The video game museum
“OldGamesDownload” is a project launched in 2017 to archive video games no longer available for purchase or download. These games hold important sentimental value to hundreds of millions of people across the globe, and it is not right to allow these games to simply fade into time and be lost forever. Gaming is an important part of human history, and through this project, we humbly hope to contribute to preserving its timeline and progression.
Mission statement: the creation of a community-driven archive of abandoned video games to be preserved for future generations.
A note about copyright
Only video games classified as abandonware are archived by the project. A game is considered abandonware when the game developers or publishers are no longer selling the game, and users have no way of reliving or playing the game again.
Video game files are uploaded to Internet Archive servers, which has protections against DMCA take-downs for “Computer programs and video games distributed in formats that have become obsolete and which require the original media or hardware as a condition of access.” However, OldGamesDownload complies with all legitimate DMCA requests, which can be sent via the contact page.
Sometimes, a game which used to be abandonware is suddenly relaunched. If you find a game like this still listed in the “OldGamesDownload” archive, we urge you to contact us and we will promptly remove it.
We truly do not want to infringe on anyone’s copyright and this is not the purpose of this project. Only to keep the history of video games alive for future generations.
For more information about this project, visit the FAQs page.
Credits
OldGamesDownload is by no means alone in the world of video game preservation. We owe many thanks to other websites, projects and individuals who have made this project a reality:
- MobyGames: Video Game Database, by the far the biggest catalog for video game information and screenshots.
- Vimm’s Lair: Preserving the Classics, database where you can find original ROMs and manuals.
- Macintosh Garden, database of abandoned Mac video games.
- MyAbandonware, abandonware website preserving video game files, patches, fixes and manuals.
- The Internet Archive, which provides a protected space for user-uploaded files.
- And all of the individuals who have donated video game files directly to our project, thank you all!