Games That Weren't
@gamesthatwerent.com
Covering cancelled/unreleased video games and prototypes across a variety of consoles and home computers. Preserving unreleased video game history online since 1999, and longer offline.
Check out our archive and more at: https://www.gamesthatwerent.com
Check out our archive and more at: https://www.gamesthatwerent.com
Pinned
We’re now done for the year. Time to play games + catch up reading. Thanks everyone for the kindness and support this year. If you’d like to help the project recover more lost pieces of history, simply spreading the word really helps.
Take care, and all the best for 2026!
Frank
Take care, and all the best for 2026!
Frank
Reposted by Games That Weren't
GTW Highlight No.23: In June we preserved Carts of Fury, a missing Flash-based advergame recovered with the help of an anonymous contributor. A shopping-cart racer set in supermarket aisles - now finally archived after being inaccessible for years.
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/06/cana...
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/06/cana...
December 11, 2025 at 1:27 PM
GTW Highlight No.23: In June we preserved Carts of Fury, a missing Flash-based advergame recovered with the help of an anonymous contributor. A shopping-cart racer set in supermarket aisles - now finally archived after being inaccessible for years.
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/06/cana...
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/06/cana...
Reposted by Games That Weren't
GTW Highlight No.22: Back in June we were so excited to uncover an unannounced and unknown Dr. Franken 3 proto for the Game Boy. Franky heads into space in this early build, exploring new puzzle layouts and a whole rocket-ship area that had never been seen before!
December 11, 2025 at 9:32 AM
GTW Highlight No.22: Back in June we were so excited to uncover an unannounced and unknown Dr. Franken 3 proto for the Game Boy. Franky heads into space in this early build, exploring new puzzle layouts and a whole rocket-ship area that had never been seen before!
Reposted by Games That Weren't
GTW Highlight No.21: In June, we recovered a very different version of World Class Rugby for the #SNES, dated July 1992 - some time before the final release. The engine was very different from the final version, with different sprites + faster pace.
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/06/worl...
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/06/worl...
December 10, 2025 at 5:54 PM
GTW Highlight No.21: In June, we recovered a very different version of World Class Rugby for the #SNES, dated July 1992 - some time before the final release. The engine was very different from the final version, with different sprites + faster pace.
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/06/worl...
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/06/worl...
Reposted by Games That Weren't
GTW Highlight No.20: In June, we recovered The Grid - a canned 1995 space shooter by D3. We added an early #PC demo with Descent-like movement + a few ships to shoot. Plus Concept art too. Lots still unknown and to be discovered.
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/06/the-...
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/06/the-...
December 10, 2025 at 1:20 PM
GTW Highlight No.20: In June, we recovered The Grid - a canned 1995 space shooter by D3. We added an early #PC demo with Descent-like movement + a few ships to shoot. Plus Concept art too. Lots still unknown and to be discovered.
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/06/the-...
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/06/the-...
Reposted by Games That Weren't
GTW Highlight No.19: In June, we recovered an earlier 1992 build of Nigel Mansell’s World Championship Racing by Gremlin. Used as a reference for a conversion, this build featured title screen, credit and speed differences:
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/06/nige...
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/06/nige...
December 10, 2025 at 8:59 AM
GTW Highlight No.19: In June, we recovered an earlier 1992 build of Nigel Mansell’s World Championship Racing by Gremlin. Used as a reference for a conversion, this build featured title screen, credit and speed differences:
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/06/nige...
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/06/nige...
Reposted by Games That Weren't
GTW Highlight No.18: In early June, we released early builds of a cancelled and previously unknown Army Men: Sarge’s Heroes conversion for #GameBoyAdvance. Developed by DC Studios in 2000, scrapped before release. Full story: www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/06/army...
December 9, 2025 at 3:45 PM
GTW Highlight No.18: In early June, we released early builds of a cancelled and previously unknown Army Men: Sarge’s Heroes conversion for #GameBoyAdvance. Developed by DC Studios in 2000, scrapped before release. Full story: www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/06/army...
Reposted by Games That Weren't
GTW Highlight No.17: In May, we recovered a very early 1992 #SNES prototype platformer called Chaos Drop. Developed by Enigma Variations, the game was dropped and eventually morphed into Magician's Apprentice for PC/Konix. Check out early builds here:
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/05/chao...
