Strong Museum

There's a "TV apocalypse" in video game preservation as CRTs go extinct, expert says, and that's just the tip of the iceberg as work continues to save retro hardware

The extinction of CRT televisions poses a significant challenge to video game preservation, as many retro games were designed with their display characteristics in mind. Experts at the Game Developers Conference 2026 highlighted this 'TV apocalypse' as part of a larger crisis facing game historians, who are working to preserve not only playable games but also crucial development materials like schematics to aid in emulation and future game presentation.