Raptr

Raptr was a social-networking website and instant messenger developed by Raptr, Inc. intended for use by video game players. Dennis Fong, co-founder of Xfire, founded the company Raptr, Inc. in 2007; it is located in Mountain View, California. The company raised 12 million dollars in funding from investors including Accel Partners and Founders Fund. The service was shut down on September 30, 2017.

Raptr
Raptr logo
Type of site
Social Networking
Available inEnglish
DissolvedSeptember 30, 2017 (2017-09-30)
Created byDennis Fong[1]
IndustryVideo game industry
URLraptr.com
CommercialYes
RegistrationRequired
Users22 million[2] (March 2014)
LaunchedSeptember 3, 2008 (2008-09-03)
Current statusInactive

Software

The client, which was a downloadable application for Microsoft Windows, supports Yahoo! Instant Messenger, GTalk, Windows Live Messenger, Xfire, ICQ, and Facebook Chat protocols and allows users to import their Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, and Steam accounts. It also included other features such as game/achievements tracking, in-game overlay, and game management. Raptr offers a few images showing a user's game statistics for use in signatures.

Screenshot of the Raptr client interface which a user can download.

On the website, users added video games to their profile, as well as track game play time and achievements, share reviews, game related information, and game activity. Raptr let users publish their gaming accomplishments to sites like Twitter, Plurk, FriendFeed, and Facebook.

One of the main features was Raptr rewards, a program where users earn a currency, called Raptr points, while playing or gaining achievements, those points could be exchanged for various rewards such as in-game items, avatars, new games, etc.[3] In February 2014, AMD invested in Raptr, which improved the reward system, allowing users to earn points for optimizing their games with the app and added discounts and giveaways for real hardware.[4]

Raptr launched in a closed beta on February 2, 2008,[5] and launched an open beta to the public on September 3, 2008.[6]

Raptr has partnerships with video game publishers Activision & Ijji, and the Raptr client was bundled with the PC release of Red Faction: Guerrilla.[7][8] In December 2009, Raptr partnered with GameSpot to provide both communities with extra features.[9]

In 2014, Raptr rebooted its business plan to focus on PC gamers. Dennis Fong stated "the biggest pain point for PC gamers is the weakness of the platform as a whole. Everybody has a different kind of PC. There are a million different configurations for playing games. We help gamers get the best experience every time they play” and adding "we have reinvented ourselves with a focus on PC gaming". Raptr then teamed up with AMD to promote optimization of games on AMD graphics cards.[10] Raptr also partnered with Twitch to provide 'one-click' streaming in their desktop app.[11] In 2015, Raptr announced an end for console support, citing the growing PC market and changes to Xbox Live and PlayStation Network which created difficulties in updating features.[12]

In March 2015, Raptr launched Plays.tv, a gaming video clip sharing service.[13] The service spun off into an independent company in January 2017.[14]

In October 12, 2016, AMD discontinued the AMD Gaming Evolved App developed with the Raptr team, ending their collaboration. However, the software is still available for download.[15][16]

On April 4, 2017, it was announced that the Raptr rewards service would be closed on the 30th of that month, because the partnership with AMD was over.[17]

Since July 2017, the Raptr app was having problems with the access process, which alerted several users. The support team said that the problem was solved, but users still experienced issues a month after the response.[18] Around the same time, all of Raptr's social accounts were closed except their Twitch account.

In the same year, on September 1, an announcement was posted on the site stating that it would be shutting down on September 30, 2017. However, users were still able to download their tracked time before that date.[14][19] In July 2018, only a "Goodbye Raptr" page was left on the site, and this was finally removed in November of that year.[20][21]

See also

References
  1. "Raptr Company Profile". CrunchBase. Retrieved 2008-09-14.
  2. "Gamer social network Raptr reboots as a PC gaming communication platform". VentureBeat. September 3, 2013. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
  3. Takahashi, Dean (May 7, 2012). "Awesome! Raptr will give you targeted rewards just for playing games". Venture Beat. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  4. Takahashi, Dean (February 19, 2014). "AMD teams up with Raptr to reward loyal gamers". Venture Beat. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  5. "Raptr Gaming Network Opens For Private Beta". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2008-09-14.
  6. "Raptr Launches 1337 Gaming Network To The Public". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2008-09-14.
  7. "Raptr, NHN USA Partner to Help Players Connect across ijji.com's [Reactor] Suite of Free-to-Play Games". Reuters.
  8. Bailey, Kat (2009-07-22). "Raptr Announces Partnerships With THQ And Activision". 1UP.com.
  9. Gomez, Ricardo (2009-12-16). "Raptr and GameSpot Partnership is Now Live!". Raptr.com.
  10. "Gamer social network Raptr reboots as a PC gaming communication platform". venturebeat.com. Retrieved 2014-03-11.
  11. Davison, Pete (19 July 2013). "Raptr Adds One-Click Twitch Streaming to Desktop App". Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  12. "Raptr to end console support - VideoGamer.com". Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  13. Takahashi, Dean (March 31, 2015). "Raptr launches Plays.tv gameplay video sharing and raises $14M". VentureBeat. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  14. Fong, Dennis (September 1, 2017). "We're Sad To Say Goodbye To Raptr". Raptr. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  15. Chacos, Brad (October 12, 2016). "AMD quietly scuttles Gaming Evolved, the Radeon rival to GeForce Experience". PCWorld. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  16. May, Keith (October 12, 2016). "AMD Gaming Evolved App By Raptr No Longer Being Supported By AMD". wccftech. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  17. Verun (April 4, 2017). "Raptr Rewards Closing". Raptr Forum. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  18. Lordfirefox. "Desktop client won't connect". Raptr Support. Archived from the original on July 21, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  19. "Raptr is dead. No more Gaming Evolved a year after AMD ditch the app".
  20. "Wayback Machine". 2018-01-01. Retrieved 2018-11-27. Cite uses generic title (help)
  21. "Wayback Machine". 2018-01-01. Retrieved 2018-11-27. Cite uses generic title (help)
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