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/05/chao...
December 9, 2025 at 12:31 PM
GTW Highlight No.17: In May, we recovered a very early 1992 #SNES prototype platformer called Chaos Drop. Developed by Enigma Variations, the game was dropped and eventually morphed into Magician's Apprentice for PC/Konix. Check out early builds here:
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/05/chao...
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/05/chao...
Another Christmas miracle for the C64 as GTW64 reveals lost games gamingretro.co.uk/another-chri...
Christmas miracle for the C64 as GTW64 reveals lost games
Games That Weren’t has closed out the year with its annual GTW64 Christmas Update, reminding us of just how much Commodore 64 history is missing.
gamingretro.co.uk
December 26, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Another Christmas miracle for the C64 as GTW64 reveals lost games gamingretro.co.uk/another-chri...
Reposted by Games That Weren't
GTW Highlight No.16: In May, we uncovered 7 #NES prototype builds of The Addams Family: Pugsley's Scavenger Hunt (1993 Ocean)- including an early version with cut content and different room layouts. A fascinating glimpse at the game in development.
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/05/the-...
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/05/the-...
December 9, 2025 at 9:21 AM
GTW Highlight No.16: In May, we uncovered 7 #NES prototype builds of The Addams Family: Pugsley's Scavenger Hunt (1993 Ocean)- including an early version with cut content and different room layouts. A fascinating glimpse at the game in development.
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/05/the-...
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/05/the-...
Reposted by Games That Weren't
GTW Highlight No.15: In May, we were honoured to give a talk at Zzap! Live about Games That Weren’t and 25 years of uncovering unreleased, cancelled, and forgotten games with a C64 focus. Here is a link to the full talk:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlOG...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlOG...
December 8, 2025 at 4:58 PM
GTW Highlight No.15: In May, we were honoured to give a talk at Zzap! Live about Games That Weren’t and 25 years of uncovering unreleased, cancelled, and forgotten games with a C64 focus. Here is a link to the full talk:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlOG...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlOG...
Reposted by Games That Weren't
GTW Highlight No.14: In May, we uncovered a #PC #DOS-era prototype called ShelShock from Finlay Munro. Possibly a pitch for a game or just its engine. Think Damocles, but with mouse interaction and a village to explore. Now preserved at Games That Weren't:
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/05/shel...
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/05/shel...
December 8, 2025 at 12:24 PM
GTW Highlight No.14: In May, we uncovered a #PC #DOS-era prototype called ShelShock from Finlay Munro. Possibly a pitch for a game or just its engine. Think Damocles, but with mouse interaction and a village to explore. Now preserved at Games That Weren't:
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/05/shel...
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/05/shel...
Reposted by Games That Weren't
GTW Highlight No.13: In May, we took a deep dive look at the #SEGA #MasterSystem development of Tintin on the Moon. It nearly made it in 1992 but was sadly cancelled. Now after 32 years, lost Matt Furniss music & SFX intended was also recovered!
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/05/tint...
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/05/tint...
December 8, 2025 at 8:54 AM
GTW Highlight No.13: In May, we took a deep dive look at the #SEGA #MasterSystem development of Tintin on the Moon. It nearly made it in 1992 but was sadly cancelled. Now after 32 years, lost Matt Furniss music & SFX intended was also recovered!
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/05/tint...
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/05/tint...
Reposted by Games That Weren't
Merry Christmas! If you'd like to spend 45 minutes celebrating video game history with me, we're about to debut The Untold Story of the Nintendo Entertainment System. I worked on his ALL YEAR, and I genuinely think it will reshape how we all think about the system. www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJvp...
The Untold Story of the Nintendo Entertainment System
YouTube video by The Video Game History Foundation
www.youtube.com
December 25, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Merry Christmas! If you'd like to spend 45 minutes celebrating video game history with me, we're about to debut The Untold Story of the Nintendo Entertainment System. I worked on his ALL YEAR, and I genuinely think it will reshape how we all think about the system. www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJvp...
