was an institution for many millions of people over the past 16 years, and it was my full-time job for the last 14+ years. A solid third of my life. In many ways it is like one of my children, and having to say goodbye to it is very difficult to do. I’d really rather focus on all the great times we had than dwell on the things which we cannot change.
Also, as a man with a wife and two young children, and a mortgage, and all that other fun adult stuff, this is the end of my livelihood, and despite them being “freelancers" in a technical sense that is true for the other two people who have been the beating heart of TouchArcade, Shaun Musgrave and Mikhail Madnani. Which brings me to my next point…
PLEASE HIRE US!
The job market is not great anywhere, and finding new work is tough, especially in the games industry. If you are reading this and you have a need for very capable game industry veterans such as ourselves, please reach out.
Jared Nelson – That’s me! Obviously I have more than 14 years of experience working right in the very thick of the mobile gaming boom here at TouchArcade. Writing, editing, managing staff, traveling to conventions. I’ve pretty much done it all. I also have a pretty varied work history previous to TouchArcade, including in management roles, that I think gives me a really well-rounded set of skills. You can contact me on LinkedIn or by email at jared [at] toucharcade [dot] com.
Shaun Musgrave – Shaun has been with TouchArcade for a bit over 11 years, but has been in professional games media for more than 25 years overall. He is hands down one of the most gifted writers I have ever encountered, and if we needed a review for a big, important game and needed it by a very tight deadline Shaun was always dependable. He also uses his vast, almost uncanny knowledge of video game history to find interesting angles to write about games that only he could find. Shaun lives in Japan and is fluent in both Japanese and English, making him a great candidate for localization work as well. Please reach out to him at muzkind [at] hotmail [dot] com.
Mikhail Madnani – As part of TouchArcade for more than 7 years, Mikhail has been the workhorse of our staff. Posting the bulk of what you would see on a day to day basis, there is no possible way our website could have kept running for so long without Mikhail’s contributions. An expert at sniffing out interesting news stories and then posting them in a timely fashion, but also able to put together huge features like in-depth interviews and multi-platform reviews. His coffee-laden header images are legendary as well. If you need someone who can reliably and consistently post video game-related content, then I cannot recommend Mikhail highly enough. Reach out to him at hello [at] failgunner [dot] com.
So What Happens Now?
If there is some sort of silver lining to all of this, it’s that for the foreseeable future all of the content that has ever been posted to TouchArcade will remain online and accessible to all. More than 33,000 published articles, including more than 4,000 game reviews, not to mention all of our yearly Best Of content and Game of the Year picks. These should hopefully all continue living on into the future for reference purposes and just to look back and see how drastically the mobile gaming landscape changed over the last decade and a half.
We are also hoping to continue with our Podcast, The TouchArcade Show, which very recently just celebrated its 600th(!) episode. There are a couple co-hosts who have come and gone during the course of the podcast (shout out to Brand and Mike!) but myself and Eli Hodapp have been a constant presence on the show since the very beginning, and it’s really crazy that we’ve both spent 13+ years of our lives putting out hour-long podcasts on a (nearly) weekly basis.
Related to that, you may be wondering about our Patreon. The support from our Patreon has far and away been the biggest contributor to TouchArcade continuing to exist since we launched it in June of 2015, almost a decade ago. Our thoughts are to pivot the Patreon contributions towards keeping the podcast going, and perhaps occasional posts or special features written by the staff here. Perhaps a random “SwitchArcade" or a review about a particularly high-profile mobile game launch. Maybe we could even squeeze in a Game of the Year for this year? It’s just a nugget of an idea right now, but it would be pretty cool to see TouchArcade be able to live on even in that small way.
Whatever the case ends up being, I will explicitly change the verbiage of our Patreon to state that it’s no longer about supporting the website, and if people choose to stop contributing then that is totally understandable. If people are giving us money monthly I want to be absolutely transparent about what it’s going towards. Anyway, look for more news about this in the coming weeks, and at the very least be sure to follow along as a free member on our Patreon to stay in the loop. Also if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me at tips [at] toucharcade [dot] com or leave a comment below.
