How to donate a game

As part of our project to preserve lost games, we accept donations of rare titles that do not exist anywhere online. Unless they are archived, these games risk being lost for good.

Step 1: Check the missing games list

Before donating, check that the game is currently on our missing games list. We receive a lot of donations for games that are still sold or already available elsewhere, so the list is what we are actively looking for. It grows as the project does.

If the game you want to donate is not on the list and is not archived anywhere else online, submit a request first so we can add a listing for it.

Step 2: Prepare the files

We accept game files in any format – what you end up with depends on the platform the game was released for. If it needs further processing to be playable, we can handle that.

If you own the game on CD, you will need to create an ISO or ROM from the disc first. WinCDEmu’s tutorial covers how to do that.

If you are uploading a compressed file such as .zip or .rar, please follow our file naming structure where you can. It is described in this guide.

Everything sent to us is screened for viruses and malware before the comment is approved.

Step 3: Upload the files

Upload the game files to a file-sharing service so we can access them. We suggest the Internet Archive, which has no size limit and means your files are preserved by another project at the same time.

If that is not an option for you, any of these will do:

• MEGA – up to 50 GB
• Google Drive – up to 15 GB
• OneDrive – up to 5 GB
• Dropbox – up to 2 GB

Step 4: Comment on the game’s page

Once the files are uploaded, leave a comment on our listing for that game with:

• the download link or links
• the platform the files are for, such as Windows or PlayStation
• anything else worth knowing, including how you got hold of the files – optional

Comments containing links are held for review, so a member of the team will check the link is safe before it appears.

Credit goes to the username you post under. If you would rather not be credited, put Anonymous in the name field.