According to XDA-Developers, 2025 was a banner year for retro game compilations, with several major collections hitting modern platforms. The headliner was the Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection, released on October 30, which bundled every arcade and home console game from the original saga, from MK1 to Mortal Kombat 4. It notably included a version of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 once considered lost media, plus spin-offs like Mythologies: Sub-Zero. Other key releases were Capcom Fighting Collection 2 on May 16, the Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection celebrating the card game’s 25th anniversary, and the Lunar Remastered Collection on April 18. These collections scored well with critics, with the Mortal Kombat pack holding an 83/100 average on OpenCritic.
The Preservation Play
Here’s the thing about these collections: they’re not just quick cash-grabs. They’re a core part of video game preservation now. Companies like Digital Eclipse, which developed the Mortal Kombat set, have turned this into a real art form. It’s not just about emulating ROMs anymore. The value is in the museum-like extras—the documentaries, the concept art, the developer insights. That stuff is priceless. For franchises like Yu-Gi-Oh!, where many early handheld games were trapped in Japan or on dead hardware, a collection like Early Days is basically a rescue mission. It keeps the entire history of a brand alive and accessible, which is smart long-term business for IP holders.
Why Now and Who Benefits
So why the big push in 2025? Timing is everything. You have major anniversaries, like Yu-Gi-Oh!’s 25th, which create a perfect marketing hook. You also have a generation of gamers now in their 30s and 40s with serious disposable income and a powerful sense of nostalgia. They’re willing to pay for a polished, definitive edition of the games they loved. And let’s be honest, the companies benefit hugely. It’s a relatively low-risk way to monetize old IP. The development cost for a well-done collection is far lower than for a brand-new AAA title, but the profit margin can be fantastic if it hits that nostalgia nerve just right.
The Future of Retro Collections
Looking at this list, a pattern emerges. The most successful collections aren’t just random bundles. They’re curated, focused, and add modern amenities. Rollback netcode for fighting games? That’s non-negotiable now. Online play for classic Mortal Kombat? It’s a game-changer. The bar has been raised. Gamers expect these packages to respect the original experience while removing the friction of old hardware. I think we’ll see more publishers digging deep into their catalogs. But the question is, will they invest the same level of care that these 2025 collections showed? The ones that do will be celebrated. The ones that don’t will just feel like lazy ROM dumps. And nobody wants that.