Well, that about does it, I think. I speak for all of us who have contributed to running TouchArcade over the past 16 years–from the co-founders Arnold Kim and Blake Patterson, to the first full-time hire and future Editor in Chief Eli Hodapp, and to the dozens of other writers and freelancers who have helped make TouchArcade what it is–we just want to give a sincere thank you for ever reading our site, listening to our podcast, or attending one of our events. It has been an absolute pleasure to have such a wonderful audience who appreciated what we did so much and we will all forever be grateful for the time that we were able to spend together.
Thanks for all the great years of content and good luck in your next ventures!
I remember browsing this site when games like Aralon, N.O.V.A, or Infinity Blade were the headlines. Unfortunately iOS gaming just isn't as spectacular as it could be.
I wish you guys nothing but the best of luck. But please know that you were a huge part of my life for the longest time.
What a weak week! Sorry, I so could not resist. (Inside joke for those around for Out Now posts many years ago)
Shocking and completely not shocking at the same time. Truly, thank you guys for hanging in there as long as you did. You have been a weekly, if not daily, staple for me and I have no idea how I'm going to keep up with the mobile gaming world without you! I know you'll all find great success wherever you land and you certainly deserve it.
houseofg signing off (though hopefully not the forums!)
Wind your neck in and have some respect. Honestly.
Again, inside joke for those around here years ago. If you don't get it, don't worry about it. Not meant as disrespect in any way of course.
End of an era. Thank you for all you did!
I joined the site 15 years and 46 weeks ago - one of the earliest registered members. I remember the entire evolution from Arnold Kim (the world’s nicest guy) and Eli - one of the best iphone game reviewers there was - from the nascent days of the App Store. I don’t stay nearly as involved in the current games as I used to - but I’m still sad to see the site go. Best of luck to you all!
You echoed my thoughts exactly. I registered with TA in Feb. 2009 and have been a reader since then. It’s the end of an era for mobile games coverage.
Oct. 2008 here! User #557
That’s awful news. I’ve been a constant reader of your site ever since I got my first iPad back in 2011. Seen a lot of great games back then. But those glory days of the likes of Inkle, Simogo and Telltale seem to have come and gone. It’s been quite some time since something really got me excited on iOS. A shame really.
I joined TouchArcade 13 years ago and it was an incredible source for new RPGS especially on the forum. I am so sorry to see it ending. Thank you for all the fantastic game recommendations over the years and I hope it will be archived at least - not just deleted forever.
damn, i visit this site almost everyday, thanks for all your hard work and good luck in your future projects!
This is really sad ! Thank your for all the great reviews !
The end of an era.
It's not even Thursday yet.
Thank you.
Guys you were the best mobile gaming site there ever was.
Internet won't be the same without you.
Incredibly sad news. This site will be dearly missed. Godspeed TA staff!
Incredibly sad day and truly feels like the end of an era. But Hey, 16 years is a heck of a long time in internet years, so you should be very proud of that! Thank you for the incredible content you published all this time as we have all seen the mobile gaming industry change dramatically (and IMO) for the worst. Best of luck in your future endeavors , I know you all will succeed!
Ahh, a sad day that had seemed inevitable over the last few years. I was here early as well and you channelled all my iOS gaming excitement into the best titles I never would have found. I may miss the weekly update list the most and will definitely miss adding a smiley face to it every week! I hope you all get to continue in some gaming capacity and thanks so much for all the mobile fun 😊
Thanks for everything!
Wow, this isn't shocking, but it sure is sad. Thanks for so many great years of games journalism. The site will be deeply missed.
