Video game preservation: Difference between revisions

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Just like other media, some games shaped global culture such as Super Mario Bros, [[World of Warcraft]], [[Minecraft]], [[Fortnite]], Pokémon and many more, influencing generations of players and their growth, along with developers, artists and communities.

== Preservation methods ==

==Preservation methods==

=== Publishing source code ===

===Publishing source code===

On 18 February 2025, Valve released an update to the {{Wplink|Source_(game_engine)|Source}} SDK, which added all the {{Wplink|Team Fortress 2}} client and server game code. With the source code content creators are allowed to build new games based off TF2.<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 Feb 2025 |title=The TF2 SDK has arrived! |url=https://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=238809 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250218201538/https://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=238809 |archive-date=18 Feb 2025 |access-date=10 Mar 2025 |website=Team Fortress}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=21 Feb 2025 |title=Valve Releases Team Fortress 2 Source Code, Now open to Modders |url=https://bitskins.com/blog/valve-releases-team-fortress-2-source-code-now-open-to-modders/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250310111654/https://bitskins.com/blog/valve-releases-team-fortress-2-source-code-now-open-to-modders/ |archive-date=10 Mar 2025 |access-date=10 Mar 2025 |website=BitSkins}}</ref>

On 18 February 2025, [[Valve]] released an update to the {{Wplink|Source_(game_engine)|Source}} SDK, which added all the {{Wplink|Team Fortress 2}} client and server game code. With the source code content creators are allowed to build new games based off TF2.<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 Feb 2025 |title=The TF2 SDK has arrived! |url=https://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=238809 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250218201538/https://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=238809 |archive-date=18 Feb 2025 |access-date=10 Mar 2025 |website=Team Fortress}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=21 Feb 2025 |title=Valve Releases Team Fortress 2 Source Code, Now open to Modders |url=https://bitskins.com/blog/valve-releases-team-fortress-2-source-code-now-open-to-modders/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250310111654/https://bitskins.com/blog/valve-releases-team-fortress-2-source-code-now-open-to-modders/ |archive-date=10 Mar 2025 |access-date=10 Mar 2025 |website=BitSkins}}</ref>

In February 2025, [[Electronic Arts]] (EA) made an announcement that the source code of older titles from the {{Wplink|Command & Conquer}} video game franchise were recovered, and made public under the GPLv3 license.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Vessella |first=Jim |date=27 Feb 2025 |title=C&C Steam Workshop Support & Source Code |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/commandandconquer/comments/1izmpmb/cc_steam_workshop_support_source_code/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250626052744/https://old.reddit.com/r/commandandconquer/comments/1izmpmb/cc_steam_workshop_support_source_code/ |archive-date=26 Jun 2025 |access-date=9 Mar 2025 |via=Reddit}}</ref> To help the community further, the Steam Workshop has also been integrated into these titles to add additional community content.<ref name=":0" />

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[[Id Software]] has published<ref>{{Cite web |title=id Software GitHub |url=https://github.com/id-Software |url-status=live |website=GitHub}}</ref> the source code of various games and tools on [[GitHub]]. The repositories are for DOOM, DOOM Classic for iOS (two versions), Doom 3 BFG Edition, Quake, Quake 2, Quake 2 Tools, Quake III Arena, Return to Castle Wolfenstein (Single Player and Multiplayer), Wolfenstein 3D for iOS, WOLF3D Browser Version and Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory.

=== Museums and archives ===

===Museums and archives===

Museums such as [https://www.museumofplay.org/collections/icheg/ The Strong National Museum of Play] and [https://gamehistory.org/ Video Game History Foundation] collect consoles, cartridges, design documents and promotional materials to document the evolution of the gaming industry. On the other hand, archive website and digital libraries like [https://archive.org/details/classicpcgames Internet Archive] and [https://www.gog.com/en/gog-preservation-program GOG Preservation Program] work to preserve games, magazines and software that might otherwise disappear due to hardware failure, discontinued support or physical media being lost.

