We’re 5 Years Old!

Videogames For Everyone. Forever.

The 24th November 2023 sees the National Videogame Museum reach a significant milestone as we celebrate our fifth anniversary!

Since opening in 2018, the NVM has focused on the important role videogames play in enriching lives and the significant impact they have within communities, education and career development.⁠

This year has been our busiest to date, welcoming over 50,000 visitors (of which 70% are from outside of the city region) to come Play The Museum and establish us as a unique Sheffield attraction. We exist to collect, preserve, exhibit and interpret videogames for everyone. Like many cultural organisations, we survived the pandemic through support from the Arts Council England Culture Recovery Fund, plus support from patrons in the videogame industry and a community fundraiser.

A Very Bright Future

Under the new joint CEO leadership of Creative Director, John O’Shea, and Director of Visitor Experience, Cat Powell, the last year has seen a refocus on the Museum’s ambition to expand its work with diverse and underrepresented communities; reflect on the relevance of videogames across society, and advocate for greater access to careers in the videogame industry. 

At the half decade mark, the Museum is reflecting on achievements with its community, and looking forward to the future.  We’re now working towards Museum Accreditation – Arts Council England’s National benchmark for museum standards.

The vital work aims to establish the Museum as the leading organisation for videogame culture. It builds the foundations for researchers, publishers, games developers, and the public to engage with this unique collection in new and exciting ways.

Sir Ian Livingstone, President, BGI* Board of Trustees, said, “Videogames are an integral part of the UK’s cultural heritage, and the 5th anniversary of The National Videogame Museum in Sheffield is a significant milestone. Looking to the future, there is great potential to build on this foundation regionally and nationally, to emphasise Sheffield as a contemporary powerhouse for videogame development, and to communicate the full social, cultural, economic and educational impact of the videogames industry through the work of the museum.”

*The BGI is the governing body of the NVM and is a registered charity no. 1183530.

5 Highlights from Our 5th Year

Our fifth year has been fantastic! We’re so proud of what we’ve achieved, who we’ve worked with and the projects that have been accomplished. Here’s our five highlights from this year:

⭐️ Collaboration – This year has seen BBC Teach film a Live Lesson at the Museum and we collaborated on a Physics Exhibit with CERN and the University of Sheffield. We also ran free workshops with the support of Children In Need.

⭐️ Community Outreach – Our Level Up project, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, saw us take to the road with our Pop-Up exhibitions.

⭐️ Learning and Careers – our Educational Visits have grown exponentially thanks to the hard work from our Learning Team. This year also saw Games Careers Week, organised by the NVM return for a third year.

⭐️ Playing With Power – An exceptionally rewarding project. In collaboration with Stand and Be Counted Theatre and Biome Collective, the project explored what happens when you shine a light on the stories from Sheffield’s sanctuary-seeking community and re-imagine them as a videogame.⁠

⭐️ The NVM Team – We’re so proud of our team here at the Museum. We truly wouldn’t be able to function without them!

It’s been a fabulous first five years and we’re so excited for what the future holds. We just want to say a huge thank you all our supporters, patrons and partners. But most importantly our visitors who have been there for us since opening in Sheffield.⁠

Here’s to the next five years and beyond!