The European Federation of Game Archives, Museums, and Preservation Projects (EFGAMP) is the Avengers of video game preservation. Now it’s time for the team to welcome its newest hero. Good Old Games has already launched its own Preservation Program, but that’s just the beginning. EFGAMP and GOG are teaming up to ensure that video games remain playable. From Diablo and Resident Evil to more recent masterpieces, even the greatest games will degrade and disappear unless someone fights to protect them. That’s doubly true in an era when some platforms don’t even let gamers own the games they buy. Here’s what’s happening in the fight for gaming’s past (and future).
Cultural Preservation Efforts of EFGAMP and GOG
Teaming up with EFGAMP feels like the next natural step given the success of the GOG Preservation Program. Keeping games updated and available to gamers despite the whims of publishers and the ravages of time is GOG’s bedrock. Maciej Gołębiewski, Managing Director at Good Old Games, said this about GOG’s role:
As a European company, we feel a responsibility to lead in preserving gaming heritage. Joining EFGAMP reinforces this commitment. Our next step is to expand institutional collaboration with museums and governmental and non-governmental organizations worldwide. We hope our experience will contribute meaningfully to their efforts. We are also discussing exciting new game preservation projects, which we look forward to sharing soon.
Ensuring that games remain playable, accessible, and DRM-free isn’t easy. While there are only 102 games in the Preservation Program’s catalog right now, GOG intends to add far more in 2025. Another key part of GOG’s program is the 500+ enhancements that have helped make older games playable on newer hardware. Now those efforts are paired with EFGAMP’s resources and network of like-minded historians, archivists, and game scholars. With so many games getting released and so few people fighting to preserve and maintain them, gaming’s cultural heritage faces an uphill climb. The task might be Sisyphean, but that’s never stopped Hades fans before.
