Infinite lives: the company saving old arcade machines

For a generation of players, these colourful cabinets house not just ailing electronics, but formative memories. Meet the people who save them from landfill

On a rural industrial estate five miles outside Honiton, under the flight path of a nearby aerodrome, sits a rather nondescript warehouse. Only one feature marks it out: in front is a graveyard of stripped arcade cabinets, slowly rotting in the cold and damp.

I am here to visit Play Leisure, a company that restores and sells old arcade games. It has a compelling TikTok account where it shares new discoveries - a recent post showed off a Deadstorm Pirates machine with its enormous sit-in cabinet and giant cinematic display. I've dragged my friend and fellow arcade fanatic Joao Sanches along, and now I'm feeling nervous and responsible because, walking up to the unmarked entrance, I've no idea if they will have anything interesting in stock after our 90-minute drive.