Preservation projects

"...So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay."

- Robert Frost (1874-1963)

Over the years, technology has been rapidly evolving. Things that were once considered "new" or "innovating" can quickly become "old" or "outdated" over time. These changes can happen in a lot of ways, but overall as time goes on all things are at risk of disappearing someday. While it may seem like an impossible (and sometimes pointless) task, that hasn't stopped many people from taking it upon themselves to preserve what others would consider to be not as important. While there are many aspects with respect to preservation in general, emulation plays a key role in preserving software by documenting and allowing old programs to run on modern devices (because what's the point of archiving a bunch of old games if you have no way of playing them!). Because emulation is often associated with preservation, this page is meant to highlight some other projects that have similar goals relating to video games and technology, some of which can even be used in conjunction with emulation.

Preservation projects

Name	Platform(s)	Latest version	Active	Recommended	Preserves the following software
eXoDOS	Windows	5.0	✓	✓	DOS games
eXoWin3x	Windows	2.0	✓	✓	Windows 3x games
Retro Learning Pack	Windows		✓	✓	MS-DOS & Windows 3.1 educational software
eXoScummVM	Windows		✓	✓	ScummVM games
eXoAppleIIGS	Windows	1.0	✓	✓	Apple IIGS games & apps
Flashpoint	Windows	13 "Dart Frog"	✓	✓	Flash and other web games
instance_archive();	Windows	15/10/2021	✓	✓	GameMaker games.
Kahvibreak	Windows Linux	1.6	✓	✓	J2ME games
Pleasuredome	Windows	0.265	✓	✓	MAME & Non-MAME romsets
Emerson Arcadia 2001 Central	Online	N/A	✓	✓	Signetics 2650-based machines (Interton VC 4000, Elektor TV Games Computer, et al.)
INTV Funhouse	Online	N/A	✓	✓	Intellivision fun, facts, tips & pics!
hShop	3DS	N/A	✓	✓	The ultimate 3DS content website
Ghost eShop	3DS	N/A	✓	✓	The ultimate content for 3DS Website
Myrient	Online	N/A	✓	✓	A reenvisioning of video game preservation
GameTDB	Online	N/A	✓	✓	Box art for GCN, NDS, 3DS, Wii, Wii U, and PS3
Flipnote Archive	Online	N/A	✗	✓	Nintendo's Flipnote Hatena
Archiverse	Online	N/A	✗	✓	Nintendo's Miiverse
Open Shop Channel	Online	N/A	✓	✓	Homebrew apps library for the Wii
MarioCube	Online	N/A	✓	✓	Rare files for Wii/GCN. WiiWare/Virtual Console WADs from Wii Shop Channel
Redump	Online	N/A	✓	✓	Database of checksums for disc-based games
TOSEC	Online	N/A	✓	✓	Database of checksums for disc- and cartridge-based games
No-Intro	Online	N/A	✓	✓	Database of checksums for cartridge-based games
Hidden Palace	Online	N/A	✓	✓	Video game development media (such as prototypes, hardware, source code, artwork, and more)
LostMediaWiki	Online	N/A	✓	✓	Pieces of lost or hard to find media (whether it be video, audio or otherwise)

Revivial Projects

As the internet has become more readily available over time, a lot of people have experimented with adding online services to their products. However, because of how dependent these features can be on a single company or server they are at high risk of disappearing once the service gets shut down. MMOs are especially at risk as the entirety of the game is based on playing online. If the game has no way of allowing the user to host their own private server then once the service ends, so does the game. This will especially be a problem in the future as more and more games are becoming more dependent on online services. Depending on interest and importance, there has been a surprising amount of fans who have come together to keep a service alive, or even "revive" it, by creating their own functioning service.

Private Platform Servers

Name	Platform(s)	Official Servers/Active	Revived?	Revive Group(s)/Communities	Revived Platform(s)
Steam's online features multiplayer over LAN		✓	✓	Goldberg Emulator
WiiConnect24		✗ On June 27, 2013, WiiConnect24 service features were globally terminated.	✓	RiiConnect24
WiiConnect24 and obscure out-of-region Wii Channels		✗ On May 20, 2014, at 7:30 PM PT, Nintendo ended the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service.	✓	WiiLink
Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection		✗ On May 20, 2014, at 7:30 PM PT, Nintendo ended the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service.	✓	Wiimmfi
Flipnote Hatena		✗ It was shut down on April 2, 2018.	✓	Sudomemo
Nintendo Network		~ On October 4, 2023, Nintendo announced the discontinuation of the service by early April 2024.	WIP	Pretendo
Miiverse Network		✗ Discontinued on November 8, 2017.	✓	rverse
Playstation Network		✓	WIP	RPCN PSORG Revival
Playstation Home and Sony Medius Servers		✗	WIP	Destination Home
Xbox Live/Xbox network		~ Xbox Live for the original Xbox was discontinued by Microsoft on April 15, 2010. On July 29, 2024, Xbox will stop supporting the ability to purchase new games, DLC, and other entertainment content from the Xbox 360 Store on the console and the Xbox 360 Marketplace.	✓	Insignia

Private Game Servers

These shouldn't be confused with LAN tunneling or offline multiplayer gaming over a LAN (local area network) multiplayer games (e.g. System Link for XBOX home console systems or third party tools and services such as XLink Kai etc.)

