Afterplay and the Push Toward a Steam for Retro Games: An Interview

Afterplay sits in an a pretty interesting space in the retro gaming world. At its core, it’s a browser-based platform for playing classic games, removing much of the friction that usually comes with emulation setup, file management, or device-specific configurations. Start up your game, sign in, and you’re essentially already playing, whether that’s on a desktop, laptop, or mobile device. Over time, it has evolved beyond 'just' being a convenient way to run ROMs in the browser, adding features like cloud saves, cross-device syncing, and a growing emphasis on accessibility and platform-like structure rather than a traditional emulator frontend.More recently, Afterplay has also begun expanding its scope, positioning itself less as a standalone tool and more as a broader ecosystem for retro gaming, including game discovery, distribution, and an entire storefront where indie developers can sell playable titles directly through the platform. That shift has brought increasing attention from…