<s>
Xfire	B-Protocol
was	O
a	O
proprietary	B-License
freeware	I-License
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
service	O
for	O
gamers	O
that	O
also	O
served	O
as	O
a	O
game	O
server	B-Application
browser	O
with	O
various	O
other	O
features	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
available	O
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Xfire	B-Protocol
was	O
originally	O
developed	O
by	O
Ultimate	O
Arena	O
based	O
in	O
Menlo	O
Park	O
,	O
California	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Xfire	B-Protocol
's	O
partnership	O
with	O
Livestream	B-Application
allowed	O
users	O
to	O
broadcast	O
live	O
video	O
streams	O
of	O
their	O
current	O
game	O
to	O
an	O
audience	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
website	O
also	O
maintained	O
a	O
"	O
Top	O
Ten	O
"	O
games	O
list	O
,	O
ranking	O
games	O
by	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
hours	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
users	O
spend	O
playing	O
each	O
game	O
every	O
day	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
World	B-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
Warcraft	I-Protocol
had	O
been	O
the	O
most	O
played	O
game	O
for	O
many	O
years	O
,	O
but	O
was	O
surpassed	O
by	O
League	B-Application
of	I-Application
Legends	I-Application
on	O
June	O
20	O
,	O
2011	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Social.xfire.com	O
was	O
a	O
community	O
site	O
for	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
users	O
,	O
allowing	O
them	O
to	O
upload	O
screenshots	B-Application
,	O
photos	O
and	O
videos	O
and	O
to	O
make	O
contacts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Xfire	B-Protocol
hosted	O
events	O
every	O
month	O
,	O
which	O
included	O
debates	O
,	O
game	O
tournaments	O
,	O
machinima	O
contests	O
,	O
and	O
chat	O
sessions	O
with	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
or	O
game	O
developers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Xfire	B-Protocol
's	O
web	O
based	O
social	O
media	O
was	O
discontinued	O
on	O
June	O
12	O
,	O
2015	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
messaging	B-Protocol
function	O
was	O
shut	O
down	O
on	O
June	O
27	O
,	O
2015	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
last	O
of	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
's	O
services	O
were	O
shut	O
down	O
on	O
April	O
30	O
,	O
2016	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Xfire	B-Protocol
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
was	O
founded	O
in	O
2002	O
by	O
Dennis	O
"	O
Thresh	B-Application
"	O
Fong	O
,	O
Mike	O
Cassidy	O
,	O
Max	O
Woon	O
,	O
and	O
David	O
Lawee	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
was	O
formerly	O
known	O
as	O
Ultimate	O
Arena	O
,	O
but	O
changed	O
its	O
name	O
to	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
when	O
its	O
desktop	O
client	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
became	O
more	O
popular	O
and	O
successful	O
than	O
its	O
gaming	O
website	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
desktop	O
client	O
was	O
code-named	O
Scoville	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
first	O
developed	O
in	O
2003	O
by	O
Garrett	O
Blythe	O
,	O
Chris	O
Kirmse	O
,	O
Mike	O
Judge	O
,	O
and	O
others	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
April	O
25	O
,	O
2006	O
,	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
was	O
acquired	O
by	O
Viacom	O
in	O
a	O
US$102	O
million	O
deal	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
2006	O
,	O
Sony	O
was	O
misinterpreted	O
to	O
have	O
announced	O
that	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
would	O
be	O
used	O
for	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
3	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
confusion	O
came	O
when	O
one	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
3	I-Operating_System
game	O
,	O
Untold	B-Application
Legends	I-Application
:	I-Application
Dark	I-Application
Kingdom	I-Application
,	O
was	O
to	O
use	O
some	O
of	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
's	O
features	O
with	O
more	O
game	O
support	O
planned	O
for	O
the	O
future	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
May	O
7	O
,	O
2007	O
,	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
announced	O
that	O
they	O
had	O
reached	O
7	O
million	O
registered	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
August	O
2	O
,	O
2010	O
,	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
was	O
acquired	O
by	O
Titan	O
Gaming	O
,	O
a	O
skill-based	O
matchmaking	O
service	O
for	O
game	O
developers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Titan	O
Gaming	O
had	O
raised	O
only	O
US$1	O
million	O
prior	O
to	O
the	O
acquisition	O
,	O
so	O
Viacom	O
likely	O
sold	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
for	O
significantly	O
less	O
than	O
they	O
bought	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
day	O
of	O
the	O
acquisition	O
,	O
the	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
team	O
broadcast	O
a	O
message	O
to	O
all	O
users	O
stating	O
that	O
