Bahamut Gamer's Community

Bahamut Gamer Information Station offers a range of services, including GNN Game News, the internet forum section “Halá District”, the Creation Hall, the Hero Avatar system, Bahamut Animation Crazy, the Bahamut Mall, Bahamut Now!, the Bahamut PC Hardware Store, the Bahamut Sticker Store, the Hero Activity Feed, the Bahamut ACG Database, and Bahamut Game Crazy.^[16][28][29] Although the platform has transitioned from a bulletin board system (BBS) to a web-based interface, the “Bahamut BBS” remains operational.^[30]

“GNN Game News” (Game News Network) was originally named after the U.S. Cable News Network. Its first article, covering Phantasy Star Online, was published on November 20, 2000.^[31] The service now covers the latest information on video games across multiple platforms, as well as anime, manga, light novels, model figures, exhibition coverage, and feature reports.^[32][33] In March 2002, the “Bahamut Mall” service was launched, marking the platform’s entry into e-commerce.^[28] In November 2003, web-based versions of the forums (“Halá District”), the avatar system (“Paper Doll”/ “Hero Avatar”), and the Creation Hall were introduced.^[16] The platform’s internal chat-based instant messaging service, “Hero Summoner,” was launched in November 2006.^[34][35] It was replaced in February 2018 by the instant messaging application “HahaMuTe BuEY,” which was later succeeded by “Bahamut Now!” in January 2024.^[36]

To improve information accessibility, Bahamut integrated its Game Data Library, Anime Special Zone, and Encyclopedia into the “Bahamut ACG Database” in August 2008, introducing wiki-style editing, personalization, and enhanced search functionality.^[37][29] The mobile version and official application were launched in September 2009 and January 2013, respectively.^[34] The OTT anime streaming platform “Bahamut Animation Crazy” was launched in January 2016.^[38] The “Hero Activity Feed” app was released in September 2018, with a web version launched in April 2021, offering personalized content-tracking features.^[39][40] In March 2024, in collaboration with Sinya Digital, the Bahamut PC Hardware Store was launched, offering hardware discussion, purchasing, and after-sales services.^[41] In June 2024, sticker functionality was introduced to forums and creation services, along with the launch of the Bahamut Sticker Store.^[42]

By late January 2001, the number of registered members of Bahamut Gamer Information Station had reached 100,000.^[28] In July 2004, a report by the Internet measurement company InsightXplorer (“ARO Internet Measurement Study”) ranked Bahamut as the 20th-largest website, accounting for 11.34% of Taiwan’s internet population, with an average of 148 pages viewed per user, the fourth-highest in Taiwan.^[43] In August 2005, the site was listed among the top 500 global websites in an Alexa Internet survey.^[6] By 2006, membership had grown rapidly to 650,000 users, while the peak number of unique daily visitors reached 2.16 million, equivalent to one in every 13.8 people in the Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao region visiting Bahamut.^[44] According to Business Next, Bahamut entered the global top 200 websites in 2006; in 2007, it ranked 6th among Taiwanese websites and 137th globally in Alexa traffic rankings.^[45] In 2009, it became the third-most-visited website in Taiwan, according to Alexa rankings.^[46]

In 2010, Bahamut was ranked 8th in Business Next’s Taiwan Top 100 Websites list.^[47] In the December 2014 web traffic rankings released by the Institute for Information Industry, Bahamut ranked third among Taiwanese social networking websites.^[48] By October 2016, registered membership had reached 2.4 million users, with a cumulative login count of 736.98 million.^[44] In 2019, its annual revenue was approximately NT$200 million, and registered users increased to 2.5 million, up by around 40,000 per year.^[49] By 2022, revenue had increased to approximately NT$300 million, with around 1.5 million daily active users and up to 25 million daily page views.^[3] In the December 2024 SimilarWeb Taiwan rankings, Bahamut ranked 5th overall and first among gaming-related websites.^[50] In March 2025, membership exceeded 6 million, placing it among the top five most visited websites in Taiwan.^[4] As of late May 2026, total registered users had reached 6.71 million, surpassing the combined population of the Taipei and New Taipei metropolitan areas (6.47 million). User-generated content exceeded 13.7 million posts, while total page views reached 132.6 billion. Approximately 70% of traffic originated from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau, while the remaining 30% came from regions including Japan, Malaysia, Mainland China, the United States, and Australia.^[30]