This is a complete bummer. I am on this site a couple times a day, always refreshing to see what’s new. Have the page on my Home Screen so it’s been like an app. I have been on since 1999. I resisted the iPhone for a few years but came here for game news and been back everyday since. Genuinely sad to see it go. I did think something was up because I noticed the “new games” weekly article hasn’t been out the last two weeks. Good luck fellas, let us know where you catch on so we can still follow along.
Yeah, lol, I can’t count. Since 2009.
So disappointed and to think I only recently found this site! Wishing you 3 the very best.
Wow, that’s sad news. I wondered what Shawn meant with doing the SwitchArcade for the last time. Now, I got the picture.
I was reading the site (via rss) for many years. In the beginning especially coming for the iPhone iPad gaming stuff and lately especially for Shawn’s & Mikhael’s Switch expertises. Two great reviewers with vast background knowledge. Maybe they can go to Nintendolife.com , another site i frequently read.
I want to say thanks to all of you writers, for your excellent reads! You will be missed 😥
So long, lezrock!
I sensed something off when it was quite quiet last week during a busy time.
Such sad news but best of luck in future, guys.
I always assumed you guys were ran out of Macrumors.
Would be so cool if they could become basically a division of Macrumors.
I don’t know why they don’t fold them in completely. They could at least hire one of the journalists just to review games on the main timeline.
I only just noticed that there is indeed Oucharcade info at the bottom of the page on Macrumors. I had never noticed that before!
Saw that Patreon email and feared the worst. Really sad in some many ways but also a time to celebrate how amazing TA has been!! Got into the site and podcast pretty early on, basically got me back into gaming, discovered indie games, started making my own. Hope you guys land on your feet with something cool and keep on with podcast and the odd post like you say 😎
what a sad day :( thanks for the amazing ride, i know you will all go on to do amazing things
Thanks for all the hard work by everyone for an entertaining and informative place to visit. Best wishes for the future.
Thanks a bunch for all the articles, I’ll certainly miss them.
Hey Jared - it's Nissa. Thanks so much to you and Eli for giving me a chance way back in the day. I will always have fond memories of this place, and the GDCs y'all brought me along to, and writing for you. This has been a great site, and it's sad to see it go. Hope you land on your feet! <3
Appreciate all the content over the years, good luck to everyone going forward!
As someone who has been here since 2008 and has been checking it weekly for the past 15 years, thank you for everything.
TouchArcade is the first website that focuses on mobile gaming, launching right when the AppStore was launched. Your weekly releases posts are what I look for every single week.
I am a massive fan of mobile gaming thanks to TouchArcade. It's been such a huge part of my weekly routine I am frankly not sure what to do.
I wish the entire TouchArcade team all the best and hope everyone gets hired as soon as possible.
Once again, thank you for everything.
This is a hard one. TA has been a part of my life since 2008 (I think). I’ve been a moderator for almost a decade, and have written about 35,000 posts — including many impressions, reviews, and “takes.” As someone who essentially writes for a living, TA was my no-pressure, no-anxiety outlet, and I truly appreciated it for that. I also had some great exchanges with very nice and reasonable folks that gave me hope for gaming culture (or at least our little corner of it).
To quote Kurt Vonnegut, “so it goes.” Thank you, Jared, Shaun, Mikhail, Eli, and Arnold — and everyone who made this a daily destination for me over the years.
Thanks so much, TouchArcade. You were a big part of my childhood as a lonely gamer kid so you’ll always have a special spot in my heart. Best of luck on the next chapter y’all!
Andy from PikPok here ... designer / producer of Monsters Ate My Condo, amongst other things.
Just wanted to thank you for all your efforts and kind words over the years.
This industry is bloody hard for everyone at the moment. My day is going to be a little darker not having your site to peruse.
Good luck to you all.
I’ve bought many games thru the links on this site based on your reviews and cant remember one time where I was disappointed. I’m going to miss coming here every week to see what’s new. Thank you for all your hard work over the years and best wishes to you and the rest of the team.
