Embracer Games Archive

Recently, our archivist Natalia met Mike Dailly, one of the creators of the classic game Lemmings. Mike has an impressive collection of releases of the original game. That inspired Natalia to take a closer look at our own holdings when she returned to the archive. @mdf200.bsky.social

Embracer Games Archive is celebrating 5 years! In five years, we have built the archive from the ground up, catalogued more than 90,000 objects and supported exhibitions, researchers, schools and new releases of older games. Thank you to everyone who has been part of the journey. ❤️

@egamesarchive.bsky.social We’ve just released a new short video that offers a quick look into the work we do at the Embracer Games Archive. youtu.be/bZcKCbYMPZE

Don't miss the Pixel Arcadia Showcase tonight at 19:30 CEST. The pre-show includes a feature on the Embracer Games Archive, and we're thrilled to have contributed as a small resource to one of the games being revealed tonight.

New games continue to find their way into the archive. Here’s a selection of PC titles that have recently been added, contributing to the preservation and sharing of game history over time.

Over a longer period of time, publisher @retrobitgaming.bsky.social has supported the archive with their titles. It’s wonderful to see classic games brought back to life in physical form. Big thanks for your support.

We may overuse the word cool in this video but these unusual game controllers from the archive make it hard not to say it. Take a look at our latest video to see some of the stranger ones we preserve. youtu.be/iCKnV9JpKUQ

Over the past 4.5 years the archive has come a long way, shaping a space where physical games are preserved and serve as a valuable resource that helps support and promote gaming culture.

David performs inventory checks on the shelves, ensuring that all items are correctly organized and in their proper place in the archive.

Thomas, our Acquisitions Manager, is on-site at the archive this week. Since he normally works remotely it’s a special occasion for him to spend time in the archive. It gives him the chance to explore objects up close and engage with the material in a way that simply isn’t possible at a distance.

Curious about what’s stored in our archive? In this video, David showcases four items from our SEGA section.

Curious about what’s stored in our archive? In this video, David showcases four items from our SEGA section.

Some pictures from the games archive.

Here are some of the latest additions to the archive. There’s probably a game here you might recognize.

We received a request to make a video about all the music and rhythm games in the archive. We thought it was a good idea, so here you can see some of the games that are part of the archive. youtu.be/KNH488rMbCE

Some of the larger acquisitions that were added to the archive early on included a number of video game posters. Yesterday, we framed several of them so they can now be displayed and help decorate the archive’s walls. My personal favorite is the Punch-Out poster.

Every other day some kind of delivery arrives at the archive. Today this delivery came in with several Big Box PC games.

New video from the Games Archive on YouTube! youtu.be/q0bIXBffR60

The Games Archive recently welcomed Per Stenbeck, Lead Designer at Hazelight. Known for titles like It Takes Two and Split Fiction. Per found a nostalgic gem during his visit, the iconic Razer BoomSlang.

In our archive we have a lot of interesting accessories, especially from the 90s. One of them is this Bio Sensor for the Nintendo 64, which could detect your heart rate and only worked with Tetris 64. You wore it on your ear, and your heart rate affected the game’s difficulty.

Sorting and optimization work has continued this week in the game archive. These photos might be especially fun for all you Commodore fans out there.

Yesterday, we began sorting and optimizing larger items stored on the deeper archive shelves. As you can see in the image, we started with the game consoles.

Our tech guy Jukka Kovalainen has written an insightful piece on our website about metadata in game archives. Curious about genres and the future of our database? Check it out here: embracergamesarchive.com/the-genre-tr...

Our Chief Archivist at the Embracer Games Archive, Natalia Kovalainen, has just been awarded a prestigious prize for her outstanding work! This acknowledgment means a great deal not only to Natalia and our team, but to everyone committed to safeguarding the rich and diverse history of video games.

New video: A major donation to the archive and a new milestone reached! Watch the video to see the games and how we handle the donation. Now over 80,000 items in the archive! youtu.be/PCfYLNF-mSs

Hello,   Natalia will be traveling to Rome next week to participate in a panel discussion at the Checkpoint Festival about games preservation efforts. She is looking forward to sharing insights with fellow professionals in the field.