A 2009 academic study on the Bahamut community found that the platform’s management adopted a semi-decentralized governance model, granting subforums a degree of autonomy. The study also noted that the central administration focused on identifying market trends, setting long-term development directions, and continuously improving interface design and platform functionality. It further emphasized that Bahamut’s founders were themselves anime and video game enthusiasts, enabling them to better understand market dynamics and drive sustained growth.^[29]

Former vice president Chen Jianren stated that Bahamut is primarily driven by user-generated content, and therefore, fostering a sense of belonging and an open, free environment for ACG subculture enthusiasts is essential.^[51]

Although Bahamut is primarily a video game-related community website, it also hosts a wide range of discussion forums, including light novels, computer applications, and collectibles, attracting users with diverse interests. Academic research has utilized Bahamut’s high traffic volume as a data source for various studies.^[52] Psychological research on Taiwanese university students found that while Bahamut is primarily used for entertainment and social interaction, usage motivation varies by gender (higher among males), academic year (higher among senior students), and field of study. Overall usage motivation—especially emotional regulation and loneliness—showed a positive correlation, suggesting that heavier reliance on the platform is associated with increased loneliness as users compensate for real-world social dissatisfaction.^[53]

Bahamut booth at the 2018 Taipei Game Show

The 2018 Bahamut Market at Taipei City Mall

The 2011 Bahamut Market at Red House Theater

Award ceremony for outstanding booths at the 23rd anniversary gathering in 2019

The 26th anniversary gathering in 2022 at the National Taiwan University Sports Center

The initial focus of the Bahamut Gamer Information Station was as a video game discussion forum. However, due to limited internet penetration in Taiwan at the time, most early users were university students, resulting in a relatively homogeneous user base.^[52] As a result, the earliest “gatherings” (known as station meets) were small private meetups between users and forum moderators.^[54] Starting in October 2000, the platform began organizing official gatherings and market events.^[28] A flea market event originally held during the fourth anniversary gathering, known as the “Pomo Festival,” became an independent event in 2001.^[13][55] It included both a flea market and auction activities. In July 2008, it was renamed the “Bahamut Market,” focusing on second-hand trading of anime, games, and toys, as well as creative goods from fan-made and doujin culture. Due to its popularity, the event has been held annually since then, with the number of booths exceeding 600.^[56][57]

On April 27, 2008, at 22:00, Bahamut and Gamebase were subjected to a Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack allegedly carried out by private server operators based in mainland China. The attackers reportedly demanded that the platforms allow free advertising for private servers of ‘’World of Warcraft‘’. After the operators refused the extortion demand, the attacks continued intermittently. The incident was reported to the police, and both the technical team and Internet service providers worked to mitigate the attack.^[100] In October 2020, police dismantled a pedophile-related online group. A man with the username “CIA Bear Head Director” (surname Lin) was found to have used the Bahamut platform to recruit users into a private LINE group where child sexual exploitation material was distributed. He was arrested following the investigation.^[101] In March 2021, following the Shuguang High School sexual assault case, the “Off-topic Discussion Board” section of Bahamut contained a large number of posts violating the Protection of Children and Youths Welfare and Rights Act. The Nantou County Government fined the platform NT$60,000 under Article 46, Paragraph 3 of the Act. On March 23, Bahamut announced that all illegal content would be removed immediately.^[102][103] In June 2021, users in the off-topic forum circulated false information regarding Japan’s foreign minister, leading to a criminal referral to the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office.^[104] However, the court ruled in July 2021 that the case was non-punishable.^[105] On August 18, 2022, during the third public hearing on the proposed “Digital Intermediary Services Act” held by Taiwan’s National Communications Commission (NCC), Bahamut vice president Chen Jian-Ren stated that, as a native social platform, the proposed regulations created practical compliance difficulties regarding freedom of speech. Operators of platforms including PTT, Dcard, and Mobile01 also expressed concerns that the proposal would be difficult to implement in practice. Following the hearing, the NCC stated that it would continue revising the draft based on stakeholder feedback.^[106] On November 11, 2023, during Bahamut’s 27th Anniversary Gathering held at the Taipei Expo Park Expo Dome, merchandise vendor “Ark Toy” reported that a limited-edition Godzilla figurine priced at NT$5,500 was stolen from its booth. Other vendors also reported missing CDs, figurines, and display items. Police were called to the scene and identified a suspect, with investigations continuing to recover the stolen goods.^[107][108]

• Gamebase [zh]
• 4Gamers [zh]
• 4Gamer.net
• Game Times [zh]