University of Washington Information School

Accidental Archivists: YouTube Gameplay Content and Game Preservation

This paper examines whether YouTube and Twitch gameplay content, particularly walkthroughs and "let's play" videos, can support game preservation efforts.

• Existing game preservation work has concentrated on published console games and emulation, overlooking the wider player experience, including strategizing, social play, and fan culture that unfolds outside the game itself.
• Because cultural heritage institutions lack resources to preserve every game and gameplay session, the authors argue that player-generated content already hosted on YouTube and Twitch can help fill these gaps.
• The study's preliminary taxonomy, built from 310 videos (10 randomly sampled from each of 31 English-language YouTube channels across five game categories), yields 20 categories of gameplay content.