Let’s Build A Videogames Museum In Dundee!

Youth Group HELM Crowdfunding To Build Dundee Games Museum

There is a moment in the campaign materials for the proposed new Dundee games museum that captures the imagination.

Two young people at HELM, the youth charity that has supported young Dundonians for more than 40 years, were talking about the city:

“Dundee made Lemmings. Dundee made Grand Theft Auto.”
“No way,” said one young person. “Y’ken, the gaming story is massive in Dundee.”
“Where?” said another.

That brief exchange illustrates both the extraordinary legacy of Dundee and the ongoing opportunity to make it front and centre of Scotland’s contemporary games ecosystem.

Dundee is globally recognised as a videogame pioneer. It is home to world-class studios including (deep breath…) 4J Studios, Rockstar Dundee, Hyper Luminal, Bit Loom, Outplay, Denki, GameMaker, Ninja Kiwi, Umbra Dynamics, Team Terrible and many (many) more… It is where Abertay University launched the world’s first computer games degree, back in 1997; it’s where the Timex factory assembled the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, sparking the UK’s home-computing revolution that inspired the Kingsway Computer Club and led directly to, well, everything else.

The city’s contribution to interactive entertainment is remarkable. What makes the latest development so exciting is seeing the next generation step forward to celebrate that heritage on their own terms.

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Grassroots Energy Championing Local Heritage

The Scottish Games Network is proud to officially back the initiative launched by the HELM Youth Collective (HYC), a group of young people aged 14 to 25 who help shape HELM’s work. The Collective has taken on the challenge of designing and prototyping Dundee’s first dedicated video game museum space inside HELM’s home, The Sea Captain’s House.

Preserving video game culture and heritage is essential work. As a Trustee of the National Videogame Museum in Sheffield, I see first-hand how celebrating the history of interactive media inspires confidence, sparks technical curiosity, and connects generations.

Having this project led directly by young people brings an authentic, creative energy to the city’s cultural landscape. From February 2027, the team will:

• Build detailed architectural models of the proposed museum inside The Sea Captain’s House;
• Conduct oral history interviews with industry veterans who helped build Dundee’s games sector;
• Curate and display historical artwork, hardware, and memorabilia.

The Collective will present their initial plans to Dundee City Council and key civic partners before hosting a public, interactive exhibition in June 2027 to invite the entire city to share their vision for what a permanent gaming museum could look like.

Back the Crowdfunder Today

You have a chance to directly support HELM and establish a dedicated games museum in Dundee..

To fund this first stage, HELM has officially launched a Crowdfunder running until 16:00 on Friday 18 December 2026.

Here is why our collective backing matters right now:

• Pound-for-Pound Match Funding: Creative Scotland is matching every public pledge up to £250 through the National Lottery.
• The Target: HELM needs to raise £8,000 from the community to unlock an additional £8,000 in match funding, providing the full £16,000 needed to deliver the prototyping phase, pay the young creators, and mount the June 2027 exhibition.
• Supporter Milestone: The campaign requires a minimum of 25 unique backers to unlock the matching funds.

While offers of archived hardware and classic games will no doubt be welcome further down the line, the immediate priority today is pure financial support to get stage one funded and off the ground.

As Scotland’s games ecosystem continues to expand globally, the Scottish Games Network encourages studios, developers, founders, and industry colleagues across the country to throw their support behind HELM’s young creators.

Clare Taylor Brown, Chief Executive of HELM, noted:

Many of the young people we work with play games but have never pictured themselves making them. This project changes that. They’ll work alongside artists and industry experts, be paid for their time, and build something the whole city can be proud of.

Pat Kerr, who wrote the original physics code for Grand Theft Auto at DMA Design, highlighted the social significance of the initiative:

A games museum in Dundee would help to explore a valuable piece of local social history, showing part of the post-industrial transition of the city away from factory work and into the new technological and cultural sectors. It would hopefully also be quite good fun, and possibly even more exciting than jute!

Professor Robin Sloan, Professor of Game Design and Culture at Abertay University, also endorsed the project:

Dundee has played a remarkable role in shaping the history of video games, and it’s really important that we celebrate and preserve that heritage. With next year marking both 30 years since the launch of Grand Theft Auto and 30 years since Abertay launched the world’s first games degree, it’s a great time to be looking towards projects that help our video games stories to be more visible and accessible and to use our history to inspire future generations.

How to Get Involved

1. Pledge to the Crowdfunder: Pledges start from £10, with every pound up to £250 doubled by Creative Scotland. (Any studios or organisations wishing to pledge more than £250 can contact HELM directly to discuss structuring support alongside match funding).
2. Mobilise Your Team: Share the campaign across your internal studio channels, company newsletters, and social networks ahead of Giving Tuesday on 1st December.
3. Learn More: Visit the project website at dundeemadegames.org.uk for campaign updates and background.

Dundee helped shape Scotland’s games culture and brought GTA to the world. By supporting this initiative, we ensure the next chapter of the story of games can be written by the young people living in the city.

Back the campaign today: dundeemadegames.org.uk.