IGN Acquires Digital Video Games Storefront Humble Bundle

Digital video games storefront Humble Bundle is announcing their acquisition by online media giant IGN. Humble Bundle got its start in 2010 offering bundles of indie games and lets users pay whatever amount they wish. This includes anything from a nickel to beyond the price of the bundle itself. Moreover, a portion of Humble Bundle sales raise money for charity. Although they still continue offering these bundles and sales with ties to charities, they also now have a permanent store front for non-bundle games. The latter focuses on making sales processing easier for indie developers while still providing  a 10-percent charitable contribution.

Joining the IGN Media Family

The announcement came via the Humble Mumble blog written by Humble Bundle CEO Jeffrey Rosen on Saturday. Rosen states that they chose IGN “because they really understand our vision, share our passion for games, and believe in our mission to promote awesome digital content while helping charity.” More importantly, the partnership will let Humble Bundle take advantage of the bigger company’s resources while still continuing their operation like before and the transition will be seamless.

What does IGN get out of it? Humble Bundle is favorably seen by the gaming community for their efforts and IGN is somewhat the opposite. Many gamers have accused IGN of being too chummy with the larger gaming industry, trading access and exclusives for favorable reviews. Maybe the acquisition will soften this perception of the online media giant somehow. However, it raises a question about conflict of interest. How impartial can a media review site be if they also have a storefront they sell games out of?