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The Internet Archive’s October 2019 announcement added 2,500 MS-DOS games to its browser-playable software library. That was a batch of new titles—not the library’s current verified total. The Archive’s larger MS-DOS launch came in January 2015, and its software runs through an emulator, so loading, controls, and compatibility vary from game to game.
What the 2,500-game announcement means
On October 13, 2019, Internet Archive software curator Jason Scott announced that another 2,500 MS-DOS games had been added, drawing on the eXoDOS project. He described it as the Archive’s largest update since the collection’s initial announcement. The figure refers to that expansion, not to the number of games currently available online. Read the Internet Archive’s 2019 announcement.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
M. S. Fayes Collection: O Cintilar da guerra + 2 more | $59.04 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
|
Annie Hall | $14.99 | Buy on Amazon |
The earlier launch happened in January 2015. Scott announced 2,400 MS-DOS games and programs; Ars Technica reported 2,334 games the following day and noted that the playable count had already changed. Those are launch-period figures, not a present-day inventory. Scott’s 2015 launch post and Ars Technica’s contemporaneous report document the two counts.
Scott said eXoDOS had more than 7,000 titles it had made work dependably and consistently; that was a project-level figure he reported in 2019, not the Archive’s browser-playable catalog total. His post frames the Archive collection as both an online play service and a preservation effort, supported by work to gather games and contextual material such as manuals and configurations.
#1 Best Overall
- M. S. Fayes Collection: O Cintilar da guerra + 2 more
How to play MS-DOS games online
The Archive’s MS-DOS Software Library uses EM-DOSBOX, an in-browser emulator based on DOSBox and intended for DOS-compatible programs. In practical terms, it recreates a DOS environment in the browser so you can try old software without setting up a DOS machine. Emulation is an approximation, however; it does not guarantee that every game will behave exactly as it did on its original hardware. The Archive describes the setup in its MS-DOS Emulation help article. Scott also described the collection’s programs as bootable and playable through EM-DOSBOX in a 2015 statement submitted to the U.S. Copyright Office.
To try a title, open its item page in the Internet Archive’s MS-DOS Software Library and start the browser-play option when available. Follow any on-screen instructions for starting the game or setting controls. Some games require you to redefine keys or use a particular keyboard command, and the interface can differ by item.
Curator-highlighted games to try
Scott singled out several titles in the 2019 update. These are examples he recommended at the time, not an independent check of whether each one still loads today.
Rank #2
- Microsoft Adventure: Scott identified it as the IBM DOS version of Adventure and said it boots quickly.
- Mr. Blobby (1994): Scott advised redefining the keys.
- Super Munchers: The Challenge Continues (1991): One of the update’s highlighted games.
- Street Rod (1989): Scott described it as a compact, mouse-driven racing game.
- Digger (1983): The F1 key fires.
- Floppy Frenzy: Scott also noted an F1-key action for this game.
Why won’t an Internet Archive DOS game load?
A title can take a long time to start or fail to run for reasons that have little to do with the age of your browser alone. The Archive’s help page recommends a recent browser and says Firefox and Chrome work best; treat that as the Archive’s guidance, not a guarantee based on a current cross-browser test.
- Large files take time: Scott noted that some CD-ROM images can contain up to 700 megabytes per disc. A browser may need to load substantial data into memory before the game is ready. If a large game stalls, trying a smaller title is a practical alternative.
- Performance varies: A game may demand more processing power than your computer can provide, or its emulation may run too fast or too slowly. Scott wrote in 2019, “Sometimes the emulations are slower than they should be, especially on older machines.”
- Compatibility is not universal: The Archive says incompatibilities can cause games to fail or crash. The emulator is designed for DOS-compatible programs, but that does not mean every title works reliably.
- Keyboard shortcuts can conflict: A game’s controls may collide with shortcuts handled by your browser. If the keys do not behave as expected, check the game’s instructions and try redefining its controls where possible.
- The item may be unavailable: The Archive says a title may be absent because its data is difficult to load, it is incompatible, an updated version is still sold, or staff do not know about it or lack an example. Scott also noted that some titles in the 2019 update were temporarily offline pending future work.
Saving progress and keeping expectations realistic
The Archive’s help article says there is currently no way to save a game through its emulator. Do not assume that progress in a browser session will be retained. That limitation matters most for long games: choose a shorter experience if you want to play without relying on a save feature.
The collection gives people a way to explore DOS software in a browser, but the 2019 batch size does not establish what is playable now, and no particular title is guaranteed to remain available. The Archive’s own notes are the best guide to the emulation model and known limitations.
