First published as a weekly online magazine by Themis Media on July 12, 2005,[1] The Escapist eventually pivoted to a traditional web journalism format.

The company's entire video production team resigned to form Second Wind in November 2023 after editor-in-chief Nick Calandra was fired.

The Escapist was conceived as a PDF-format magazine by Themis Media, whose president Alexander Macris had previously found success with its sister site WarCry Network.

[5] The premier issue featured pieces from well-known gaming-community authors including Jerry Holkins, Kieron Gillen, and John Scott Tynes.

[7] Although the weekly topic and publish schedule was retained, new regular content additions included more game reviews, editorial articles, conference coverage, and a relaunch of Shoot Club by Tom Chick.

[8][non-primary source needed] The most notable addition to the content lineup was Zero Punctuation, a weekly animated review series that led to a four-fold increase in web traffic.

[citation needed] In 2010, The Escapist launched a membership service called the Publisher's Club which for $20 a year removed advertisements from the site, conferred forum benefits and entry into special contests.

[citation needed] Macris would later become involved with the sale of Themis Media to Alloy Digital, as well as supporting the Gamergate controversy in 2014 by openly adopting stricter policies.

[19] In July 2018, The Escapist was purchased by Enthusiast Gaming, owner of Destructoid,[20] and a relaunch was announced with former editor-in-chief Russ Pitts at the helm.

[23] Following a Twitter exchange with Zoë Quinn over a now-deleted article about Gamergate, Russ Pitts announced he would be taking a "voluntary leave of absence" from The Escapist in February 2019.

[31] The entire video team, including Croshaw,[31][32] subsequently resigned to form an employee-owned outlet titled Second Wind; Gamurs kept the rights to Zero Punctuation among other Escapist properties.