Thank you! …for everything. I will miss you.
Oh man, this is so sad to see. TouchArcade has been the primary way I found out about new iOS games for decades, and has even been a great way to get in touch with devs of some of these games for fixing bugs, beta testing, or even just expressing appreciation. Anyone would be lucky to hire the three of you, and I wish you the best in your future endeavors!
Well, that sucks. All I can say is: don’t be sad that this journey is over, but be proud of what you created, and for the joy and learning you all imparted to many a grateful reader. As one door softly closes, another one opens somewhere. Hoping you find it and will be looking for your bylines out there in the gaming ether. Happy travels.
Shucks - this is a bummer; best wishes as you look for the next thing!
I will miss TA and the community that I've gotten to know since 2013.. Good luck with your new endeavors. You will be missed.
I have checked TA once a day with very few exceptions since the day it opened. Best of luck to all of you and thanks for the many years of entertainment!
Thanks for everything! Best of luck to you all!
When we created Mobile Gamer Brasil (a Brazilian website about mobile games in 2009), one of our main references was Touch Arcade. Thank you very much for all these years playing and enjoy mobile games. I hope that in the future, we can meet again on a new journey.
Thanks for all the great work and inspiration. You guys are amazing!
I was a frequent visitor when I was a teenager over a decade ago. I was 13. I wanted great games to play on my new iPod touch, which was an upgrade from my nano. Such a dependable site for finding out about gems like Tiny Tower, Downwell, Ridiculous Fishing, and Infinity Blade.
Thank you for all the content. It is sad to see the site shutdown. Good luck with whatever you all do next.
I've had this site bookmarked pretty much from the beginning
And I've really appreciated your site this whole time.
I'm sorry to see it go, and I'm saddened and depressed by your comments on the state of the internet.
This is happening everywhere, and really feels liek the end times -- liek the slow degredation of our society. Like the fall of Rome...
I honestly believe the only thing that might save us is UBI.
Damn, It's a shame to see this website go.
I wish you guys the best and hope you land somewhere with better conditions.
Very sad news! TA was a huge part of earlier years; we appreciate you guys and wish you all good luck in the future!
I learned about youre games through this site. Bug heroes wil always remain one of my most beloved game titles!
I'm sorry this has happened. Thanks for everything throughout the years.
I have checked TA once a day with very few exceptions since the day it opened. Best of luck to all of you and thanks for the many years of entertainment!
Very sad! I visit your website every single day, since 2011 where I got my first iPhone!! Thank you very much for everything, you and Eli ! I was visiting price drops and forums and regularly and it is/was the best source for ios gaming! I wish you will find a job and make again your life better. You helped us bring to us experiences and memories of joy!
Sad day for anyone who cared about mobile gaming. I joined TA in early 2009 when I was 15 and have been a reader since. Thanks for everything over the years!
Been with you guys since the launch of the OG app. RIP to a great site / resource. You guys have been amazing! Looking forward to seeing where you pop up next.
No wonder new articles are not coming out.
Thank you for the great content. I wish you guys all the best in the future.
The end of an era! Thanks for all of the amazing work that you've done since the early days of iOS gaming - I have so many fond memories of our games appearing in your articles and the meet and greets at GDC. So saddened by you closing your doors but wishing you all the best in your next adventures.
It's so sad to see this site go. Looking back at my App Store purchase history, I have a lot of fond memories of those games and Touch Arcade, and they will never go away from me.
Thank you for your great work for all these years. I wish you success whatever you do next!
I don’t remember when was the first time I have started visiting TouchArcade, but I do know that one of the first app store games that I was introduced by Touch Arcade was either WeRule or one of the earliest accelerometer-enabled marble labyrinth game. Since then, I have been visiting this site daily. Thursday is always a day to look forward to for myself, as it is the “Out Now” post day. When Apple decided to switch up their App Store interface to go without “sort by release date” and put their focus on the same old F2P games, I relied heavily on TouchArcade to discover awesome indie games, of which I would otherwise be unaware. For example, I used to sink many hours in to games like Infinity Blade, Nimble Quest (no longer playable or downloadable) and Punch Quest (miraculously, it is still playable on my 15 Pro Max). I also used to listen to the podcast weekly as well!
