Struggling tech firm Yahoo confirmed today it will shut down venerable online game platform Yahoo Games in May, nearly two decades after it launched the service in 1998.
Though Yahoo’s game platform has long been in decline, the fact that it’s finally closing is notable in light of the historic role it played in popularizing free-to-play online games. Built atop Yahoo’s ’97 acquisition of the ClassicGames online game portal, Yahoo Games served as a platform for many budding casual game developers.
In its heyday, Yahoo Games was successful enough to merit ventures like opening its own mobile game studio and offering downloadable, free-to-play games supported by ads. However, in recent years it has not met performance expectations, causing Yahoo to brand it a “legacy product” last month and lay plans for it to be shut down as part of the company’s efforts to improve its bottom line.
Yahoo notes it has reached out to game publishers who still have games on the platform and instructed them to formulate a plan to transition their Yahoo Games players off the service ahead of its closure.