Welcome to Games That Weren't!

We are a Cancelled & Unreleased Video games archive with prototypes, developer history and assets for many computers and consoles of all ages. A non-profit large archive dedicated to preserving lost games that were never released to the public. Sharing history and stories from the developers, assets and more before it is too late. GTW has been preserving lost video game history online since 1999, and long before that offline.

Please Browse our archive and discover the many entries that we host for many different platforms.

Latest News and Posts

Games That Weren’t book – Polish Edition

Posted: by Frank Gasking

Things have mostly paused with updates and preservation work for Games That Weren’t due to the recent loss of my mum. Today though, I’m finally able to share some positive news: a Polish edition of the Games That Weren’t book is now available for pre-order: https://gknb.pl/

When I was told this was happening, I was genuinely blown away. Never in a million years did I imagine seeing a translated edition of my work. It must have taken an incredible amount of effort, and I can’t wait to see a copy in the flesh.

Posted in: GTW64 news, News | 5 Comments

Tinhead

Posted: by Frank Gasking

1993 Microprose

Platforms: Commodore Amiga, Super Nintendo, Atari Jaguar

Tinhead is best known as a Sega Mega Drive platformer released in 1993, though it received little attention at the time. A Super Nintendo port was completed but never officially released back in the day (but got a physical release by Piko Interactive in 2019). A Jaguar version was also in development but never surfaced. The lost Amiga version however is particularly intriguing due to the discovery of early development materials that suggest a very different origin for the game.

waldo large

As contributor Murnjendoof explains: “In May of 2025, I reached out to the game’s project manager Stuart Whyte via an email address that I found on his now-defunct Angelfire page, asking about the game’s development. He kindly sent me a bunch of development materials pertaining to the game, which included some internal documents confirming that an Amiga port of the game was planned.” Continue reading →

Posted in: Atari Jaguar, Commodore Amiga, Reviews, Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) | Tagged: | 1 Comment

Cartoon Network’s “Toon Jam!” fully preserved for the first time

Posted: , last updated: by Frank Gasking

One of the rarest Cartoon Network PC games has just received its most complete preservation to date. Cartoon Network’s Toon Jam! – a 1995 DOS/Windows 3.1 title featuring Red Book audio tracks and FMV segments, and which has long been a tough find for collectors and preservationists alike.

ToonJam

While the game had previously surfaced as an ISO image a few years ago – that release omitted the crucial audio data found on the original mixed-mode CD. A proper bin/cue image — capturing both the game data and its Red Book audio has now appeared on Archive.org, marking the first time Toon Jam! has been preserved in its complete digital form. Continue reading →

Posted in: News, Preservation | Leave a comment

Super Kick Off

Posted: by Frank Gasking

1991 Anco / Enigma Variations

Platform: Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)

Kick Off was converted to pretty much every platform of its day, including the NES quite late on in 1991. However, whilst backing up some old 5.25″ floppies from the Enigma Variations archive, we found a big surprise in the shape of a Super Kick Off prototype build for Nintendo’s console, which doesn’t seem to be known about until now (certainly couldn’t find any press mentions).

superkick large

Super Kick Off was released in the same year on the likes of Game Boy (from Enigma Variations) and Master System (converted by Tiertex), and it seems that there were plans for a NES edition too. The game would build upon the original NES codebase. Continue reading →

Posted in: Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Reviews | Tagged: | Leave a comment

Famous Five: Five on a Treasure Island V1

Posted: by Patrick Furlong

1991 Enigma Variations

Platform: Amstrad CPC

Before you say anything, I know this game came out and that Amstrad Action gave away the game on their September 1992 cover tape as I have that tape and played it to death. But there is evidence of an earlier (or later) unreleased version.

famous2

The game was reviewed in Amstrad Computer User, July 1991 in a double page spread and the graphics are totally different to that in the released game! Continue reading →

Posted in: Amstrad CPC, Reviews | Tagged: | 2 Comments

Earthquake

Posted: by Frank Gasking

198? Atari

Platform: Atari 2600 or Atari 8-bit (Unknown)

From the archives of Atari graphic artist Jerome Domurat, archivist John Hardie found a disk labelled “Earthquake”, and so begins our look at yet another lost Atari game.

earthquake6

John got in touch to flag his finding with us, which he originally posted about on the AtariAge forum in June 2025. On the disk, he found a series of graphic images that show many elements of a possible earthquake type of game with buildings, debris and a fireman. Continue reading →

Posted in: Atari 2600 / Atari VCS, Atari 400/800/XL, Reviews | Tagged: | Leave a comment

Bugs Bunny’s Cartoon Workshop – Novotrade 1990 PC game test video

Posted: by Frank Gasking

Thanks to Csaba Virág, we’ve been given a rare bug report video from 1990 and for Novotrade’s Bugs Bunny’s Cartoon Workshop package. This has been preserved by Péter Gyöngyössy, who found and digitized the tape.

Csaba’s friend Peter was just walking along a street during a council clean up in Hungary, where he noticed a pack of old PC magazines still in packaging. Found among them a VHS tape, which contained a bug report from the game Bugs Bunny’s Cartoon Workshop. The game was developed in Hungary and one of the developers or the testers in the video speak about a strange bug which affect audio and video functions of the game.

The game was also developed for Amiga and Mac, but unfortunately those versions were never released. Another entry for the site in the future! Continue reading →

Posted in: PC, Preservation | Tagged: | 1 Comment

Early and lost Jeff Minter ZX81 title ‘Fastlife’ recovered!

Posted: by Frank Gasking

Thanks to the brilliant preservation work of Steve Brown of the TZX Vault, we are proud to present for the very first time, an extremely early Jeff Minter title from 1981. This was for the ZX81 and has been missing for 44 years – yet to be preserved, until today! Here is a version of Conway’s Life simulator from Jeff called Fastlife and another piece of history saved.

large shot3

What is intriguing, is that the game was advertised just once for the ZX81 as part of a compilation from DK’Tronics, including Deflex and 3D3D, which Jeff also created. However, after that – “Life” was oddly removed and replaced very quickly on the compilation by Centipede. This compilation became the commonly known version, but no-one seemed to have a copy with the originally intended “Life” on it. Continue reading →

Posted in: Preservation, ZX81 | Tagged: | 14 Comments

The KATT Games Master Keyboard Archive

Posted: , last updated: by Frank Gasking

Thanks to the incredible efforts of our friend LiqMatrix, the KATT (Keyboard And Terminal Technology) Games Master, an extremely rare mid-1990s DOS gaming keyboard, has been preserved for everyone to explore.

KGMK Product Box (Front)

This unusual device came with interchangeable “mats” that customized the keyboard for specific games, from jet cockpits to RPG character sheets. Despite its innovative design, it was not a commercial success, and very few examples survive today. Continue reading →

Posted in: PC, Preservation | Tagged: | Leave a comment