Name	Platform(s)	Official Servers/Active	Revived?	Revive Group/Community	Revived Platform(s)
Avatar: Legends of the Arena		✗ Servers closed in 2013.	WIP	LegendsOfTheArena
Battlefield 1942		✗ Battlefield 1942's master server shutdown in 2014.	✓	OpenSpy
Battlefield 2		✗ On June 30, 2014, the multiplayer master server was shut down alongside other GameSpy-powered titles.	✓	BF2Hub OpenSpy
Battlefield 2142		✗ In July 2014, all online components (including Singleplayer) of the game were deactivated following the shutdown of GameSpy.	✓	BF2142 Reclamation OpenSpy
Battlefield 1943		~ Servers for Battlefield 1943 will be shut down on December 8, 2023.	✗	arcadia and Battlefield Modding#Frostbite 1 Discord Channel	?
Battlefield Vietnam		✗ On June 30, 2014, the multiplayer master server was shut down alongside other GameSpy-powered titles.	✓	GameRanger OpenSpy
Battlefield Bad Company		~ Servers for Battlefield Bad Company will be shut down on December 8, 2023.	✗	arcadia and Battlefield Modding#Frostbite 1 Discord Channel	?
Battlefield Bad Company 2		~ Servers for Battlefield Bad Company 2 will be shut down on December 8, 2023.	✗	arcadia and Battlefield Modding#Frostbite 1 Discord Channel	?
Battlefield Heroes		✗ Went offline on 14 July 2015, alongside fellow EA free-to-play titles Battlefield Play4Free, Need for Speed: World, and FIFA World.	✓	Rising Hub Phoenix Heroes
Battlefield Play4Free		✗ Went offline on 14 July 2015, alongside fellow EA free-to-play titles Battlefield Heroes, Need for Speed: World, and FIFA World.	✓	Phoenix Play4Free
Calling All Cars!		✗ The servers for Calling All Cars! were taken offline in January 2010.	✓	PSONE
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare		~ Home console versions multiplayer servers still active today. Steam/1.8 version needs downgrade or CoD4X to join most of the dedicated servers. If you have 1.7 version you can still join most of the dedicated servers though.	✓	GameRanger CoD4X
Call of Duty: World at War		~ Home console versions still have multiplayer enabled. For physical windows or steam version if you have already a profile registered with keys you can still join dedicated servers using master server list. Unfortunately physical windows and steam versions ran out of keys for profile registering so you can not play multiplayer with creating new profiles anymore.	✓	Plutonium
Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood		~ The servers were shutdown in September 2016. However according to recent reddit user report "ranked matches" still works.	✓	GameRanger
CityVille		✗ CityVille was shut down on April 30, 2015.	✗	N/A	N/A
Club Penguin		✗ On January 30, 2017, it was announced that the game would be discontinued on March 29, 2017, later shut down its servers on March 30, 2017, at 12:01 AM PDT.	✓	New Club Penguin	HTML5 version is currently WIP.
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2		✓ In 2005, control of online play for Red Alert 2 and a number of older C&C games was passed over from EA to XWIS, a community-run server.	✓	CnCNet
Dead Space 2		✗ Electronic Arts is shutting down the online servers for a number of older titles including Dead Space 2 multiplayer by the end of the 2023.	✗	N/A	N/A
Demon's Souls		✗ Discontinued worldwide in February 2018.	✓	The Archstones
Fantasy Tennis Fantasy Tennis 2		✗ Alaplaya shut down Fantasy Tennis/Fantasy Tennis 2 on February 8th 2013.	✓	JFTSE
EverQuest Online Adventures		✗ Shut down on March 29, 2012, after nine years of operation.	✓	Sandstorm
Far Cry		✗ Multiplayer online functionality dropped by Ubisoft in August 2015.	✓	LRv3
Far Cry 2		~ The online functions for PC version ended in June 2021 when Ubisoft closed down servers for its older titles. Xbox servers down in late-2023 according to recent user reports on reddit.	✓	fc2mp
FishVille		✗ The game was discontinued on December 5, 2012.	✗	N/A	N/A
Fish with Attitude		✗ The game was discontinued on the 31st of December 2017.	✗	N/A	N/A
Free Realms		✗ The game's servers were shut down on March 31, 2014 in a closure of three other SOE MMOs that year.	WIP	Free Realms Sunrise
Grand Theft Auto IV GTA IV: Episodes from Liberty City GTA IV: Complete Edition		~ Multiplayer was removed from the "Complete Edition" version when Microsoft ended its Games for Windows Live support. Unpatched/previous versions and home console versions still have multiplayer enabled. Although on Windows you need a valid GFWL key. Otherwise you need revivial projects to play multiplayer.	✓	GTA Connected HappinessMP
Grand Theft Auto V		~ Seventh gen home console versions of GTA Online were shut down on December 16th, 2021. As well as GTA Online, services for LA Noire and Max Payne 3 are shutting down on seventh-gen consoles. The eighth and ninth gen home consoles and Windows are now the only platforms the game can be played on.	✓	GTA:OG
