Video Game History Museum opens in Zagreb with world’s largest Pac-Man and smallest Tetris

(Photo credit: Tomislav Marić)

Zagreb, Croatia, 29 May 2025 – After investing more than 2 million euros and months of preparations, the Video Game History Museum in Zagreb, Croatia, was officially unveiled today.

The museum in the centre of Zagreb, at Draškovićeva 10, will be open to visitors from 31 May.

More than 3,000 interactive exhibits from the world of video games are housed at the museum, whose conceptual initiator, founder and head curator is Damir Šlogar, a Croatian entrepreneur with enviable business successes in the video game sector, an international authority in the field, and a returnee to his home country from Canada.

The museum’s opening marks the realisation of its founder’s vision, who has spent more than 40 years of his career in the gaming industry.

(Photo credit: Tomislav Marić)

This new museum, designed and built to professional museum development standards, aims to significantly enhance Zagreb’s tourist and cultural offerings.

One way the Video Game History Museum will enrich the cultural space and scene of the capital city is through special events, guest lectures, and meetings with influential people in this industry, especially since the Croatian gaming industry makes up a significant part of the country’s creative sector.

“Video games have continuously been an integral part of my life. Now, through this museum, I want to share that passion with the world, especially with younger generations who may not have experienced the magic of the early days of video games. Additionally, video games have long been an integral part of contemporary culture.

This museum aims to educate, inspire and entertain visitors through an exciting journey into the history of video games. Furthermore, the museum is entirely privately funded. This was a very personal project for which I was not willing to make many compromises – I did not even attempt to explore alternative funding sources. When we open and show that this is a comprehensive project that does not yet exist in Europe, we also hope to gather wider support,” says Damir Šlogar.

Damir Šlogar (Photo credit: Tomislav Marić)

The exhibits, accompanied by the interactive content that allows visitors to experience the past of the video games firsthand, cover the period of the video game industry from the late 1980s to the beginning of this millennium. This collection, a unique exhibition in this part of Europe that ultimately extends over 800 square metres of space on a total of three floors, was collected and curated by Damir Šlogar over almost three decades.

The gaming treasures that the new museum offers are the games that can be played, including Space Invaders (1978), Asteroids (1979) and Pac-Man (1980); more than three thousand games and about a hundred gaming platforms; some of the rarest exhibits that can be seen in museums like this, such as the first video game ever – Tennis for Two (1958); the first commercially available video game – Computer Space (1971); the first home video game console – Magnavox Odyssey (1972); the first commercially successful video game – Pong (1972); and the first handheld video game console – Microvision (1979).

The museum also boasts one of the most extensive collections of video games from some of the key publishers and franchises, such as Elite (Firebird), Ultimate Play The Game, Diablo, Warcraft, EverQuest, Strategic Simulations, Cinemaware, Bullfrog, Origin Systems, LucasArts, and many others.

Visitors can also play games on rare and unique platforms, such as the Atari Lynx, Nintendo Virtual Boy, and Vecterex, which were difficult or even almost impossible to encounter in real life. And, finally, as a curiosity, the Video Game History Museum boasts the world’s largest Pac-Man and the world’s smallest Tetris.

As the collection is constantly expanding with the acquisition of new artifacts and as the permanent exhibition only makes up a part of Šlogar’s entire collection of interesting historical exhibits from this area, the Video Game History Museum will be able to offer a “refreshed” experience quite often through new exhibits and thematic exhibitions, thus providing incentive for repeat visits.

Who is the founder?

Damir Šlogar has been in the video game industry for over 40 years, and for more than half of that time, he has worked in the industry’s hubs – Canada and the USA. He is a pioneer, now a veteran of this exciting world.

He has worked on over 150 titles, including the globally popular series: Shrek, Barbie, Battlefield and My Singing Monsters. Damir, the founder and curator, wants to show video games’ evolution and impact on technology and pop culture.

Damir Šlogar (Photo credit: Tomislav Marić)

About the Video Game History Museum (VGHM)

The Video Game History Museum in Zagreb is dedicated to preserving and showcasing the evolution of video games and gaming culture from the 1960s to the early 2000s.

The museum’s curator is Damir Šlogar, a veteran of the gaming industry and the owner of one of the world’s largest private collections of video games, early computers, gaming consoles, arcade machines, artwork, and rare memorabilia.

The museum’s mission is to educate, inspire, and entertain visitors through an exciting journey into the history of video games.