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What does .IO mean in Gaming?

They are everywhere but what are they?
Image of Jesse Anderson
Jesse Anderson
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Published: Oct 24, 2022 01:59 pm

IO games are pretty popular mobile games. They don’t all seem to be related or made by the same companies, however. There is an air of mystery as to what exactly IO games really are. There isn’t any real meaning behind IO, a few misconceptions, but what exactly does the .IO mean in gaming?

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Some Misconceptions

.IO does have a few meanings, but not all of them are connected with gaming. IO first and foremost globally is the online country domain for the British Indian Ocean territory. This has nothing to do with .IO games, but it has led to a common misconception that .IO games all come from companies or developers in the Indian Ocean. There is no real connection between the two, .IO is a completely different concept when applied to the games you’ve seen on your smartphone.

What .IO means in Games

What .IO really means when it comes to video games is input/output. Think of all the idle games you’ve seen on your phone or played before. The games are all about simple commands and gameplay and getting quick and immediate results. Not every .IO game announces itself, but the input/output concept is a very easy and useful way to make cheap games that can occupy a lot of time for those looking to waste the day away.

To put things simply, .IO is the quick code data format used for most free-to-play mobile games. The coding side of course is a lot more complicated than we can explain here, but for the most part, if it is exclusively a modern-day smartphone mobile game, it’s probably using the .IO system and coding. So usually just expect the next IO game you play to be specifically for your mobile device.

Related: 10 Best Co-Op Mobile Games

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Author
Image of Jesse Anderson
Jesse Anderson
Always playing video games since he could walk. An immediate gravitation to the original Pokemon Blue, Red and Yellow has led to a life of loving colorful and adventurous games. From Final Fantasy to Ratchet and Clank to most things Nintendo and whatever cartoony indie Metroidvania on Steam. If its a vibrant RPG-like game, he's had a hand at playing it.