Alas, the continual decline in number of quality ad-free premium mobile games also made me reduce my interest in the App Store. And I, too, have life-things that made me reduce my frequency in visiting TouchArcade. I just came to visit again out of curiosity and very sad to find that the website will be closed. I wish you all the best and have a successful future.
We lost a real one today. End of an era.
You have been an inspiration and a benchmark for so many game devs. Being mentioned on TA was always a highlight for SMG. I wish all of the mobile devs could have paid a 'TA tax' and funded you all to bigger and better things.
Sorry to hear that the site’s time has come to an end. TouchArcade was always a great resource for people who loved mobile gaming. It’s just a pity that such operations don’t appear to be financially viable these days, for the most part, and especially those that centre primarily on critical coverage of the games. TA will be much missed.
Wish you only the best for what comes next! I have to share that I am greatly saddened by this announcement and sincerely wish things had gone differently. Please know that you made the world of gaming a better place with everything that you contributed.
It is one of those occasions that you know and waiting for the bad news but never want to come.
From 2010 was my daily visit and i enjoyed all the articles and of course one the best forums around. As i recall a lot of people we "grew together" through this site. Memorable forum members with huge activity went away when new ones came being thirsty for civilised conversations and opinions exchanging.
Of course ALL the authors were spot on with some great writing and always fair opinions in their reviews, but there will always be a soft spot in my heart for Jared and Shaun!
The other sad thing is that, by my opinion, this is an other step into the dark times for indie developers and indie gaming. If not the only, this site was for sure one the "big" ones, that gave a lot time and care to the creations of indie developers. Literally i don't know anymore where i will find all these fantastic little diamonds in the chaotic internet. The other big sites and the recommendations of App Store is more of the time focused on the FTP titles of the big companies with the big pockets. Not my piece of cake and not very optimistic when an industry will be driven by the big money. Really sad news that showing the "future"?
One way or an other i wish the best in the last three members, farewell and my best wishes to all your future plans.
Thanks!
Thank you to everyone who worked hard to keep Toucharcade in our daily lives. It was a fantastic success and you all should be tremendously proud. And I’m grateful we’ll be able to often look back on the many wonderful articles and reviews for years to come. But yes, the daily activity will be missed. Here’s hoping you all are blessed with even more success with your next endeavor!
This site helped me fall in love with mobile games!
Thank you very much to everyone involved for this incredible work!
With love from Ukraine!
Thank you for all the years of passion and dedication! TouchArcade and its community will be deeply missed. The forums were always a welcoming space for us and our games. Wishing everyone the best in the next chapter!
it's been a wild ride, best of wishes and hopes for success in the next chapters for all of you. Thank you for 16 years of great content and a unique perspective that will surely be missed.
This is very sad. I will miss coming here every day. This has been a great site for news and information. Though there are other sites out there that are similar, this site if by far the best. Best of luck to all of you, and thanks.
Sad news indeed. All the best to everyone at TA, I hope you take pride in not succumbing to the unethical temptations that are all too ever-present in the mobile gaming space. And thank you for shining the spotlight on small indie titles like our Dawncaster.
I’m absolutely heartbroken to hear about the website shutting down. It’s a real loss for the gaming community. It’s unfortunate that so many factors didn’t align — getting featured on Apple, Apple not fully recognizing the value you brought to its fledgling store in its early days, and your many contributions to video gaming overall.
I would love some clarity on how the Patreon funds are distributed. I’ve always been hesitant to contribute unless I knew the money was going directly to you and the team, rather than to a corporation. Hopefully, with this update, that’s the case—or perhaps there’s a new Patreon coming soon?
