eMense
eMense is a Haarlem-based digital media network and event agency that operates IGN-branded gaming and entertainment websites, podcasts, and social channels across 11 European countries, serving advertisers and brands seeking access to a 10-16 million monthly gaming audience.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersHaarlem, Netherlands
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What eMense does
eMense is a Netherlands-based digital media network and event agency that operates as the exclusive licensed partner of Ziff Davis' IGN Entertainment across 11 European countries organized into four regional clusters: BENELUX (Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg), NORDIC (Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, Norway, Finland), DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), and FRANCE. The company publishes localized IGN-branded websites, podcasts, and social channels covering games, movies, series, anime, and gadgets, reaching approximately 10-16 million gamers monthly across Europe; flagship regional audience metrics include 1M+ monthly uniques for IGN Benelux and IGN Nordic each, 2M+ monthly German-speaking visitors for IGN Deutschland, 2M+ French-speaking visitors for IGN France, and 50M+ annual TikTok views for IGN Benelux. Beyond publishing, eMense offers media campaigns, creative brand activation concepts, and event and livestream production services; representative activation work includes the KPN E-Room Escaperoom produced with KPN and KNVB, and the KNAF Digital sim racing platform co-developed with the Royal Dutch MotorSport Federation.
Revenue is generated through three streams: (1) advertising and media campaigns across the IGN web/social/podcast portfolio, (2) creative activation and event production services for brands seeking gaming-audience access, and (3) licensing royalties paid to Ziff Davis/IGN Entertainment for the right to operate IGN in the licensed territories. The go-to-market is a hybrid of programmatic and direct sales, with an in-house sales organization (including a Sales Manager for Belgium and an International Sales Director) and a dedicated Monetization Director. Customer segments are primarily consumer brands and B2B advertisers (telecommunications, sports associations, motorsport federations named) targeting European Gen-Z and Millennial gaming audiences. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed; no public ARR, revenue, or funding figures are available, and the company is privately held with founder/management ownership and no institutional investment evidenced.
eMense firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- eMense
- Legal name
- emense
- Website
- https://emense.nl
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- eMense is a Haarlem-based digital media network and event agency that operates IGN-branded gaming and entertainment websites, podcasts, and social channels across 11 European countries, serving advertisers and brands seeking access to a 10-16 million monthly gaming audience.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
eMense industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Gaming and Entertainment Media
- NAICS
- Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (516210), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418), Media Buying Agencies (54183)
- SIC
- Services-Advertising (7310)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Gaming Media Networks & Aggregators (Multi-site Networks, RSS/Content Syndication) (MPAFAMAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Festival & Live Entertainment Brand Partnerships (MPAAAGAF)
Keywords
Where eMense is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Haarlem
- HQ country
- Netherlands
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
eMense business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Advertising and Media Campaigns: eMense generates revenue by selling advertising placements and media campaigns across its network of IGN websites in 11 European countries, reaching over 10 million monthly gamers. Brands can run display advertising, sponsored content, and targeted campaigns on the gaming and entertainment news platforms.
- Creative Activations and Projects: The company earns revenue by developing and executing creative brand activations, events, and livestream productions for advertisers seeking to engage the gaming audience through experiential marketing.
- Licensing Royalties: As a licensed operator of IGN brands in multiple European markets, eMense pays licensing fees to Ziff Davis/IGN Entertainment for the right to operate IGN France, IGN Benelux, IGN Nordic, and IGN Germany.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels7 records
Marketing channels6 records
eMense product offering
Product offeringCore offering
eMense operates as the licensed media partner of IGN Entertainment across 11 European countries in four regional clusters (BENELUX, NORDIC, DACH, FRANCE), publishing daily gaming and entertainment content through localized websites, podcasts, and social channels. The company additionally sells advertising placements, sponsored content, creative brand activations, events, and livestream production services to connect advertisers with an audience of over 10 million monthly European gamers.
Product overview
eMense is a multi-brand media and entertainment company operating as the licensed operator of IGN in 11 European countries across 4 regions (BENELUX, NORDIC, DACH, and FRANCE). The company manages a portfolio of regional IGN gaming and entertainment platforms (IGN Benelux, IGN Nordic, IGN Deutschland, IGN France) along with supplementary products including NieuwDezeWeek (streaming release tracker) and KNAF Digital (sim racing platform). Beyond content operations, eMense offers marketing services including editorial coverage, creative campaign concepts, media campaigns, and event/livestream execution. The combined monthly reach exceeds 10 million gamers across all platforms.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- IGN Benelux Gaming and entertainment media platform covering games, movies, series, and gadgets for the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, reaching over 1 million unique monthly website visitors, 10,000 weekly podcast listeners, and more than 50 million annual TikTok views.
- IGN Nordic Gaming and entertainment media platform covering games, movies, series, and gadgets for the Nordic region, reaching over 1 million monthly unique visitors across its website and social media channels.
- IGN Deutschland Gaming and entertainment media platform covering games, movies, series, and gadgets for the DACH region, reaching over 2 million German-speaking monthly visitors across its website and social media channels.
- IGN France Gaming and entertainment media platform covering games, movies, series, anime, and gadgets for France, reaching over 2 million French-speaking monthly visitors across its website and social media channels.
- NieuwDezeWeek (NDW) Daily streaming release tracker for the Dutch market covering movies, series, e-books, audiobooks, and other media content released across streaming services.