most	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
employees	O
would	O
be	O
leaving	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
message	O
was	O
later	O
put	O
on	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
's	O
website	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
October	O
2011	O
,	O
little	O
over	O
a	O
year	O
after	O
it	O
was	O
acquired	O
,	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
was	O
spun	O
off	O
from	O
Titan	O
Gaming	O
and	O
raised	O
US$4	O
million	O
in	O
funding	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Xfire	B-Protocol
's	O
president	O
estimated	O
that	O
US$44	O
million	O
had	O
been	O
invested	O
into	O
the	O
company	O
up	O
to	O
that	O
point	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
regaining	O
independence	O
,	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
pivoted	O
to	O
focus	O
on	O
the	O
Asian	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
financing	O
was	O
aimed	O
at	O
expanding	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
's	O
market	O
share	O
in	O
Asia	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
company	O
said	O
it	O
would	O
likely	O
be	O
part	O
of	O
a	O
larger	O
round	O
of	O
funding.However	O
,	O
this	O
was	O
the	O
last	O
round	O
of	O
funding	O
the	O
company	O
received	O
before	O
its	O
demise	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
June	O
10	O
,	O
2015	O
,	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
announced	O
that	O
its	O
social	O
services	O
would	O
be	O
shut	O
down	O
on	O
Friday	O
,	O
June	O
12	O
with	O
only	O
2	O
days	O
 '	O
notice	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
home	O
page	O
for	O
the	O
social	O
part	O
of	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
at	O
that	O
time	O
linked	O
to	O
an	O
export	O
page	O
where	O
users	O
could	O
download	O
all	O
their	O
previously	O
uploaded	O
screenshots	B-Application
and	O
videos	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2020	O
a	O
video	O
game	O
,	O
movies	O
and	O
TV	O
news	O
website	O
was	O
launched	O
on	O
the	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
domain	O
(	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Yahoo	B-Application
!	I-Application
</s>
<s>
filed	O
a	O
lawsuit	O
against	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
on	O
January	O
28	O
,	O
2005	O
,	O
claiming	O
that	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
has	O
infringed	O
Yahoo	B-Application
!	I-Application
</s>
<s>
6,699,125	O
for	O
a	O
"	O
Game	O
server	B-Application
for	O
use	O
in	O
connection	O
with	O
a	O
messenger	O
server	B-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Xfire	B-Protocol
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
filed	O
a	O
countersuit	O
against	O
Yahoo	B-Application
!	I-Application
</s>
<s>
More	O
details	O
were	O
posted	O
to	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
's	O
forums	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Xfire	B-Protocol
had	O
many	O
features	O
,	O
the	O
majority	O
of	O
which	O
could	O
only	O
be	O
used	O
while	O
in-game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Xfire	B-Protocol
featured	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
detect	O
the	O
video	O
game	O
a	O
particular	O
user	O
was	O
running	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
analyzing	O
running	O
processes	B-Operating_System
,	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
could	O
detect	O
active	O
games	O
and	O
then	O
send	O
that	O
information	O
to	O
the	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
servers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
many	O
games	O
,	O
it	O
could	O
also	O
detect	O
which	O
server	B-Application
users	O
were	O
playing	O
on	O
,	O
the	O
level	O
which	O
was	O
running	O
,	O
and	O
ping	B-Protocol
times	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Using	O
these	O
features	O
,	O
users	O
were	O
also	O
able	O
to	O
see	O
what	O
games	O
their	O
friends	O
were	O
playing	O
,	O
and	O
to	O
join	O
any	O
friends	O
who	O
were	O
currently	O
in-game	O
by	O
having	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
launch	O
the	O
game	O
and	O
join	O
the	O
friend	O
's	O
server	B-Application
automatically	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Xfire	B-Protocol
logged	O
what	O
games	O
users	O
were	O
playing	O
,	O
how	O
many	O
hours	O
they	O
had	O
played	O
them	O
,	O
and	O
saved	O
other	O
information	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
scores	O
)	O
from	O
game	O
servers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
information	O
could	O
be	O
converted	O
into	O
a	O
PNG	O
image	O
by	O
the	O
server	B-Application
via	O
PHP	B-Application
for	O
every	O
user	O
to	O
use	O
as	O
a	O
signature	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Xfire	B-Protocol
allowed	O
players	O
to	O
take	O
screenshots	B-Application
in-game	O
and	O
save	O
them	O
to	O
a	O
specified	O
folder	O
,	O
though	O
this	O
only	O
worked	O
with	O
games	O
that	O
had	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
in-game	O
support	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
