GOG Game Preservation Program

GOG Game Preservation Program

As a seasoned gamer who has witnessed the demise of many beloved titles due to technological advancements, I can wholeheartedly say that the GOG Preservation Program is a breath of fresh air. It’s like finding an old friend you thought was lost forever, only to find them in better shape than ever before!


Remarkable games, at times, are overlooked by their creators and left untouched for extended periods. Only when a significant advancement in technology occurs do these games become challenging to enjoy without investing considerable effort.

It’s not always due to ill intentions that games become inactive. As time progresses linearly, developers shift their focus to fresh projects, resources get redirected from maintenance to innovation, studios cease operations, and a newer operating system takes over. In an instant, the game seems to be no longer supported or playable – effectively, it’s retired.

Following its strong position as a DRM-free competitor to Steam for classic games, the team behind GOG.com has intensified their fight against game obsolescence. This marks the beginning of the GOG Preservation Project.

Game Archiving Keeps Classics Working

GOG Game Preservation Program

In essence, the main objective of the GOG Preservation Program is to ensure that classic games function seamlessly on contemporary devices, ensuring a hassle-free experience for players. Additionally, it offers user-friendly technical assistance to address and resolve any potential issues.

Upon examining the GOG Preservation Program webpage, it’s evident that the program adopts a dual strategy.

A portion of our endeavor involves bringing back to life some of the old, once-unplayable game titles that were buried.

“The other part involves keeping unsupported games operational; ensuring they remain playable even if their original creators stop supporting them.

In a blog post, the members of the GOG team who are working on preservation share their insights about the resurrection method they used for the classic Resident Evil series.

As per the record of preservation, the game underwent significant enhancements in its graphics, sound, and control mechanisms. Additionally, it rectified old issues (legacy bugs) and incorporated contemporary features like V-Sync and cloud storage for saving progress.

Glancing through the GOG Preservation Program’s collection reveals an interesting blend of classic and contemporary titles, including Obsidian’s timeless hit, often coveted by Bethesda, known as Fallout: New Vegas.

Whenever I navigate to the game page for a Preservation Program title like SimCity 2000 on GOG, there’s always an informative tab beneath the technical specifications, detailing the improvements GOG has implemented since they took over the game.

The majority of updates include fixes for system stability on both Windows 10 and Windows 11, as well as the implementation of cloud saving features.

Legal Battlegrounds Could Pose A Problem

GOG Game Preservation Program

The death of media has become a contentious issue in courts lately.

A duo of California-based video game enthusiasts are filing a lawsuit against Ubisoft, claiming they removed the multiplayer racing game “The Crew” from online servers without offering an alternative for local play.

In the meantime, large publishing and music corporations have been battling the Internet Archive, as this project aims to prevent literature, songs, and video games from vanishing forever in the digital realm.

Approaches such as the GOG Preservation Program play a crucial role as a final safeguard to ensure that timeless video games continue to thrive, given that modern computers are progressively incompatible with the original physical formats these classic games were initially released in.

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2024-11-13 20:40