I’d happily pay for a regular podcast with Jared and Eli as it's my favorite podcast. Best of luck to you all, I’m sure you’ll land somewhere that truly appreciates your talents.
Thank you for everything you've done!
Heartbreaking, but not surprising. I've been on TouchArcade since the original iPad was released back in 2010, and how exciting it was for the whole tech landscape.
Truth be told, mobile games changed, technology changed, the internet changed, and we changed. A lot of what made us fall in love with mobile games and technology has become stale, and most of us have also grown up and became more burden by responsibilities, and life.
I wish you everyone one of you the very best.
I signed up just to post how sorry I am you folks are shutting down. I’ve been using this site for close to 15(?) years for my iOS news. It’s how I got to know what games were coming out and which to buy. Very bittersweet news. I thank you for everything and wish you all the best for your next step!
Mamma mia.... Mi spiace veramente ragazzi. Il web ormai va per i fatti suoi e blog/siti di tendenza (ma anche di nicchia) ormai stanno soffrendo IA e gusti in continuo cambiamento. Forza e coraggio comunque, vi auguro il meglio e vi ricorderò sempre come uno dei migliori siti di videogiochi mobile di sempre ❤️❤️❤️❤️
I'm so sorry to read that. I'm following you since the first game who came to mobile device like hero of sparta, modern combat , asphalt , the first premium sims mobile games etc. Unfortunately the storm of freemium crap has turn the app store into something really really bad and sick. I wish you all the possible luck in your path and thanks for all the great years.
It has been a pleasure reading your content almost every day, from day one. The passion came through, and the professionalism. I've ready your sporadic posts about funding difficulties (e.g. Apple stopping their affiliate program - which was sad on many levels). Be proud that you fought the good fight, and did an excellent job in difficult times. The results stand for themselves!
To the whole team, best of luck in your new endeavours - I've no doubt you will all do great. Any company would be lucky to have your skills and commitment!! Upwards and onwards!!
Man, I've checked your site at least 5x a week since the beginning. Toucharcade will be missed.
Not surprising but sad.
Thanks for your service guys!
My go-to since pretty much the beginning and, as other people have said, a quick scan through my scarily large purchase history is in large part down to this site.
Great content, great personalities, a constant source of info without, as mentioned, any heavy-handed advertising. How you managed it for this long in this climate is incredible really. Probably at a fair amount of personal cost though.
Will be sorely missed I have to say. A very sad day indeed, no matter how inevitable.
Thanks for everything over the years, guys, and I'm wishing you all absolutely the best of luck with everything in the future.
Side note - why does Disqus keep detecting this as spam? I just don’t get it. Help!
https://uploads.disquscdn.c... I still rock the stickers I got at a TA GDC meet up.
I wanna thank TouchArcade for bringing the following games into my life:
- Wayward Souls
- Downwell
- Superbrothers - Sword & Sorcery
- Contre Jour
- Battleheart
- Swordigo
- Organ Trail
- 10000000
- You Must Build a Boat
- Kid Tripp
- Rayman Fiesta Run
- Machinarium
- Super Hexagon
- Ridiculous Fishing
- Hoplite
- Oceanhorn
- Leo's Fortune
- Bean Dreams
- Kero Blaster
- VVVVVV
- Horizon Chase
- 80 Days
- Air Attack 2
- Crashlands
- Badland
Not sure what I am going to do to find out about new game releases. Best of luck to everyone.
I am still not a bloody troll
Very bad news. Very bad
Thanks for the 16 years, preserve and archived them all.
Dang, though I was a more recent visitor compared to many of the other comments (I started frequenting this site from 2019 onwards), I have a lot of fond memories of reading up excitedly the news about new games and such. iOS gaming just isn't the same as it was during NOVA and Infinity Sword it seems.
