Four days ago, hackers reported on Reddit that they had successfully cracked every non-VR singleplayer game that was using DRM; this is part of a growing response to game publishers taking down servers for old games and shutting down digital storefronts where they were previously accessible. In response to said game-crack, Denuvo and 2K Games have reportedly implemented 14-day online check-ins, and it was also rumored that Sony was to implement 30-day check-ins for PlayStation. However, a recent article from Game File reports that a Sony rep got in touch with them and clarified that they would only be implementing a one-time online check-in to confirm the game’s license, after which players no longer need to check-in. This means no ongoing dependency upon the internet to play games, no risk of games being locked every month, and is more in-line with how digital licenses work on consoles. While this is better than a 30-day check-in, this is still not exactly a win for game preservationists; this means you still don’t technically own the games you buy, so if servers were to go offline in 10-20 years, you might not be able to install or re-download the game.

With many in the gaming community advocating for better game preservation, it is only sensible that players are taking it into their own hands and putting older or lost titles online for free download. It’s not as if this is damaging profits in any way either- Night Dive Studios, who specialize in bringing abandonware and updating them to make them compatible with modern hardware, approached Warner Brothers with a licensing deal to bring the classic 2000 game No One Lives Forever back onto modern storefronts, a deal which wouldn’t be financially costly either. However, Warner Brothers rejected their offer, not wanting to work on the IP or collaborate on bringing it back. Fortunately No One Lives Forever would be brought back by preservationists, being put online for free download. 

As the battle for gaming preservation gains more traction, it shines light on the conflict of games as art vs games as a product, and where many executives may see video games purely as a commodity, to many players and preservationists, they’re the stories and characters they grew up with.