We’re currently managing a major donation from our friends at Plaion. Soon, we’ll be recording a video to share how we handle and care for this remarkable collection, from arrival to archival. Stay tuned!

New video from Embracer Games Archive! We sit dowb and talk with Jan Kramer from Pixelarchive.cz about game preservation. www.youtube.com/watch?v=neVM...

Over the past few days, Natalia has been carefully curating the shelves near the archive entrance. Since we welcome such a wide variety of guests, our goal is to showcase a diverse and meaningful mix of the incredible games that have shaped our industry through the years.

The reorganization of our archive shelves is moving forward, and here’s a glimpse of the section where we’ve gathered the different Game Boy versions in the archive. It’s remarkable to think of the joy and memories the Game Boy has brought to so many over the years.

30 Years Ago Today: PlayStation Arrived in the US. Hard to believe how far things have come since then. What are your favorite games for the original PlayStation?

This week, our team gathered to plan the next steps for the Games Archive. We’re proud to share that all 77,421 items are now catalogued in our database! We’re motivated, proud, and excited to keep building this unique resource for gaming culture. It’s work we truly care about.

We had the pleasure of welcoming game developer Junji Seki to the Embracer Games Archive! He explored the archive, shared his passion, and donated some wonderful items. Seki-san also runs the Named Cassette Museum in Tokyo, documenting games with handwritten names.

New video on YouTube! We’re making steady progress organizing the shelves and sharing updates on our ongoing work in the archive. youtu.be/RUK7kdc_Emk

We’re currently sorting and cataloguing all NES and Famicom games in the archive, a true treasure hunt through gaming history. Here’s a glimpse of the NES shelves as they take shape.

We’re heading to Gamescom! The Embracer Games Archive will be in Cologne for Gamescom, ready to explore, connect, and share our passion for games.   If you’d like to meet us, share ideas, or discuss potential collaborations, send us an email or drop us a message here, we’d love to connect!

Jonathan Rozenkrantz (middle), lecturer in Film Studies at Lund University, spent a week at the archive exploring classic cinematic games—hands-on research for his project on film’s influence on video games. We also had a visit from Karlstad University doing some research.

This week, Embracer Games Archive is at SpelAlmedalen with other organisations to promote gaming culture in Sweden. We are showcasing an exhibition proposing what could be included in a Swedish gaming culture canon. Join us to explore games as an industry, culture, and research field.

Today we had a visit from some of our collaborators at Karlstad University. We’ve started preparing a small exhibition that will be part of the international Geomedia conference held at the university later this year.

Yesterday we welcomed a Swedish research network focused on speculative fiction. With members exploring sci-fi and fantasy across media—including video games—we hope the archive can be a helpful resource for their work!

A couple of photos from the entrance room, where we keep many of the game systems used to play the games stored in the archive.

Today, we had the pleasure of diving into a box of classic Game & Watch games. These gems, with their simple yet addictive gameplay, have truly stood the test of time. They're still fun to play and represent an important part of gaming history.

Here’s our Chief Archivist Natalia, preparing a small exhibition featuring games that could be part of a proposed Swedish cultural canon.

Centipede for the Atari 7800. We love the pun on the back of the box: "This game's got bugs!" 🐛 This time, that’s a good thing. 😄

Here are some pictures of the Atari tables we set up during last week’s visit from Atari CEO Wade Rosen.

New video! A Look Into Our Atari Collection – Plus Recent Additions to the Archive youtu.be/uyMcs1DyQ4E

Enjoy homages to every major video game controller across the medium's history, delivered through a blend of insightful retrospectives, incisive personal essays and photography of peripherals lost to time, thanks to our friends at @embracergamesarchive.com. harpercollins.co.uk/products/joy...

We had the pleasure of welcoming Wade Rosen, CEO of Atari, to the archive today. A great visit with interesting conversations — and potential ways to support each other in preserving gaming culture.

We had a visit from local librarians here in Värmland, where the archive is based. They’re exploring new ways to raise awareness that games—just like books—can also be borrowed from libraries.

New arrival at the archive: the original Grand Theft Auto. An influential game that started it all. Hard to believe GTA VI is coming later this year.