could	O
select	O
and	O
caption	O
any	O
screenshots	B-Application
they	O
wished	O
to	O
upload	O
and	O
share	O
on	O
their	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
profile	O
page	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Xfire	B-Protocol
also	O
had	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
record	B-Protocol
video	I-Protocol
in-game	O
,	O
though	O
this	O
often	O
had	O
a	O
significant	O
impact	O
on	O
game	O
performance	O
and	O
recording	O
quality	O
if	O
one	O
had	O
a	O
low-performance	O
system	O
,	O
causing	O
the	O
frame	O
rate	O
to	O
drop	O
dramatically	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
this	O
is	O
typically	O
true	O
of	O
all	O
video	O
recording	O
during	O
gaming	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
not	O
unique	O
to	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
clients	O
main	O
function	O
was	O
as	O
an	O
instant	B-Application
messenger	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
communicate	O
with	O
other	O
users	O
in-game	O
,	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
users	O
could	O
send	O
and	O
receive	O
instant	B-Application
messages	I-Application
from	O
inside	O
any	O
game	O
that	O
was	O
running	O
in	O
full	O
screen	O
mode	O
,	O
regardless	O
of	O
the	O
games	O
the	O
sender	O
or	O
recipient	O
were	O
in	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
2005	O
,	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
updated	O
to	O
version	O
1.43	O
,	O
which	O
added	O
a	O
beta	O
voice	B-Protocol
chat	I-Protocol
feature	B-Architecture
using	O
Voice	B-Application
over	I-Application
Internet	I-Application
Protocol	I-Application
(	O
VoIP	B-Application
)	O
technology	O
to	O
the	O
application	O
called	O
"	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
Pro-Voice	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Until	O
early	O
2009	O
,	O
if	O
voice	B-Protocol
chat	I-Protocol
was	O
being	O
used	O
in	O
a	O
chat	O
room	O
,	O
users	O
had	O
to	O
host	O
the	O
voice	B-Protocol
chat	I-Protocol
,	O
causing	O
quality	O
problems	O
and	O
lag	O
due	O
to	O
some	O
users	O
have	O
better	O
system	O
capabilities	O
than	O
others	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Xfire	B-Protocol
hosted	O
the	O
voice	B-Protocol
chat	I-Protocol
sessions	O
to	O
resolve	O
quality	O
problems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
May	O
4	O
,	O
2009	O
,	O
a	O
built-in	O
alpha	O
AOL	B-Protocol
Instant	I-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
and	O
Windows	B-Protocol
Live	I-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
plugin	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
1.108	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
From	O
December	O
1	O
,	O
2009	O
,	O
users	O
could	O
access	O
their	O
Twitter	B-Application
accounts	I-Application
through	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
,	O
allowing	O
players	O
to	O
view	O
updates	O
posted	O
by	O
other	O
users	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
post	O
their	O
own	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
Talk	I-Application
was	O
also	O
subsequently	O
added	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
December	O
2011	O
,	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
added	O
support	O
for	O
Facebook	B-Application
chatting	O
,	O
enabling	O
users	O
to	O
chat	O
with	O
their	O
Facebook	B-Application
friends	O
from	O
within	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Xfire	B-Protocol
installed	O
itself	O
as	O
the	O
system-wide	O
handler	O
for	O
the	O
xfire	B-Protocol
:	O
URI	O
scheme	O
,	O
which	O
enabled	O
users	O
to	O
add	O
friends	O
,	O
join	O
game	O
servers	O
and	O
perform	O
other	O
functions	O
in	O
the	O
client	O
by	O
clicking	O
links	O
on	O
websites	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
December	O
16	O
,	O
2011	O
,	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
added	O
a	O
feature	B-Architecture
to	O
allow	O
its	O
users	O
to	O
capture	O
in-game	O
video	O
and	O
upload	O
it	O
to	O
YouTube	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
feature	B-Architecture
was	O
similar	O
to	O
other	O
popular	O
in-game	O
video	O
recording	O
software	O
products	O
,	O
but	O
allowed	O
users	O
to	O
record	O
videos	O
up	O
to	O
10	O
minutes	O
in	O
length	O
for	O
free	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Xfire	B-Protocol
added	O
a	O
video	O
streaming	O
feature	B-Architecture
in	O
version	O
1.97	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
view	O
a	O
broadcast	O
,	O
a	O
web	O
browser	O
plugin	O
was	O
required	O
,	O
supporting	O
only	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
and	O
Mozilla	B-Application
Firefox	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
version	O
1.113	O
,	O
released	O
on	O
August	O
17	O
,	O
2009	O
,	O
the	O
broadcast	O
system	O
was	O
changed	O
to	O
allow	O
a	O
plugin-less	O
,	O
Flash-based	O
view	O
compatible	O
with	O
any	O
Flash-enabled	O
browser	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
feature	B-Architecture
let	O
anyone	O
watch	O
a	O
live	O
feed	O
of	O
a	O
user	O
's	O
