diff --git a/platforms/batocera.yml b/platforms/batocera.yml
index 2c036ded..b4e75b31 100644
--- a/platforms/batocera.yml
+++ b/platforms/batocera.yml
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 platform: Batocera
-version: ''
+version: '42'
 homepage: https://batocera.org
 source: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/batocera-linux/batocera.linux/master/package/batocera/core/batocera-scripts/scripts/batocera-systems
 base_destination: bios
diff --git a/scripts/scraper/batocera_scraper.py b/scripts/scraper/batocera_scraper.py
index 95fbbe82..8a4e0a76 100644
--- a/scripts/scraper/batocera_scraper.py
+++ b/scripts/scraper/batocera_scraper.py
@@ -329,6 +329,13 @@ class Scraper(BaseScraper):
             num = tag.removeprefix("batocera-")
             if num.isdigit():
                 batocera_version = num
+        if not batocera_version:
+            # Preserve existing version when fetch fails (offline mode)
+            existing = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[2] / "platforms" / "batocera.yml"
+            if existing.exists():
+                with open(existing) as f:
+                    old = yaml.safe_load(f) or {}
+                batocera_version = str(old.get("version", ""))
 
         cores, standalone = self._fetch_cores()
         result = {