ROMhacking.net Shuts Down After 20 Years

A key source of ROM hacks for more than 20 years, ROMhacking.net, has gone down.

As Nightcrawler announced in a news article, all areas of ROMhacking.net will be taken down, except its forums and news. Files are now being downloaded, shared, and transferred to the Internet Archive for preservation.

The end of ROM hacking marks a change in internet culture and the future distribution and discovery of fixes. Since 2005, the website has established itself as the go-to source for patches and other mod files used to improve games and, in some instances, make brand-new ones.

We have made all the files and photos available to the Internet Archive and the site database (excluding account and/or profile information).

In summary:

Database Archive and Download Files on the Internet

Except for news, all submissions are closed forever.

The entire website will continue to be accessible as read-only.

Images and downloads will be accessible as long as DarkSol and FCAndChill Calico permit.

The forum will stay operational.

Discord and Twitter are no longer affiliated. Anything outside of these sources does not reflect the opinions of ROMhacking.net or me.

However, news stories will continue to appear on the website. Based on recent postings, it is reasonable to presume that the news section will include articles on larger, more noticeable changes and releases.

The notice of its termination mentions copyright issues, the growing attention the website received, and resource management as significant factors.

Additionally, Nightcrawler claims that they were subjected to doxxing, personal insults, and what they describe as "being dehumanised" during an effort to concentrate the site's destiny in the hands of a select few users. According to Nightcrawler, they just learned that there were intentions to completely remove them from the site's operations, which eventually caused them to stop all site activities and their affiliation with any Discord or Twitter groups.

I wanted the public to have access to the site database and file archive. An internal group unexpectedly surfaced in late 2023 with an offer to assist in maintaining the website. Although I doubted their motives, it might be a more community-friendly course of action. But it ended up being the opposite. Phase 1 of getting the downloads into their hands was difficult. I found a dishonest and hateful bunch when I got to the starting phase 2. I discovered that for a very long period, I had been dehumanised. My private information had been exposed. There had been covert, dishonest plans to cut me off and drop a bomb as if I were a target to be destroyed. After discussing this with my family, we immediately stopped all linked site operations. We are severing our connections with Twitter and Discord and will no longer communicate with these users.

Snarf, a moderator on the erstwhile official ROMhacking.net Discord, has responded by condemning any allegations of doxxing Nightcrawler or threatening them in any way.

Similarly, Gideon Zhi—best known as the principal translator for Aeon Genesis—expressed his opinion on what transpired on Cohost and condemned any accusations of doxxing or threats.

Though its past will always be remembered, the closure of such a significant location indicates that things are changing, regardless of how it ended. Most vintage portable devices let us relive little moments of nostalgia we treasure. By embracing the inventiveness of gamers worldwide, ROMhacking.net enabled us to view the same experiences in fresh and diverse ways.

It is not just the retro handheld community having a bad day; online gaming communities also feel the same way. In addition to encouraging innovation and bringing together players worldwide to work on projects together, ROMhacking.net altered how we play games that were previously very meaningful to us. It will always be remembered for its historical impact.