Building a video game archive 10,000 items at a time
June 1, 2026The Archivio Storico Barilla and its pasta museum house the oldest spaghetto in the world, dating back to 1837. It’s searchable online archives tell the entwined stories of both Barilla and Italian pasta.
The public LEGO House, the private LEGO Idea House, and the secretive and hidden LEGO Archives are home to every LEGO set ever released, the desk once used by the company founder, and stacks of design documents, office memos, and letters.
While still in its relative early stages, the Embracer Games Archive is already home to some intriguing and useful video game history and wonders.
And like those other, older museums, the games archive is already being put to good use by researchers and experts in the craft.
“The archive is already in active use, and we’re always happy to support projects that benefit gaming culture and the gaming industry,” said David Boström, CEO at Embracer Games Archive. “We’ve worked with authors, including Lost In Cult, who create detailed books and have spent time here photographing items. We also assist companies that no longer have their own legacy materials. When they own the IP, we can scan original releases for reissues. We’ve hosted researchers, supported university collaborations, and lent items to exhibitions.
“One of my favorite examples was helping with the development of the Atari 2600+. Developers brought prototype hardware here to test compatibility with original games. We are currently assisting with the upcoming Neo Geo AES+ as well.”
You can read the full column, which was first published May 29 on Game.