- KNAF Digital Sim racing platform developed in collaboration with the Dutch motorsport federation KNAF, enabling racing enthusiasts to participate in officially recognized championships and compete with other Dutch sim racers.
- Concepts and Campaigns
- Projects, Events and Livestreams
Quantifiable outcome
- 10 million+ monthly gamers reached
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use eMense
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
eMense technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
eMense partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Ziff Davis / IGN EntertainmentcoreZiff Davis, owner of IGN Entertainment, partnered with eMense to operate IGN France as part of international licensing expansion, replacing the previous team led by Editor-in-Chief Erwan Lafleuriel. This follows eMense's existing operations of IGN Benelux, IGN Nordic, and IGN Germany under license, bringing eMense's total multi-platform reach to approximately 16 million users across four IGN brands.
- KNAF (Royal Dutch MotorSport Federation)minoreMense developed KNAF Digital, the sim racing platform of the Netherlands, in collaboration with the Dutch motorsport federation. Racing enthusiasts can use this platform to participate in officially recognized championships and compete with other Dutch sim racers.
- KPNminoreMense collaborated with KPN and KNVB to produce the KPN E-ROOM Escaperoom activation project located at the KNVB Campus in Zeist, Netherlands. This experiential marketing project combined esports/gaming with football association branding.
- KNVB (Royal Dutch Football Association)minorKNVB partnered with eMense and KPN for the KPN E-ROOM Escaperoom experiential activation at the KNVB Campus in Zeist, providing the physical venue for the gaming/escape room experience.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
eMense competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Dexerto: Gaming and esports media network reaching Gen-Z audiences across YouTube, TikTok, and web. Closely comparable as a gaming media outlet monetizing gaming-enthusiast audiences through branded content and partnerships.
- Webedia: French digital media group operating gaming, entertainment, and pop-culture verticals across multiple European markets. Comparable as a multi-territory European entertainment/gaming media network monetized via advertising and branded content.
- Gamurs Group: Multi-brand gaming media network operating sites such as Dot Esports, Dotesports, and Gamepur. Directly comparable as a gaming-focused multi-site advertising-driven media network competing for similar gaming advertiser budgets.
- TheGamer: Gaming entertainment media site covering games, movies, and pop culture. Comparable as a gaming-entertainment media outlet monetized through display advertising and reaching overlapping Gen-Z/Millennial gaming audiences.
- GINX TV: Esports and gaming media brand producing TV, video, and digital content targeting European gaming audiences. Comparable as a gaming media outlet competing for similar European advertising and branded content budgets.
- Gamer Network: European-originated gaming media network (Eurogamer, Rock Paper Shotgun, GamesIndustry.biz) sold to IGN/PC Gamer parent. Comparable as a multi-brand European gaming media network with similar audience and advertiser model to eMense.
Broad incumbents
- Fandom: Operates gaming and entertainment media properties including GameSpot, Metacritic, and IGN-adjacent wikis. Directly comparable as a multi-brand gaming media network monetized through display advertising and partnerships, and a structural competitor for advertiser budgets targeting gamers.
- Future plc: Global multi-brand media company owning PC Gamer, GamesRadar+, Tom's Guide, and other gaming/entertainment titles. Comparable as a scaled, multi-brand gaming media network monetizing through advertising and affiliate commerce, though significantly larger and more diversified than eMense.
- Ziff Davis (IGN Entertainment): Owner of IGN Entertainment and eMense's licensor. Functions as a broad incumbent competitor (operates US IGN) and as eMense's upstream licensor; the strategic relationship simultaneously enables and constrains eMense's business.
- G/O Media (Kotaku, The Root, Gizmodo): US digital media holding company operating gaming-adjacent brands such as Kotaku and The A.V. Club. Comparable as a multi-site gaming/entertainment media network monetized through advertising, though primarily US-focused.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
eMense social profiles
Digital presenceeMense financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
eMense leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles13 records
eMense funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
eMense M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about eMense
What does eMense do?
eMense operates as the licensed media partner of IGN Entertainment across 11 European countries in four regional clusters (BENELUX, NORDIC, DACH, FRANCE), publishing daily gaming and entertainment content through localized websites, podcasts, and social channels. The company additionally sells advertising placements, sponsored content, creative brand activations, events, and livestream production services to connect advertisers with an audience of over 10 million monthly European gamers.
Is eMense a public or private company?
eMense is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was eMense founded?
eMense was founded in 2017. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is eMense based?
eMense is headquartered in Haarlem, Netherlands, in the Europe region.
How does eMense make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Advertising and Media Campaigns are the primary driver. The others are creative Activations and Projects and licensing Royalties.
Who are eMense's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Dexerto, Webedia, Gamurs Group, TheGamer, GINX TV and Gamer Network. Broad incumbents are Fandom, Future plc, Ziff Davis (IGN Entertainment) and G/O Media (Kotaku, The Root, Gizmodo).
Does eMense have an API?
No public API is recorded for eMense.
What industry is eMense in?
eMense's product category is Gaming and Entertainment Media. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAFAMAJ, Gaming Media Networks & Aggregators (Multi-site Networks, RSS/Content Syndication), with a secondary code of MPAAAGAF, Festival & Live Entertainment Brand Partnerships. Its NAICS code is 516210 and its SIC code is 7310.