Germany’s 60,000-game archive faces shutdown after €1.5M funding loss

A landmark initiative to archive over 60,000 video games has been scrapped after Germany’s federal government declined to extend its €1.5 million funding. The Internationale Computerspielesammlung (ICS), launched in 2012, had grown into the world’s largest publicly accessible collection of games, consoles, manuals, and packaging. Its online catalog, which went live in April 2019, provided open access to tens of thousands of titles spanning multiple formats, including cartridges, floppy disks, CDs, DVDs, and Blu-rays.

Funding lapse triggers shutdown

The ICS relied solely on public funds from the Berlin Senate and the Federal Government’s culture commissioner, which expired at the end of April. Despite efforts to secure long-term support, the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space determined that sustaining the project’s scale was not economically viable. A unanimous vote by the project’s shareholders confirmed its closure, leaving the future of its shared database and infrastructure unresolved.

Berlin’s Senator for Economics, Franziska Giffey, had previously cautioned that funding beyond April was not guaranteed. The decision arrives at a critical moment, coinciding with Sony’s announcement that it will halt physical PlayStation disc production by 2028—a move that further complicates the preservation of vintage and out-of-print titles.

The fragile state of game preservation

The ICS was built from contributions by the USK (Germany’s game ratings authority), the Computerspielemuseum Berlin, industry association Game, and the University of Potsdam. Its holdings included hardware, packaging, and manuals, all meticulously cataloged to ensure public access. However, the shutdown leaves a gaping void in digital heritage conservation, particularly as industry trends shift toward digital-only distribution.

A 2023 study by the Video Game History Foundation and Software Preservation Network revealed that 87% of classic U.S. games are now out of print and commercially unavailable—surpassing the survival rate of American silent films. The U.S. Copyright Office further compounded the challenge in October 2024 by rejecting a fourth DMCA exemption request since 2015, which would have allowed libraries to share preserved games with remote researchers. The Entertainment Software Association successfully argued against the exemption.

Fan-driven archives face their own battles

While institutional efforts falter, grassroots preservationists are also under strain. Myrient, a volunteer-run repository hosting over 385 TB of preserved games, was slated to go offline in early 2026 due to rising costs of RAM, SSDs, and hard drives driven by AI demand. Thankfully, a community-backed effort succeeded in fully backing up the collection before its shutdown, ensuring the games remain available through torrents.

The ICS shutdown underscores the urgent need for sustainable funding models in digital preservation. As physical media disappears and corporate policies shift, the window to safeguard gaming history is closing faster than ever. Without coordinated action, future generations may lose access to an irreplaceable cultural record.