As summer temperatures rose across the UK, thousands of video game enthusiasts gathered at the National Videogame Museum in Sheffield to experience an exhibition celebrating classic titles from the 1980s and 1990s. The interactive display, titled Together We Play, allowed visitors to engage with games such as Doom on a period-appropriate 1990s desktop PC and to use a Commodore 64 computer situated in a living room styled to reflect the 1980s.
The National Videogame Museum, the only institution of its kind in the UK dedicated exclusively to video games, has reported strong demand for the exhibition, attracting primarily younger adults aged 20 to 35. John O’Shea, the museum’s co-chief executive, noted that the 1990s were a particularly transformative era for video gaming, now gaining renewed appreciation as vintage media experiences grow in popularity.
Visitors at the exhibition queued to play Doom within a recreated 1990s bedroom setting, complete with Nirvana posters to evoke the cultural atmosphere of the period. O’Shea described the setup as reminiscent of a typical teenager’s summer holiday routine during that time, when players might spend entire days immersed in the game. He highlighted a desire among attendees for “fully contained offline experiences” amid an increasingly digital world.
The retrospective exhibition also coincides with milestone anniversaries for major franchises such as Tomb Raider, marking 30 years, and The Legend of Zelda, celebrating 40 years. This resurgence in retro gaming fandom was further illustrated earlier this year by the Age of Empires II grand final, which attracted over 3,000 spectators to the Royal Albert Hall in April.
Nostalgia is a significant factor driving the renewed interest in retro video games, according to O’Shea. He pointed out that many fans in their thirties and forties now have greater spending power than when they first encountered these titles, enabling them to invest in these experiences later in life. Steve Bagley, a collector of Nintendo games and memorabilia, suggested that the appeal also lies in the simplicity of older games, which offers a welcome contrast to contemporary complexities amid current global uncertainties.
O’Shea drew parallels between the revival of vintage gaming and the resurgence of vinyl music, suggesting that video games may be entering a cyclical phase where past formats regain cultural relevance. This trend coincides with a robust UK gaming market, with industry trade body Ukie reporting that gaming expenditure reached £8.76 billion in 2025, reflecting a 7.4 percent increase compared to the previous year.