Will miss this website.
This is really unfortunate - you guys created THE source of mobile game news and reviews.
Hope you all doing well financially and will soon find new jobs!
Thanks for all these years, Toucharcade will be missed 😔
I don't know what to say. This site's feed was one of my favoured.
It will be dearly mssed..
I am a reader from Taiwan and have been following your news since 2017. I am very grateful for the information you've shared over the years. Wishing you all the best in the future!
Emulators on the app store is a blessing a curse.
A blessing for people who enjoy good games, and a curse for those trying to make or review mobile games.
it'snot your fault that other than the occasional console port, mobile gaming nearly all garbage.
Thanks for all the amazing thoughts and discussions, and shining the light on some of my favourites! Good luck in the future X
Been following since 2008!! Thanks for providing us with the best Game insights!! Writing from Nicaragua, and now Colombia! Blessings to all of you who did a great job!
I'm crying. 😭😭
Touch Arcade Fan from the Philippines. 🥺🫶🏻
I’m so sad to see this site going down, I always went here for reliable information on iOS gaming for so many years. Hope you guys stay well. Thanks for everything.
This is so sad, I have loved you guys since day one and listened to every podcast since the very first. Your website and old app were at the peak of iOS gaming and the first place you went to find the latest random hidden releases. This is truely an end of an era and a very sad day. I really love your podcasts talking about random topics that I can relate to in my life. All the best for the future legends.
ramon31
When my dad got paralyzed from his stroke. I took care of him and Touch Arcade was like a friend to me. I remember reading about Hero of Sparta and Modern Combat….my wishes came true. Phones were now a gaming platform to be taken seriously and Touch Arcade was the pillar behind this. No one else did what TA did for mobile gaming. Every single day I had to visit because they were part of my family. This really saddens me because it feels like I’m losing a family member. I know it sounds stupid but TA really helped me go through some stuff and kept me sane. THANK YOU a thousand times. I can’t believe this is happening
I HAVE SO MUCH LOVE FOR THE SITE. THIS IS SAD NEWS
Ahhh I can't believe it. It's been so long and I never thought of being without TouchArcade. I commented constantly on the early days of the app store with my iPod Touch so long ago. This is really heartbreaking. There really isn't any other dedicated and organized mobile gaming forum like this out there. I still love mobile gaming so losing this site is a huge blow. But I wish you all the best and thank you for giving us this wonderful site for so many years!
I'm going to miss this site. Thank you all for everything you have done over the years!
I’m a bit lost as far as mobile gaming news. Where are people planning on going , or what sites, to get your mobile gaming news?
I just want to thank you guys for sharing your talent and passion over the years. I wish you the absolute best.
It’s with great sadness that I share the news that I’m losing the website I’ve been diligently checking daily since 2009. This website played a pivotal role in my career transition from a VFX artist to a game developer. It provided me with the visibility my indie games needed to stand out amidst the clutter of the app stores, ultimately leading me to build a new career and continue working as a game developer, despite the challenges posed by low sales.
I’ve come to appreciate TouchArcade and RockPaperShotgun as the only truly “proper” gaming websites, and now I’m losing half of them. I genuinely hope that everything works out well for you all. It’s been an incredible journey, and I’m honored to have witnessed this significant milestone in the history of the internet.
Did suspect as much, I wonder if it's suggesting there's not as good mobile hits anymore. I was here from the time I had an ipod touch, seen some good games on the way.
Oh, man. Thanks for all the memories. For a while there this site was a daily check-in. Back when I had an iPod Touch. Wish you all the best and I hope you land somewhere rad soon. Well done, lads.
Ever since I got my ipod touch, I began reading reviews here. That was 16 years ago. TA got me to try all sorts of mobile apps. Inspired by the articles here, I even began writing reviews of my own. I'm now employed in tech but even after work I'd always check to see new articles on TA. Thank you for the inspiration and for creating this memorable space online. TA was really a big part of my life.
