Websites that offer formerly paid software for free do so with little to no illusion of legality. However you feel about torrents and warez sites offering paid software and media, they are illegal in most countries.
One type of site manages to avoid scorn: abandonware sites. These sites offer games free to download and have been up and running for years, which begs the question: Is abandonware legal?
What Is Abandonware?
The term “abandonware” refers to software that no longer has active support or active copyright enforcement. Software usually becomes abandonware because the company that owns its rights has gone out of business or been sold to a new owner not interested in continuing development, and there are many sites where you can download these games for free.
That said, some software becomes abandonware through an official announcement or by cooperating with its developers. For example, the source code for the video game Descent was released by the game’s developers in 1997. Numerous other games have had similar treatment.
Is Abandonware Legal?
So, is abandonware legal for download?
The simple answer is no; abandonware is not legal. Even if the creator abandons a copyrighted work, it does not become public property automatically. The copyright on the work exists until it expires, the duration of which varies from country to country. Typically, the copyright on a video game will last at least 70 years and up to 125 years.
How, then, do sites like Abandonia and Abandonware DOS stay up and running? Surely there is a constant stream of litigation landing on their digital doormat? Like most laws, punishment only occurs if you get caught—and the opposing side is willing and able to make the charge stick. Herein is why, although abandonware is illegal, it straddles a delicate gray enforcement area.
Most content on abandonware sites no longer have an owner to enforce the copyright actively, so no one can sue. In other cases, the owner still exists but does not enforce the existing copyright. Sid Meier’s Civilization 1 is a great example of this. Someone likely holds the copyright for this classic title, but given it features on every abandonware site and is often one of the most popular downloads, it’s considered mostly safe to download and play.
Fallout is another example of this grey area. For years, you couldn’t buy the original Fallout anywhere, so many considered it abandonware. Then, Bethesda acquired the rights to the Fallout series and noted that it would enforce its copyright on the older titles—and thus, Fallout could no longer be considered abandonware.
Is It Legal to Download Abandonware?
To answer that specific question, no, it is not legal to download abandonware. But are you likely to find the authorities knocking at your door? Or end up in front of a judge for breaking copyright? That’s highly unlikely.
Despite the illegality of abandonware, no court cases relate to it. At least, none that I could find prosecuting someone for downloading and playing an abandonware title. Companies enforcing existing copyrights tend to send a cease-and-desist letter before filing a lawsuit.
When that happens, the abandonware site takes down the offending title in response. There is little use in taking a publisher to court.
Those abandonware sites that continue to offer every abandonware title imaginable skirt international law, using hosting services in countries with a relaxed approach to piracy, copyright enforcement, and so on. For example, abandonware site Home of the Underdogs was founded in Thailand, while Abandonia is based in Sweden.
Of course, if a developer releases software for free, the story is different. Though rare, several games have been released under General Public License, Creative Commons, and other publicly available licenses. Once a game is released in this way, it can’t be reclaimed—but the developer might still hold copyright on new or altered versions of the game.
Another reason for the lack of legal precedent may be a desire for goodwill. The major developers could easily remove every copy of an old game and take down the abandonware sites. But what would be the point? Legal action could turn into a public relations disaster.
Because of the obstacles laid out above, abandonware appears relatively safe from a legal standpoint. Those who distribute abandonware are unlikely to end up in court if they comply with cease-and-desist notices.
Is Abandonware Safe?
There are numerous abandonware sites, all offering a very similar list of old titles for download. With so many sites, surely downloading abandonware is safe?
The answer lies with the site you are downloading from. Major abandonware sites like MyAbandonware and Abandonia are safe, serving thousands of users daily. These sites also host almost every abandonware title, so you don’t need to head into the unknown depths of the internet looking for a title on a sketchy website.
Reasons For Abandonware Sites and Downloads
Abandonware is illegal. That is understood. But there are other reasons why abandonware is an overall positive.
The primary reason is preservation. Abandonware sites preserve old games for anyone to access when many would simply disappear into the digital ether. Although some efforts to protect old games and their source code exist, such as the Internet Archive or the British Library, these projects are selective. Having the abandonware site option keeps even the more obscure titles alive.
Game preservation is a vital practice, with thousands of games now lost to time, disregarded by developers and publishers with little interest in maintaining them. Yet the idea of allowing easy ways for gamers to preserve historical titles is consistently rejected. With the Video Game History Foundation estimating that 87% of all video games are now lost or missing, is it any wonder abandonware and game preservation sites are so passionate?
The other thing to consider is the wishes of the game developers. In 2002, GameSpot interviewed Tim Schafer of Double Fine Productions (responsible for Grim Fandango, Day of the Tentacle, and many other classics). His response may surprise you.
Is it piracy? Yeah, sure. But so what? Most of the game makers aren’t living off the revenue from those old games anymore. Most of the creative teams behind all those games have long since left the companies that published them, so there’s no way the people who deserve to are still making royalties off them. So, go ahead—steal this game! Spread the love!
Now, that’s an old interview, but the notion still stands more than 20 years later.
What Is the Difference Between GOG and Other Abandonware Sites?
With generations of old gamers booting up their favorites and younger gamers uncovering the old games still worth playing today, abandonware sites are alive and well. But there is another site that has perhaps done more than any other in promoting and protecting abandonware titles: GOG.
GOG was formerly known as Good Old Games but updated its branding to reflect the sale of modern titles. Under Good Old Games, the site sold titles previously abandoned, turning abandonware into a successful business. Rather than offering abandonware titles for free, Good Old Games worked with the copyright holders to republish the games.
In a way, GOG’s success has threatened the future of abandonware. Many titles that might have been abandoned are now sold for profit by whoever holds the rights to them—more often than not, it isn’t the original developer. The potential for profit from old games gives owners a reason to fight for their property.
GOG’s success also highlights the illegality of abandonware. The only difference between what’s on GOG and what’s on Abandonia is the threat of a lawsuit. Some justifications, like age or incompatibility with modern systems, no longer seem as strong.
But you probably won’t get into trouble downloading an old game, firing it up in an emulator, and playing the heck out of it. If you’re unsure how to do that, here’s a quick guide on running old games on Windows 10. The issues and gray areas of abandonware legality won’t change because of copyright law. The same goes for reloaded and repacked games. And where possible, you should always seek out the paid version of an old game on a site like GOG.com.