screen	O
while	O
they	O
were	O
playing	O
a	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In-game	O
internet	O
browsing	O
capabilities	O
were	O
added	O
to	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
in	O
version	O
1.103	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
December	O
1	O
,	O
2012	O
,	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
provided	O
support	O
for	O
more	O
than	O
3,000	O
games	O
,	O
of	O
many	O
different	O
genres	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Support	O
for	O
Windows	B-Device
98	I-Device
and	O
Windows	B-Device
Me	I-Device
was	O
discontinued	O
as	O
of	O
January	O
2007	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
were	O
many	O
third	O
party	O
modifications	O
for	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
's	O
client	O
and	O
services	O
,	O
including	O
skins	O
,	O
infoview	O
templates	O
,	O
plugins	O
,	O
and	O
protocol	O
implementations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
of	O
these	O
may	O
or	O
may	O
not	O
violate	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
's	O
terms	O
of	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Skins	O
could	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
provide	O
a	O
new	O
look	O
to	O
the	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
client	O
and	O
chat	O
windows	O
,	O
while	O
Infoview	O
skins	O
could	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
provide	O
extra	O
functionality	O
in	O
the	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
Infoview	O
pane	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Skins	O
were	O
made	O
using	O
XML	B-Protocol
and	O
image	O
files	O
,	O
while	O
Infoviews	O
were	O
made	O
using	O
HTML	B-Language
,	O
JavaScript	B-Language
,	O
and	O
images	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
were	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
third-party	O
plugins	O
developed	O
for	O
use	O
with	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
OpenFire	O
:	O
An	O
open-source	B-Application
(	O
LGPL	B-Application
licensed	O
)	O
Java	O
and	O
suite	O
of	O
tools	O
to	O
access	O
the	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
network	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Xfirelib	O
:	O
An	O
open-source	B-Application
library	O
written	O
in	O
C++	O
which	O
implements	O
the	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
protocol	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Based	O
on	O
it	O
is	O
an	O
Extensible	B-Protocol
Messaging	I-Protocol
and	I-Protocol
Presence	I-Protocol
Protocol	I-Protocol
(	O
XMPP	B-Protocol
)	O
gateway	O
to	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
which	O
also	O
implements	O
Gamers	O
Own	O
Instant	B-Application
Messenger	I-Application
(	O
GOIM	O
)	O
extensions	O
to	O
the	O
XMPP	B-Protocol
protocol	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
following	O
plugins	O
let	O
users	O
chat	O
on	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
with	O
other	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
clients	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Gfire	O
:	O
A	O
Pidgin	B-Protocol
plugin	O
for	O
Linux	B-Application
and	O
Windows	O
that	O
lets	O
users	O
chat	O
and	O
see	O
what	O
games	O
friends	O
are	O
playing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
has	O
most	O
of	O
the	O
major	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
features	O
:	O
group	O
chat	O
,	O
clan	O
chat	O
,	O
file	O
transfer	O
,	O
avatars	O
,	O
server	B-Application
,	O
and	O
game	O
detection	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kopete	B-Language
plugin	O
:	O
A	O
plugin	O
that	O
lets	O
users	O
chat	O
and	O
see	O
the	O
status	O
of	O
friends	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Miranda	B-Protocol
NG	I-Protocol
plugin	O
:	O
A	O
plugin	O
that	O
allows	O
users	O
to	O
chat	O
with	O
others	O
on	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
,	O
detect	O
games	O
,	O
and	O
more	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Xblaze	O
:	O
An	O
open-source	B-Application
plugin	O
for	O
Adium	B-Protocol
that	O
allows	O
communication	O
over	O
the	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
protocol	O
,	O
using	O
the	O
MacFire	O
implementation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
the	O
first	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
client	O
for	O
Mac	B-Device
OS	I-Device
X	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
clients	O
were	O
available	O
for	O
different	O
platforms	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
MacFire	O
:	O
An	O
open-source	B-Application
implementation	O
for	O
of	O
the	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
network	O
protocol	O
for	O
Mac	B-Device
OS	I-Device
X	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
BlackFire	O
:	O
A	O
client	O
for	O
Mac	B-Device
OS	I-Device
X	I-Device
Snow	I-Device
Leopard	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
editors	O
of	O
Computer	O
Games	O
Magazine	O
presented	O
Xfire	B-Protocol
with	O
their	O
2006	O
"	O
Best	O
Utility	O
"	O
award	O
.	O
</s>
