From Ars Technica · · 1 min
GOG Lets You Print Your Own Classic PC 'Big Boxes'
GOG is pairing DRM-free games with printable packaging templates and 3D scans so fans can recreate retro game shelves.
In brief
GOG is pairing DRM-free games with printable packaging templates and 3D scans so fans can recreate retro game shelves. GOG is expanding game preservation beyond software by providing printable templates to recreate retro PC game packaging at home. Originally reported by Ars Technica.
Nostalgia in a printable PDF
GOG is adding high-resolution, foldable packaging templates and 3D digital models to its store, letting PC gamers recreate classic big box releases at home.
Five classic titles get papercraft art
The collection launches with games like Myst and Descent. Downloads include animated GLB files and flat PDF, SVG, and Illustrator templates for DIY box builds.
“a proper papercraft project for anyone who misses shelves full of PC game boxes.”
Preserving more than just code
While game software survives digitally, original boxes easily get crushed, lost, or discarded. Digitizing packaging ensures physical gaming history isn't lost.
“Physical media doesn’t survive the way software can—boxes get lost, crushed, thrown out”
A decade of scanning physical games
The effort relies on a partnership with the Big Box Collection, a project that has digitized over 1,000 physical PC game boxes into 3D models since 2015.
Defying the shift to digital-only
As major console platforms phase out physical discs, GOG pairs printable boxes with DRM-free game installers that players can permanently store.
“no one can ever take the games you paid for away from you.”
The essence
GOG is expanding game preservation beyond software by providing printable templates to recreate retro PC game packaging at home.