Reposted by Games That Weren't
New Video: Christmas with the Retro Collective - A look back at 2025
youtu.be/AkGl9MNvINI
Merry Christmas to you all from everyone at the Retro Collective
youtu.be/AkGl9MNvINI
Merry Christmas to you all from everyone at the Retro Collective
Christmas with the Retro Collective - A look back at 2025
YouTube video by The Retro Collective
youtu.be
December 25, 2025 at 2:16 PM
New Video: Christmas with the Retro Collective - A look back at 2025
youtu.be/AkGl9MNvINI
Merry Christmas to you all from everyone at the Retro Collective
youtu.be/AkGl9MNvINI
Merry Christmas to you all from everyone at the Retro Collective
Reposted by Games That Weren't
High Voltage SID Collection #84 Released (25 December 2025). Download: csdb.dk/release/?id=...
#Commodore #Commodore64 #C64
#Commodore #Commodore64 #C64
December 25, 2025 at 3:21 PM
High Voltage SID Collection #84 Released (25 December 2025). Download: csdb.dk/release/?id=...
#Commodore #Commodore64 #C64
#Commodore #Commodore64 #C64
Amazing haul of Sonic prototypes from The Hidden Palace yesterday - a wonderful Christmas present and some staggering recoveries to enjoy!
Merry Christmas! It's that special time of year again where we celebrate the holidays with yet another yuletide collection of prototypes! This time we have a couple of Sonic prototypes just for you courtesy of Santa and @lastminutecontinue.com!
hiddenpalace.org/News/One_Bad...
Enjoy!🎄🦔
hiddenpalace.org/News/One_Bad...
Enjoy!🎄🦔
December 26, 2025 at 11:31 AM
Amazing haul of Sonic prototypes from The Hidden Palace yesterday - a wonderful Christmas present and some staggering recoveries to enjoy!
Reposted by Games That Weren't
GTW Highlight No.12: By April/May, we had recovery and release of Anco's Tip-Off for #NES + #SNES. You can now experience early developments of the game + also hear the long-lost David Whittaker NES music, compiled from source.
gamesthatwerent.com/2025/04/tip-...
gamesthatwerent.com/2025/05/tip-...
gamesthatwerent.com/2025/04/tip-...
gamesthatwerent.com/2025/05/tip-...
December 6, 2025 at 12:40 PM
GTW Highlight No.12: By April/May, we had recovery and release of Anco's Tip-Off for #NES + #SNES. You can now experience early developments of the game + also hear the long-lost David Whittaker NES music, compiled from source.
gamesthatwerent.com/2025/04/tip-...
gamesthatwerent.com/2025/05/tip-...
gamesthatwerent.com/2025/04/tip-...
gamesthatwerent.com/2025/05/tip-...
Reposted by Games That Weren't
GTW Highlight No.11: Switching focus to the #SNES in April, we preserved the unfinished Mechanoids 2: The Final Conflict. An early side-scrolling mech fighter planned for 1993. We recovered two prototype builds you can check out and play:
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/04/mech...
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/04/mech...
December 5, 2025 at 6:59 PM
GTW Highlight No.11: Switching focus to the #SNES in April, we preserved the unfinished Mechanoids 2: The Final Conflict. An early side-scrolling mech fighter planned for 1993. We recovered two prototype builds you can check out and play:
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/04/mech...
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/04/mech...
Reposted by Games That Weren't
GTW Highlight No.10: No April Fools when we recovered a full game for a console that never was. Magician’s Apprentice (1993) was for the mythic Multi-System 2 (successor to the Konix Multi-system), and is now emulated + playable thanks to @SavourySnaX !
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/04/magi...
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/04/magi...
December 5, 2025 at 1:57 PM
GTW Highlight No.10: No April Fools when we recovered a full game for a console that never was. Magician’s Apprentice (1993) was for the mythic Multi-System 2 (successor to the Konix Multi-system), and is now emulated + playable thanks to @SavourySnaX !
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/04/magi...
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/04/magi...
Reposted by Games That Weren't
2/2: We're now gearing up for our Christmas updates (with a few surprises in store). Over the next few weeks (starting from today) we'll be sharing our 2025 highlights daily from the archive (though we're starting from last December!), along with the occasional new entry too.
