GamesNostalgia

Retro games, abandonware, freeware and classic games for PC and Mac

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So what's this abandonware thing, anyway?

We believe that old games are still worth playing and they should not be lost. GamesNostalgia can be considered a website that is distributing abandonware games. If you don't know what abandonware is, you can check this page on Wikipedia. In brief: Abandonware is a software ignored by its owner and manufacturer, and for which no product support is available. Although such software is usually still under copyright, the owner may not be tracking or enforcing copyright violations.

Some famous game developers, people like Richard Garriott (Ultima Series) or Tim Schafer (creator of Full Throttle and Grim Fandango), have declared their support for this concept.

Unfortunately, this does not mean that distributing this software is legal. Some old games have been officially declared freeware, like Beneath a Steel Sky, but in most cases, the situation is not clear. Lemmings by DMA Design, for example, is not officially freeware, but it cannot be purchased anywhere and the only way to get it is from abandonware websites. Another example: Disney’s Hercules is not free, since the copyright is owned by Disney, anyway the game is not for sale anymore. It's also not supported, and in fact, it has several problems on modern computers, but many people are still happy to play it. This is why you can find it on GamesNostalgia.

Besides, some old games are available for purchase on Steam or GOG (a store dedicated to classic games). But, unlike us, they always distribute the PC version, not the Amiga version like we do. We are not aware of any official channel that is distributing Amiga games.

Said that, if you are worried about legal issues, you should not use our site. Go to GOG.com and see if the game you are looking for is available there. If you find it, buy it!

You should do it even if you are not worried. You should buy games as much as possible to support the game developers. If you have downloaded a game from GamesNostalgia and you liked it, you should look for a place to buy it. You can use the search engine GamesVoyager to see if the game is sold somewhere. When possible, we add a link to a deluxe version or another game related to the title hosted on GamesNostalgia. For example, on the Heroes of Might and Magic page, we suggest you buy Heroes of Might and Magic III HD version on GOG.

Finally, if you are a game developer or a company that owns the copyright of one of the games offered on GamesNostalgia, or you are just a visitor, but you know a good reason why we should remove one of the games hosted on our site, feel free to write us and we’ll do it.

Happy retrogaming! Now bring me back to the home page