This is so sad just like slidetoplay
Thanks for everything.
I’ve been following TouchArcade for over 15 years, right from the beginning, including the awesome iOS app. I start to see the early iPhone and iPod touch days as some of the best for gaming (and I’ve been gaming for 35 years, since the 8- and 16-bit computer days) and TouchArcade was a part of that.
this was THE most reputable source for mobile gaming for years. You will be missed! You introduced me to so many excellent games….
Thank you for such a great site for so long. Sad to hear it's shutting down. I hope you all are able to find work soon. :'(
Omg noooo! Truly awful news 😕 I have been a regular here since around 2011...THATS INSANE to think about. Good lord, I will truly and sincerely miss the HELL out of this place.
Very sorry to hear this. Been with you from your early years. Thank you for all the good articles.
It’s with a heavy heart that I see TouchArcade closing its doors. I’ve been following the site for many, many years, ever since it emerged over a decade ago with the advent of iPhone gaming. I even started playing Minecraft with the community here some time ago, which was an amazing experience. The mobile gaming industry is in a rough place, and the closure of TouchArcade is a reflection of larger issues plaguing the entertainment and gaming industries today—especially when it comes to mobile games.
The rise of freemium models, the lack of creativity, and the failure to explore the true potential of mobile platforms have led to an industry that produces increasingly mediocre games, which simply don’t capture the magic they once did. TouchArcade’s end is one of the many consequences of these deeper problems.
Thank you, Jared, and everyone else on the team, for all the years of dedication and incredible work. You’ve brought so much joy and insight to so many of us. Sending a big hug from Brazil. 🇧🇷
Thank you for everything. I have visit toucharcade for more then 10 years and i have found some great games. Iam always looking for some hidden gems and toucharcade was the perfect place for this. The games that come to mind:
- space miner
- bug heroes
- lotr: rise to war
and ofcourse the yearly “best of” list where a present to read!! Thanks again.
Been a regular here for many years, appreciate all the work you guys have put in and wish you well for the future. Found so many gems though this site, sorry to see it go!
Best of luck! We appreciated your efforts. Good on you for not bowing down to shady marketing. I realize that impacted you here, but good karma will go your way.
Developer here, was featured in two reviews (Magenta Arcade and Dandara), and just want to say thanks and that your work was appreciated! During TouchArcade's run, developing for mobile games went from mildly inviting to extremely hostile and I feel you were always a point of resistance to this.
The touchscreen can do a lot of stuff, there's an incredible amount of possibility in it, but now we're heavily restricted to just a few kind of same-y experiences, as developing something different will be very difficult and probably leave you without players to check it out. TA being shutting down feels like yet one more sign of how things are getting worse for mobile.
Sad day.
For me I stopped caring about mobile games over 10 years ago, they all decides to milk you instead of just being good games like the glory days of when the iPhone first launched.
i've been reading since oceanhorn and captain cowboy puzzle game this site takes so many in the next level, of course for mobile valid things.
it is true sad for me that this site will dead one day i knew it... guys i never forgive everything you've bought for us especially with review and some awesome you give to us.
you can rest now good bye my friend
This is fine, because you died to me years ago. Eli and Shaun's pretension was insufferable.
Still bummed TouchArcade is gone, but am grateful that we can still check out content. Fingers crossed for a return in the future ;)
I’ll focus on the positive. Man, in its prime, TA and iOS gaming was something else. Since then, I’ve moved back to PC gaming after a 30 year hiatus. Peace and Godspeed.
Just now seeing this post. Guess that goes to show how often I actually visit this website!
Hey from Berlin! Just stumbled on this post. I’ve been following TouchArcade since my iPhone 3GS days and loved the early era of iOS gaming. I kinda drifted away once in-app purchases took over, and it’s really a shame that TouchArcade is coming to an end. Big thanks to you and your team, and all the best!