In March 2022, Atari added the long‑standing video‑game reference site MobyGames to its portfolio. The acquisition caught many observers off guard, as Atari has spent recent years concentrating on its retro‑gaming ventures. At the time, CEO Wade Rosen emphasized MobyGames’ mission to document, celebrate, and preserve video‑game history, and hinted that the database would soon see new developments.
Fast forward to the present, and Atari’s plans are becoming clearer. In June, MobyGames introduced a premium, professional‑focused tier called MobyGames Professional.
The service is currently in beta, with a full 1.0 release slated for the autumn. Among its core features are the ability for industry workers to claim credit for games, customize a personal portfolio, and monitor market‑driven data such as in‑demand skills and salary benchmarks. During a Gamescom interview, product manager Reece Denzel told GamesIndustry.biz that sign‑ups have been "great" and that "thousands of developers" have already claimed their pages on the platform.
He explained that while many creators have long‑standing public‑facing profile pages, the new "claim page" button links a user’s account directly to those pages. Importantly, this claim does not grant the user the power to edit the underlying credit data; instead, it lets them add personal details that appear as verified information supplied by the developer themselves.
The problem of missing or inaccurate credits is well documented in the industry. Historically, contributors have sometimes been omitted from a game’s official credit roll, leaving their work unrecognised. MobyGames’ claim function offers a way for those individuals to assert ownership of titles that were previously uncredited. At the same time, the system must guard against fraudulent claims.
To that end, MobyGames has instituted a two‑step verification process. First, a human‑driven background check confirms the claimant’s identity. Second, the existing credit‑verification workflow—unchanged since Atari’s involvement—ensures that any adjustments to credit listings are carefully vetted.
Denzel noted that occasional corrections are necessary, often to fix misspellings or to reconcile alternate aliases used by developers over the course of their careers. The overarching goal, he said, is to keep the site’s information as accurate as possible—recognizing that absolute perfection is unattainable, but striving for near‑perfect fidelity.
Much of the database’s upkeep relies on volunteers, which Denzel describes as an "active contributor and approver community." Credits are typically sourced from screenshots of credit rolls, spreadsheets supplied by game studios, or other community‑generated material. This collaborative model creates a symbiotic relationship: the community builds the database, and the database, in turn, serves the community. Beyond the core credit system, MobyGames offers several ancillary tools.
MobyRank, for instance, ranks genres and titles based on page‑view metrics, giving users a sense of what’s popular at any moment. However, the most compelling addition in the Professional tier is the personal portfolio page. Developers can upload demo reels, screenshots, detailed project descriptions, and links to external coverage or personal websites. Denzel illustrated how an employer could discover that a candidate served as lead designer on a particular title, then instantly explore the designer’s broader body of work through the portfolio and the linked MobyGames entries.
MobyGames also aggregates job listings from a variety of sources, linking them to studios already present in the database. By cross‑referencing a professional’s known credit history—genres, platforms, number of titles, and specific roles—the platform can present tailored job opportunities. The system can highlight former colleagues or studio alumni, facilitating networking in an industry where personal referrals and reputation are paramount.
While the recruitment features initially target individual users, the company is also collaborating with numerous studios behind the scenes. Denzel mentioned pilot programs that allow applicants to submit their MobyGames ID alongside a traditional job application, or even apply for positions directly through the site. Studios frequently report receiving thousands of applications for a single opening; a verified MobyGames portfolio can serve as an immediate differentiator, helping hiring teams filter candidates more efficiently. On the data side, MobyGames boasts an "embarrassment of riches" in terms of game‑related information.
The next phase of development will focus on analytics, starting with labor‑market insights. Denzel explained that the team is compiling data on salary ranges, geographic distribution of jobs, hiring trends, and layoffs. By partnering with select analysts, they aim to package this intelligence into accessible reports that illuminate broader industry dynamics, such as correlations between studio staffing changes and upcoming releases. Transparency is a recurring theme in Denzel’s vision.
He argues that making data publicly available can counteract the industry’s historical opacity, especially regarding employment stability. By tracking when studios expand or contract their workforce, the community can hold companies accountable and better anticipate market shifts. "One of the big things people are looking for in the games space is more stability," he said. "Keeping people accountable often starts with knowing what has happened and being able to point to concrete evidence." In practice, this means that anyone can examine a studio’s hiring history, see patterns of mass layoffs, and use that knowledge to make more informed career decisions.
The hope is that such visibility will encourage studios to act more responsibly, knowing that their actions are subject to public scrutiny. Overall, MobyGames Professional seeks to blend three pillars: accurate historical documentation, personal career empowerment, and industry‑wide transparency.
By allowing developers to claim and showcase their contributions, providing a curated job‑matching service, and delivering data‑driven insights, the platform aspires to make the video‑game ecosystem more open, accountable, and supportive for creators at every level.