Why did GitHub discontinue some achievement badges?

[ayushcmd]

Discussion Type

General

Discussion Content

Hi GitHub Community 👋

I’ve been exploring GitHub achievements and noticed that some badges are marked as “no longer earnable” or seem discontinued.

I’m curious to understand:

Why were certain badges discontinued?
What criteria does GitHub use to retire badges?
Are there any plans to reintroduce or replace them with new ones?

Also, here are a few badges I’ve seen mentioned as discontinued or rare:

Arctic Code Vault Contributor
Mars 2020 Contributor
Galaxy Brain (partially limited)
Public Sponsor (less visible now)

Would love insights from maintainers or anyone familiar with GitHub’s roadmap 🙌

Thanks!

[dzremre]

GitHub essentially divides badges into two categories: Time-limited and Action-based. I believe the main reason for retiring badges is the time-limited events. Some badges are given to commemorate a specific moment in GitHub's history. I think it's technically impossible for someone new to receive that badge after that moment has passed.

[ayushcmd]

Thanks for the clarification, that makes sense!

[mecodeatlas]

Thanks for posting in the GitHub Community, @ayushcmd!

We're happy you're here. You are more likely to get a useful response if you are posting your question in the applicable category, the Discussions category is solely related to conversations around the GitHub product Discussions. This question should be in the Other Feature Feedback, Questions & Ideas category. I've gone ahead and moved it for you. Good luck!