@@ Line 21: / Line 21: @@
 Just like other media, some games shaped global culture such as Super Mario Bros, [[World of Warcraft]], [[Minecraft]], [[Fortnite]], Pokémon and many more, influencing generations of players and their growth, along with developers, artists and communities.
-== Preservation methods ==
+==Preservation methods==
-=== Publishing source code ===
+===Publishing source code===
-On 18 February 2025, Valve released an update to the {{Wplink|Source_(game_engine)|Source}} SDK, which added all the {{Wplink|Team Fortress 2}} client and server game code. With the source code content creators are allowed to build new games based off TF2.<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 Feb 2025 |title=The TF2 SDK has arrived! |url=https://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=238809 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250218201538/https://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=238809 |archive-date=18 Feb 2025 |access-date=10 Mar 2025 |website=Team Fortress}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=21 Feb 2025 |title=Valve Releases Team Fortress 2 Source Code, Now open to Modders |url=https://bitskins.com/blog/valve-releases-team-fortress-2-source-code-now-open-to-modders/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250310111654/https://bitskins.com/blog/valve-releases-team-fortress-2-source-code-now-open-to-modders/ |archive-date=10 Mar 2025 |access-date=10 Mar 2025 |website=BitSkins}}</ref>
+On 18 February 2025, [[Valve]] released an update to the {{Wplink|Source_(game_engine)|Source}} SDK, which added all the {{Wplink|Team Fortress 2}} client and server game code. With the source code content creators are allowed to build new games based off TF2.<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 Feb 2025 |title=The TF2 SDK has arrived! |url=https://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=238809 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250218201538/https://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=238809 |archive-date=18 Feb 2025 |access-date=10 Mar 2025 |website=Team Fortress}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=21 Feb 2025 |title=Valve Releases Team Fortress 2 Source Code, Now open to Modders |url=https://bitskins.com/blog/valve-releases-team-fortress-2-source-code-now-open-to-modders/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250310111654/https://bitskins.com/blog/valve-releases-team-fortress-2-source-code-now-open-to-modders/ |archive-date=10 Mar 2025 |access-date=10 Mar 2025 |website=BitSkins}}</ref>
 In February 2025, [[Electronic Arts]] (EA) made an announcement that the source code of older titles from the {{Wplink|Command & Conquer}} video game franchise were recovered, and made public under the GPLv3 license.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Vessella |first=Jim |date=27 Feb 2025 |title=C&C Steam Workshop Support & Source Code |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/commandandconquer/comments/1izmpmb/cc_steam_workshop_support_source_code/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250626052744/https://old.reddit.com/r/commandandconquer/comments/1izmpmb/cc_steam_workshop_support_source_code/ |archive-date=26 Jun 2025 |access-date=9 Mar 2025 |via=Reddit}}</ref> To help the community further, the Steam Workshop has also been integrated into these titles to add additional community content.<ref name=":0" />
@@ Line 30: / Line 30: @@
 [[Id Software]] has published<ref>{{Cite web |title=id Software GitHub |url=https://github.com/id-Software |url-status=live |website=GitHub}}</ref> the source code of various games and tools on [[GitHub]]. The repositories are for DOOM, DOOM Classic for iOS (two versions), Doom 3 BFG Edition, Quake, Quake 2, Quake 2 Tools, Quake III Arena, Return to Castle Wolfenstein (Single Player and Multiplayer), Wolfenstein 3D for iOS, WOLF3D Browser Version and Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory.
-=== Museums and archives ===
+===Museums and archives===
 Museums such as [https://www.museumofplay.org/collections/icheg/ The Strong National Museum of Play] and [https://gamehistory.org/ Video Game History Foundation] collect consoles, cartridges, design documents and promotional materials to document the evolution of the gaming industry. On the other hand, archive website and digital libraries like [https://archive.org/details/classicpcgames Internet Archive] and [https://www.gog.com/en/gog-preservation-program GOG Preservation Program] work to preserve games, magazines and software that might otherwise disappear due to hardware failure, discontinued support or physical media being lost.