Viacom/MTV Networks buys Xfire

Rumors have been flying about the internet for weeks now that Xfire was about to be bought. Some rumors even speculated that Yahoo itself would buy the company after the lawsuit between the two companies was settled. However that is not the case, and an unlikely buyer has come from behind the curtain to purchase one of the internets biggest gaming communities. Viacom has bought Xfire for $102 million in cash. MTV Networks, an arm under Viacom will run Xfire as a wholly owned subsidiary, and hopefully continue to provide a terrific service to the estimated 4 million users that Xfire currently enjoys.

On any given day a million users are logged into Xfire, and the average user logs 91 hours a month on the service at about 3 hours a session. For those not familiar with the Xfire service, it can best be described as ICQ for games. However it is much more than that. Xfire provides first and foremost a slick UI that allows a user to see his or her friends when they are online, what game they are in and what server they are playing on, if Xfire supports the game of course. Xfire also allows a user to message someone in game and recently voice chat, file transfers and direct file downloads were added to the robust program. The program is ad-supported however the ads are very small and in the top area of the program window.

If you don't already know, MTV Networks already runs the amazingly awesome Gametrailers.com and Neopets among many other websites and projects. So, for a program that is only just 2 years old this is great news. I think this certainly goes to show you that in the end hard work and dedication to something you worked hard on pays off. The Xfire guys are really great and deserve this.