List of self-booting IBM PC compatible games

These games were distributed on 5+1⁄4" or, later, 3+1⁄2", floppy disks that booted directly, meaning once they were inserted in the drive and the computer was turned on, a minimal, custom operating system on the diskette took over. This was used as a form of copy protection^{[citation needed]} until it became obsolete as games grew larger. Due to bit rot, original working versions of these floppy disks are rare. Some have been ported to other operating systems.