A game that left the stores is not gone for good. Work through these four places in order; most old games turn up in the first two.
1. Look on GOG
GOG sells many older games that no other store carries, DRM-free and already set up for Windows 10 and 11. Older DOS and adventure games come with DOSBox or ScummVM built in, so they start like any other game. Browse the games only GOG sells.
2. Check whether the rights holder gives it away
Some publishers released their old games for free. Bethesda gives away The Elder Scrolls: Arena and Daggerfall on Steam, and Revolution Software gives away Beneath a Steel Sky on GOG. A free release always comes from the publisher, the developer or a store page; each game page here links to it under “Where to get it”. Browse games free from the rights holder.
3. Buy an original copy second-hand
When no store sells a game and nobody gives it away, an original disc or box bought second-hand is the legal way to play it. To get that copy running today:
- For DOS games, install DOSBox Staging, copy the game files from the disc into a folder, and open that folder in DOSBox Staging.
- For classic point-and-click adventures, install ScummVM, click Add Game and pick the folder with the game files. Its compatibility list shows which games it runs.
- For Windows games, look the game up on PCGamingWiki, which lists the patches and settings each one needs on modern Windows.
- Some games have a source port: a modern engine rebuilt from code the developer released. A source port still needs the data files from an original copy or a store copy.
Browse games that are out of print.
4. What Gamicality does not link to
Abandonware sites offer old games for download without the rights holder’s permission. A game being old, out of print or no longer supported does not make it free to copy, so Gamicality never links to those sites. When a game here has no legal download, its page says so.