VGTimes

VGTimes is a Russian-language gaming media portal founded in 2011 that serves Russian-speaking gamers with news, reviews, guides, hardware coverage, quizzes, a game discount aggregator, and community features, monetized through advertising and affiliate referrals.

Company typePrivate
Founded2011
Headquarters—
Headcount1–10
GTM typeB2C
OfferingDigital Commerce or Content

What VGTimes does

VGTimes is a Russian-language gaming media portal that has operated continuously since 2011, serving Russian-speaking video game enthusiasts across Eastern Europe and other Russian-speaking regions. The platform aggregates gaming content across multiple modules: news articles, game reviews and previews, strategy guides, hardware and technology reviews, movie and TV series coverage, curated top lists, and developer interviews. Community features include forums, a cosplay gallery, interactive quizzes, user-submitted articles, and gamified elements such as a Game Roulette promotion offering free game spins. The primary audience is Russian-speaking gamers seeking localized coverage of the global gaming industry.

The platform is built on a web-based content management system with RSS feed generation at vgtimes.ru/rss.xml, browser push notifications for breaking news, and specialized e-commerce modules including a discount aggregator that compiles real-time game prices across multiple digital storefronts and a free games tracker covering Steam, Epic Games Store, Android, and iOS. A Telegram-based quiz bot extends the platform into messenger-based engagement, and a game files repository distributes cheats, trainers, saves, and mods. Site architecture is SEO-optimized for Russian-language gaming queries, with single articles demonstrating traffic capacity in the millions of views.

VGTimes operates as a free-to-access, advertiser-supported media business with no subscription or paid content. Revenue is generated through display advertising (sponsored articles and banner placements), affiliate commissions from the discount aggregator driving tracked referrals to external game stores, and potential content licensing. The company is privately held, bootstrapped with no disclosed external funding, institutional investors, or parent ownership, and operates with a small core team. Firmographics list the company in Ljubljana, Slovenia while its operating geography, content language, and .ru domain indicate its commercial focus is on the Russian-speaking market.

VGTimes firmographics

Firmographics

Name: VGTimes
Legal name: VGTimes
Website: https://vgtimes.ru
Company type: Private
Founded year: 2011
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 1–10 employees
Short description: VGTimes is a Russian-language gaming media portal founded in 2011 that serves Russian-speaking gamers with news, reviews, guides, hardware coverage, quizzes, a game discount aggregator, and community features, monetized through advertising and affiliate referrals.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

VGTimes industry classification

Industry

Product category: Gaming Media
NAICS: Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (5162)
SIC: Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)
akta.pro primary industry: Gaming Video Journalism & Shows (Non-creator, Editorial Video) (MPAFAMAF)

Keywords

Gaming media platform
Game news coverage
Digital game discounts
Game reviews guides
Video game content

VGTimes business model

Business model

GTM type: B2C
Offering type: Digital Commerce or Content
Cost components: Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

Display Advertising: The site displays advertising through sponsored articles and banner placements on its high-traffic gaming news pages.
Affiliate/Referral Revenue: The discount aggregator and game marketplace section drives affiliate commissions when users purchase games through tracked referral links to external game stores.
Content Licensing: VGTimes produces original content including reviews, articles, and interviews that generate traffic and potential licensing opportunities.

Pricing tiers

Model	Billing	Price
Freemium	Monthly	Free access to all content

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

VGTimes product offering

Product offering

Core offering

VGTimes is a free, Russian-language gaming media platform that publishes daily news, reviews, previews, and guides for video games, related movies/TV series, and gaming hardware. It supplements editorial content with community features including forums, user-submitted articles, quizzes, a cosplay gallery, and a game roulette promotion, and includes a discount aggregator that tracks game prices across third-party digital storefronts.

Product overview

VGTimes is a Russian-language gaming media portal offering comprehensive coverage of video games, hardware, movies, and TV series. The platform operates as a content hub with multiple integrated modules: a news portal with daily articles, game reviews and previews, strategy guides, interactive quizzes, a discount aggregator for game prices, free game giveaways section, hardware reviews, curated top lists, game files repository (cheats, trainers, mods), exclusive developer interviews, push notifications for breaking news, a game roulette feature, community forums, and cosplay gallery. Content is distributed via RSS syndication.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

VGTimes Gaming News Portal Russian-language gaming media website providing daily news coverage of video games, freely accessible to consumers seeking localized gaming industry news, editorial reviews, previews, guides, and community features.
Discount Aggregator Price comparison and discount aggregation tool for video games across multiple digital storefronts, providing real-time price tracking for Russian-speaking consumers seeking game deals.

Quantifiable outcome

Individual news articles generating millions of views (5.9 million views for Spider-Man story within hours)

Companies that use VGTimes

Customer profile

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

VGTimes technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

VGTimes partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

VGTimes competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Direct peers

StopGame: One of the largest Russian-language gaming news and review sites, covering PC and console games, guides, and video content for the same Russian-speaking gamer audience as VGTimes.
Shazoo: Russian-language gaming and entertainment media covering news, articles, and videos for Russian-speaking audiences; comparable in language, audience, and editorial format to VGTimes.
Cybersport.ru: Russian-language gaming and esports media outlet covering news, reviews, and competitive gaming, serving the same Russian-speaking gaming audience as VGTimes.
DTF (Dota 2 / devtfun): Russian-language community-driven gaming and tech publication featuring news, articles, and user content — overlapping audience and content model with VGTimes.
PlayGround.ru: Russian-language gaming portal offering news, reviews, guides, and a games database; competes directly with VGTimes for Russian-speaking gamer mindshare and traffic.

Broad incumbents

IGN Entertainment: Global gaming and entertainment media giant with news, reviews, and video; competes for the same gamer audience and advertiser dollars as VGTimes, though at a much larger, multi-language scale.
GameSpot: Established global gaming media site offering reviews, news, and video coverage; a broad incumbent in the same gaming editorial category as VGTimes.
Kotaku: Major gaming and pop-culture editorial site covering news, reviews, and opinion; operates in the same gaming-media category as VGTimes but with much larger scale and reach.
Polygon: Major gaming publication covering reviews, news, and long-form features in English; competes for the same global gamer audience and advertiser mindshare as VGTimes.

Emerging players

IsThereAnyDeal: Game price-comparison and deal-tracking platform that overlaps with VGTimes' discount aggregator functionality; competes for affiliate-driven game purchase intent in the same category.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

VGTimes financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

VGTimes leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

VGTimes funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

VGTimes M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about VGTimes

What does VGTimes do?

Is VGTimes a public or private company?

VGTimes is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.

When was VGTimes founded?

VGTimes was founded in 2011. It employs 1 to 10 people.

How does VGTimes make money?

Three revenue lines are on record. Display Advertising is the primary driver. The others are affiliate/Referral Revenue and content Licensing.

Who are VGTimes's main competitors?

Direct peers on record are StopGame, Shazoo, Cybersport.ru, DTF (Dota 2 / devtfun) and PlayGround.ru. Broad incumbents are IGN Entertainment, GameSpot, Kotaku and Polygon. IsThereAnyDeal is listed as an emerging player.

Does VGTimes have an API?

No public API is recorded for VGTimes.

What industry is VGTimes in?

VGTimes's product category is Gaming Media. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAFAMAF, Gaming Video Journalism & Shows (Non-creator, Editorial Video). Its NAICS code is 5162 and its SIC code is 7990.