Image via Volition
The Strong National Museum of Play has received a donation from defunct Saints Row developer Volition that will help preserve almost 30 years of company history.
Andrew Borman, director of digital preservation at The Strong, shared the news on Linkedin (thanks GamesHub) and said the donation includes thousands of game builds, some source material, documentation, props, and awards relating to iconic franchises including Descent, Red Faction, and Saints Row.
"While we have only just begun to process the collection, I am beginning to understand some of what it might contain," said Borman in a video post, noting the museum has received a disc from 2004 that includes multiple early builds of Saints Row, which was then called Bling Bling.
Preserving a digital time capsule
Underlining the importance of preserving, cataloguing, and archiving video game history, Borman explained how that single item charts the formative years of an iconic franchise—serving as a digital time capsule that shows how the project evolved over the years as design beats and mechanics were added, tweaked, and even torched by the development team.
"We can [also] explore games that were unreleased and never made it to market, such as various Saints Row spinoffs and their prototypes, many of which haven't been seen before. We are honored to preserve the history and legacy of Volition, and the work of many Volitionites that made such incredible games," added Borman.
"There is much work to be done organizing, cataloguing, and migrating data from optical discs and other storage formats before it becomes accessible to researchers and museum guests. I know there are going to be many questions about the collection in the coming months, so I hope to be able to share even more in the future."
Volition was purchased by Embracer Group in 2018 when the conglomerate acquired its parent company Koch Media. It was shuttered around five years later when Embracer embarked upon a brutal restructuring program that resulted in mass layoffs, studio closures, and project cancelations.
A cohort of Volition have since regrouped to establish co-development studio Shapeshifter Games. The studio is currently working with an unnamed publisher on an upcoming franchise.
The Strong is based in New York and regularly celebrates and spotlights video games and the people who make them. You can find out more about the institute right here.
