Stumbled on a massive holiday nostalgia trip: The Retro-Exo Project (DOS/Win95 gaming goldmine)
​Hi everyone,
​I just had to share a discovery I made this week that has completely derailed my productivity (in the best way possible).
​If you haven’t heard of it, it is an absolute treasure trove for anyone who grew up in the PC era of the 80s and 90s.
​What is it?
Basically, it’s a massive preservation project (specifically the eXoDOS, eXoWin3x, and the newer eXoWin9x releases). They have cataloged thousands of DOS, Windows 3.1, and Windows 95 games.
​But the real magic isn’t just the roms—it’s the “preservation through playability” philosophy.
​It just works: The games are pre-packaged with the correct emulators (DOSBox, ScummVM, etc.) and pre-configured. No fiddling with IRQ settings or mounting C: drives. You literally just click and play.
​The Extras: It’s like browsing a digital museum. They include the original manuals, box art, and even soundtracks for a lot of the titles.
​The “Abandonware” Elephant in the Room
I do want to mention the legal grey zone here. This is, by definition, abandonware. While most of these titles are long out of print and the original studios often no longer exist, downloading them is still technically copyright infringement.
​That said, the project focuses heavily on games that are commercially unavailable. It feels like a vital archival effort to keep these titles from disappearing into the digital ether, rather than a piracy ring. It occupies that weird, fuzzy grey area of “preservation vs. copyright” that we often discuss here. (Note: If a game is still being sold on GOG or Steam, I always recommend buying it there to support the IP holders!)
​Perfect for the Holidays
I’ve spent the last few nights re-playing some old games and obscure shareware platformers I haven’t thought about in 30 years.
​If you have some downtime this Christmas and want to scratch that nostalgia itch, I highly recommend checking out: https://www.retro-exo.com
​Happy Holidays and happy gaming!
