“gameObject Permanence is a four-part video work that moves from digital fragility and commercial ambition to personal reflection and mourning, exploring how virtual worlds end. From glitched-out demo discs to abandoned development projects, it paints a complex portrait of game development, money and play. The work traces ambitious games that never made it to release, simulation titles left behind by shifting markets, and MMOs whose shutdowns became communal moments of grief and remembrance.”

Written and edited by Conor Bateman
Curators: Bethan Johnson and Jini Maxwell

Exhibitions

Australian Centre of the Moving Image (ACMI): Game Worlds (18 September 2025 – 8 February 2026)