Earlier today, the game publisher and online browser gaming giant Kongregate announced that they would no longer be accepting Flash-based games for their Kongregate.com online gaming portal. Started in 2006, Kongregate games hosts website that has over 100,000 unique titles and games, with most requiring Flash in order to run. “You will still be able to play our existing library of over 128,000 amazing games and developers will be able to update their games as normal,” Kongregate said in their official statement. However, it is unlikely that there will be any new additions to the Kongregate.com’s library of games, and a number of the website’s features will be shutting down following the announcement. Kongregate has decided to also remove most of the site’s social functionality and programs, including the forum-style chat previously existent on the website. According to GameIndustry.biz, a number of layoffs have already occurred at Kongregate as the company shifts towards a new direction in the gaming industry.
With Adobe’s announcement about the end of Flash, many have wondered what will happen to the massive variety of Flash games that are scattered throughout the internet. Kongregate announced a partnership with Rochester’s The Strong National Museum of Play in order to download and preserve the Flash games already on the site. The partnership will also be making the games playable for the future, in the event that Flash shuts down or the Kongregate.com website closes.
Starting on July 22nd, Kongregate has also announced that a majority of the website’s social features will be disappearing excluding some chat rooms and forums, but the overall resources dedicated to the website will be significantly lowered. The company has stated that while they have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and a changing platform of games, Kongregate Games has announced they intend to focus more on game development in the future.