December 2, 2025 at 10:01 AM
2/2: We're now gearing up for our Christmas updates (with a few surprises in store). Over the next few weeks (starting from today) we'll be sharing our 2025 highlights daily from the archive (though we're starting from last December!), along with the occasional new entry too.
Reposted by Games That Weren't
It's been a bittersweet year for Games That Weren't - one of our most productive, but also marked by the loss of my mum last month. The archive might never have existed without her buying gaming magazines for me every month growing up. 1/2
December 2, 2025 at 10:01 AM
It's been a bittersweet year for Games That Weren't - one of our most productive, but also marked by the loss of my mum last month. The archive might never have existed without her buying gaming magazines for me every month growing up. 1/2
Reposted by Games That Weren't
Slowly starting to catch up. Recently @martinpiper.bsky.social has kindly linked up the unreleased #Commodore64 intro to Cyberdyne Warrior to the game, along with loading screen with a disk and tape version for you to check out. See page for Martin's video!
www.gamesthatwerent.com/gtw64/cyberd...
www.gamesthatwerent.com/gtw64/cyberd...
December 1, 2025 at 9:57 AM
Slowly starting to catch up. Recently @martinpiper.bsky.social has kindly linked up the unreleased #Commodore64 intro to Cyberdyne Warrior to the game, along with loading screen with a disk and tape version for you to check out. See page for Martin's video!
www.gamesthatwerent.com/gtw64/cyberd...
www.gamesthatwerent.com/gtw64/cyberd...
Reposted by Games That Weren't
Updates very slow due to personal circumstances, but I can finally announce that a Polish edition of the Games That Weren't book is available for pre-order: gknb.pl
Never in a million years did I imagine seeing a translated edition - genuinely blown me away!
Never in a million years did I imagine seeing a translated edition - genuinely blown me away!
November 14, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Updates very slow due to personal circumstances, but I can finally announce that a Polish edition of the Games That Weren't book is available for pre-order: gknb.pl
Never in a million years did I imagine seeing a translated edition - genuinely blown me away!
Never in a million years did I imagine seeing a translated edition - genuinely blown me away!
Reposted by Games That Weren't
A new video showing the cancelled Famicom game Shōnen Majutsushi Indy / 少年魔術師インディ has been uploaded.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-M_v...
A book reusing elements from this game is being considered.
www.gamespark.jp/article/2025...
Chara design: Hiroshi Fuji / 冨士宏
Enemy design: Yūichirō Shinozaki / 篠崎雄一郎
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-M_v...
A book reusing elements from this game is being considered.
www.gamespark.jp/article/2025...
Chara design: Hiroshi Fuji / 冨士宏
Enemy design: Yūichirō Shinozaki / 篠崎雄一郎
【FC版『少年魔術師インディ』】プレイ動画01
YouTube video by インディ THE MAGICAL KID
www.youtube.com
December 24, 2025 at 4:08 PM
A new video showing the cancelled Famicom game Shōnen Majutsushi Indy / 少年魔術師インディ has been uploaded.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-M_v...
A book reusing elements from this game is being considered.
www.gamespark.jp/article/2025...
Chara design: Hiroshi Fuji / 冨士宏
Enemy design: Yūichirō Shinozaki / 篠崎雄一郎
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-M_v...
A book reusing elements from this game is being considered.
www.gamespark.jp/article/2025...
Chara design: Hiroshi Fuji / 冨士宏
Enemy design: Yūichirō Shinozaki / 篠崎雄一郎
Reposted by Games That Weren't
Qué maravilla. No tenía ni idea. Igual que el Sensible Soccer de NES que preservaron en esa misma página.
youtu.be/91xqZPC7xi8?...
youtu.be/91xqZPC7xi8?...
Surprise recovery of Sensible Soccer for the Nintendo Entertainment System!
YouTube video by Games That Weren't - Cancelled & Unreleased Games
youtu.be
December 24, 2025 at 12:44 PM
Qué maravilla. No tenía ni idea. Igual que el Sensible Soccer de NES que preservaron en esa misma página.
youtu.be/91xqZPC7xi8?...
youtu.be/91xqZPC7xi8?...