Gun Bros		✗ Before servers shut down, players could fight with two players online via GameSpy (shut down) and Game Center (shut down).	✗	N/A	N/A
Happy Aquarium		✗ 101XP shut down this game June the 15th in 2021. Unfortunately you can no longer play Happy Aquarium.	✗	N/A	N/A
Happy Wars		~ Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows servers shut down on December 17, 2018. The Xbox One and Xbox Series home console versions is now the only platform the game can be played on.	WIP	Happy Wars Hell#Revival Channel
Flatout 2/Ultimate Carnage		~ Flatout 2 servers were down. However FlatOut Ultimate Carnage multiplayer still works in 2022 and will likely work forever since it uses P2P for connecting/hosting servers. Also GFWL has merged with Xbox Live and still works with FlatOut Ultimate Carnage.	✓ for Flatout 2	OpenSpy
LittleBigPlanet		✗ Online functionality was discontinued on 13 September 2021, alongside services for LittleBigPlanet 2, LittleBigPlanet PS Vita, and the PlayStation 3 version of LittleBigPlanet 3.	WIP	Project Lighthouse
Matrix Online, The		✗ SOE shut down operation of the game on July 31, 2009.	✓	MxoEmu
Need for Speed World		✗ Went offline on 14 July 2015, alongside fellow EA free-to-play titles Battlefield Heroes, Battlefield Play4Free, and FIFA World.	✓	SoapBox Raceworld
Order & Chaos Online		✗ The game was permanently closed by Gameloft on 16 February 2023 on all platforms.	✗	N/A	N/A
Pac-Man 99		✗ The game was discontinued on October 8, 2023, though the game will remain playable offline for those who have purchased the "Unlock Mode" or "Unlock All" DLCs before they were delisted the month prior.	✗	N/A	N/A
Phantasy Star Online Blue Burst		✗ Game is no longer supported by Sega and the Sega servers.	✓	Ultima Ephinea
Phantasy Star Online		✗ Sega decommissioned the last official servers in 2010.	✓	Schthack PSO Sylverant
PlanetSide		✗ On July 1, 2016, at 4:00pm PT, Planetside servers went offline permanently.	✓	PSForever
Respawnables, The		✗ On January 13th, 2022, Multiplayer is shutdown, the game will no longer recognize Wi-Fi.	✗	N/A	N/A
RockFree		✗ Acclaim shut down its client-based online games in August 2010 including titles like 9Dragons and Chronicles of Spellborn. However, the company's Flash-based games including Kogamu and RockFree was ported to Facebook Games platform before being discontinued.	✗	N/A	N/A
R.U.S.E.		✗ You will be unable to play multiplayer, link Ubisoft accounts in-game or use online features. (Ubisoft decommissioning the online services for older games).	✗	N/A	N/A
Super Mario Bros. 35		✗ Its servers were shut down on April 1, 2021, following the official end of the anniversary.	✓	SMB35
Sims Online, The		✗ EA announced that the game would shut down all activity on August 1, 2008.	✓	FreeSO
Test Drive Unlimited		✗ TDU1 server has been shut down in September 2012.	✓	Project Paradise TDU: Platinum
Test Drive Unlimited 2		✗ The game's online servers went offline in November 2018, disabling online multiplayer and the TDU2: Casino Online expansion.	✓	Project Paradise 2 TDU World TDUniverse
Toontown Online		✗ Various servers hosting Toontown Online were shut down throughout the game’s tenure, with the US servers and the game itself closing in September 2013.	✓	Toontown Rewritten
Warhawk		✗ Sony shut down Warhawk's online servers on January 31, 2019, providing notice by email to PlayStation Network members.	✓	PSONE

References for this list can be found in Talk:Preservation projects.

External links for Revivial Projects

• "How do communities revive online features in old games without the server files?" (Useful if you want to learn basics about reverse engineering the private servers.)
  
• Mystic: Reverse Engineer Introduction - PSOne Group

LAN Tunneling Programs

These kind of programs usually allows for online play of video games with the help of support LAN multiplayer modes. (e.g. System Link feature on Xbox home consoles or LAN tunneling feature on PlayStation home consoles)

Name	Active	Recommended
XLink Kai	✓	✓
pLAN Revive	✓	~

Proxy Projects for Retro Web Browsing

These kind of projects usually retrieves pages from the Internet Archive Wayback Machine or OoCities and delivers them in their original form, without toolbars, scripts and other extraneous content that may confuse retro web browsers. These are quite useful especially for retro web browsing with DOS-based, Windows 1.0x/2x/3x series, Windows 9x series, Windows NT series and MacOS emulators or Hypervisors.

Name	Active	Recommended
ProtoWeb	✓	✓
WaybackProxy	✓	~