Abandonware: Ethics and Essentials
As PC gamers, we care just as much about classic games as we do about new releases. We all know that, while Crysis is beautiful and entertaining, there’s a lot of nostalgia to be had by revisiting some of the old Infocom titles.
That is true for console gamers as well, and we know plenty of people who still have their original GameBoys and Mega Drives, but as PC gamers, we have the distinct advantage of being able to obtain many of our favorite old gamers easily and for free.
Much of this can be attributed to the success of abandonware, which is the online distribution of games that are no longer for sale or are owned by companies that have gone out of business. As the name implies, these games have been abandoned.
Unfortunately, abandonware is a thorny issue in PC gaming circles, and while some developers are happy to give away licenses on their back catalogues and let players enjoy them for free, others aren’t. There are some egregiously greedy companies out there who will gladly track you down and sue you for downloading their old games.
Just because a game is old does not automatically make it obsolete.
As a result, there is a great deal of ambiguity surrounding the issue of abandonware. If we had a pound for every time someone asked us if abandonware was legal or not, we could probably afford some of the games we’ve downloaded. We’re not well compensated, so we thought it would be a better idea to sum up the ethics of abandonware games once and for all, as well as point out some great sites and must-have games.
Is Abandonware Legal?
In theory, abandonware is not legal. But, on the other hand, it is. Except in a few cases where it is unequivocally legal or illegal. In general, the legality of abandonware varies. To first get to grips with abandonware and understand the ethics of this whole miasmic mess it’s important to realise what qualifies a game as abandonware. While most people associate abandonware with an old game that can be downloaded for free, the truth is that there are several types of abandonware games.
To begin, a game can be classified as abandonware if it is so old that a company no longer supports or sells it in any way, but the license-holder remains viable. An old game like Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders, one of Lucasarts’ first graphical adventures, is an example of this. Zak McKraken is no longer available anywhere, with the exception of eBay, and it is no longer supported by Lucasarts because it is so old and out of date.
In this case, yes, abandonware is illegal because, while you couldn’t buy the game even if you wanted to, Lucasarts still owns the copyright. Lucasarts may decide to make the game available for free (as freeware), but this is unlikely. It is technically piracy if you download it.
Before downloading abandonware, it is critical to understand who owns the license and whether it is disputed.
That is not to say you will not be sued because the company that owns the copyright may be lenient or ignorant about it being used in this manner. More importantly, hiring a team of lawyers to sue you isn’t financially feasible – though they could if they wanted to. It is up to you how comfortable you are taking that very small risk.
The other major type of abandonware is old games created and published by companies that no longer exist – also known as orphaned software. In this case, downloading it would be illegal, but there is no one who owns the copyright to sue you. There would be many games in this latter category, but the issue is that companies that fail may sell off their licenses to generate cash.
The System Shock series, for example, is commonly classified as abandonware because it was created by Looking Glass Studios and Origin Studios, both of which have since closed their doors. The only issue is that Origin was mostly owned by Electronic Arts, who acquired the license and are now looking to make a sequel. While System Shock is no longer available for purchase and is no longer supported, the license remains active and is owned by a company that may wish to protect it. License research is essential for anyone who wants to take abandonware seriously and avoid receiving angry letters from publishers.
