Popular mirror and download site FileFront has been saved from the chopping block at the eleventh hour by its original founders, according to an announcement on the site.

FileFront's founders have purchased the site back from Ziff Davis and will be running it independently with all services back online, and proclaim "We are happy to be back!"

Ex-owners Ziff Davis Media had announced last week that the site would "indefinitely suspend" operations as of March 30, blaming current economic conditions.

Surprised, FileFront's users launched a hasty campaign to preserve as many files as possible. When the site's forums came back online on April 1, the timing intially led some to suspect they had fallen foul of a cruel and elaborate April Fools' Day prank.

Popular mirror and download site FileFront today revealed that it will "indefinitely suspend" site operations on March 30, 2009 due to current economic conditions. The sited urged users to download and archive any files they may want before that date.

While owner Ziff Davis recently sold the bulk of its video game-related sites, which also resulted in the closure of print magazine EGM, buyer UGO was reportedly uninterested in FileFront. The site continued operations as part of Ziff's PCMag Digital Network.

"We would like to give a warm thank you to all of you who have been part of the FileFront communities we have built together," reads FileFront's farewell. "Your support has had a meaningful impact for all of us here at FileFront. Again, we want to give you a sincere 'thank you' for your support over the years and wish you all the very best."

Update: It appears that UGO's acquisition of 1UP has led to over 30 Ziff employees being laid off, including many veterans of the 1UP network.

According to their Twitter feeds, 1UP Show creator Ryan O'Donnell and producer Matt Chandronait were among those let go. 1UP director Sam Kennedy, who will be making the move to UGO, would not comment on whether the show was indeed cancelled when asked by MTV.

Original story: Joint press releases issued today have confirmed the sale of the 1UP Digital Network to Hearst Corp's UGO Entertainment, as well as the impending closure of EGM.

"Ziff Davis Media's EGM Magazine will be discontinued," reads the release. "The January 09 issue will be the final printed issue."

Gamasutra has obtained an internal email from Ziff Davis CEO Jason Young to the 1UP team, in which he explains the decision to close EGM.

"With demand for print continuing to decline amongst both advertisers and readers and the content being produced by 1UP no longer available for use in the publication, it simply did not make sense for us to move forward with this business any longer," said Young.

Young also noted that Filefront will continue to operate under Ziff's PCMag Digital Network.

1UP.com, Mycheats.com, Gametab.com, and GameVideos.com will join Hearst's UGO Entertainment in the deal.

Electronic Gaming Monthly was founded in 1989. Ziff Davis CEO Jason Young told the New York Times in November that while the magazine turned a profit in 2008, revenue was expected to plummet in 2009 following a period of rising costs and falling advertising.

According to a report by Joystiq, UGO Entertainment is in talks to purchase the majority of Ziff Davis Media's 1UP Network, including 1UP.com, GameVideos.com and MyCheats.com.

The talks are said to be "very advanced," with the 1UP editorial staff reportedly being informed of the sale on Tuesday.

The story, sourced from anonymous tipsters within Ziff Davis, notes that UGO will not likely re-brand the purchased sites under the UGO Entertainment label.

The news does not bode well for the print arm of 1UP, Electronic Gaming Monthly, which UGO is apparently not interested in buying. The New York Times reported last month that Ziff Davis CEO Jason Young was considering closing EGM due to declining profit margins.

Download provider Filefront.com was also singled out as one branch that UGO is uninterested in picking up with the deal.

Following the announcement yesterday that longtime publication PC Magazine would be moving to an online-only format, Ziff Davis CEO Jason Young now says that videogame standard Electronic Gaming Monthly could be the next print casualty.

The news comes out of a story by the New York Times, which stated: "Mr. Young said the company was considering taking its other print magazine, the video-game publication Electronic Gaming Monthly, into an online-only format, but would not make a decision before the end of the year."

Electronic Gaming Monthly was founded in 1989. Gaming website 1UP.com already acts as the online home of EGM, with the two entities sharing staff and branding.

Davis noted that while PC Magazine would likely turn a profit in 2008, higher costs combined with fewer advertisements would push the company into the red next year.

Ziff Davis closed the print version of Games for Windows Magazine last April. At the time, Young cited the movement of readership to the online space as the reason for the transfer, rather than the company's March filing of Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Games for Windows Magazine will be transitioning to an online-only publication format, the 1UP Network announced today.

Publisher Ziff Davis, which launched GFW in 2006 as a rebranding of the 25-year-old mag Computer Gaming World, cited the movement of readership to internet-based news sources as impetus for the closure. The final print issue of Games for Windows, April/May 2008, is on newsstands now.

"PC gamers and marketers have made the online space their home," said Ziff Davis CEO Jason Young. "There are 10 million 'World of Warcraft' subscribers, 15 million Steam users...It's a natural move for us to refocus our resources and talent to the online space, in order to reach the PC gaming community where it truly lives."

Ziff Davis, which owns and operates the 1UP Network and its publications, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month due to mounting debt totaling between $500 million and $1 billion. But 1UP Network content VP Simon Cox said that GFW's... Read more

Publishing house Ziff Davis Media announced today that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy due to mounting debt that now totals between $500 million and $1 billion.

Ziff Davis is the publisher of such well-known gaming standards as 1UP.com, Electronic Gaming Monthly, Games for Windows, and PC Magazine.

If approved by the court, the company will be tasked with restructuring its finances. An ad hoc noteholder group is planning to pay up to $24.5 million to keep Ziff Davis afloat during the Chapter 11 case.

The Entertainment Consumer Association, which describes itself as the first video game consumer advocacy organization, today announced that it has struck partnerships with major industry groups and events such as Ziff Davis Media (1UP Network), NCsoft, Video Games Live, Yahoo! Games, Gen Con, Intec, and others. Earlier this year, the ECA also announced that it has acquired respected politically charged video game industry coverage blog GamePolitics. Founded this year, the ECA aims to educate and advocate for gamers at a consumer level rather than an industry level. Its founder and president Hal Halpin was the founder of the Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association, which this year merged with the Video Software Dealers Association to become the Entertainment Merchants Association.

Membership to the ECA runs $19.99 per year, and confers various benefits including discounts and trials to various industry publications, services, and events.