Cancelled & Unreleased Video Games for the Commodore 64 Since 1999
Welcome to Games That Weren't 64!
We cover Cancelled & Unreleased Video games for the Commodore 64 computer. A non-profit large archive dedicated to preserving lost games that were never released to the public, as well as prototypes and the odd preservation of released titles. Our aim to share history and stories from the developers, assets and more before it is too late. GTW has been preserving lost video game history since 1999, and long before that offline.
Please Browse our archive and discover the many entries that we host and have saved over the years.
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.
A smaller update this month, with a new entry on a cancelled Rocky Memphis game and then updates on 5 pre-existing entries in the archive. We should have a lot more C64 content for you very soon – including some big findings!
Recovery work today for the Commodore 64 with a long lost Gremlin Graphics game named ‘Hill 19’ (Later known as Shell Shock). Sadly nothing playable, but plenty of assets recovered. Also – we have recovered lost graphics for the unreleased Piranha game ‘Coven’:
Thanks to Dr. Doom / Rad / Ons, a very slightly different version of Children’s Trivia by Cybal Software has been preserved for the Commodore 64. A version of the game already exists in Gamebase64, but this has a few very minor differences (and may have been an updated version).
It’s not an unreleased game, so we’re just sharing the preservation here for posterity and for other archives to pick up:
A huge Commodore 64 surprise to kick off the week with Games That Weren’t adding the sadly cancelled playable prototype of the Indiana Jones 3 adventure. An unofficial conversion of the great Lucasfilm Games title with bags of promise, but wasn’t to be. Check it out here:
2025 is going past in a flash as we enter into August, and GTW64 is continuing to evolve and grow too. This month we have added 6 new entries, including the great looking Indy 3 adventure game homebrew that sadly was cancelled, an early development of Skateball and lots more.
We then have 9 updates for you, which includes the recent recovery of Bryan Robson’s Super League, not only for the C64, but ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC. See you all next month!
Recently had the pleasure of chatting with the lovely Wayne Goodchild at eneba.com about retro games, preservation, and current developments (beyond just Games That Weren’t). You can check it out here:
Way back in Commodore User issue 25 (October 1985) is how far we’re travelling for our latest preservation work – a board game tie-in that blurred the lines between digital and physical play: Bryan Robson’s Super League, published by Paul Lamond Games. And that is the key thing, at first on our C64 entry we wasn’t sure if it was published or not, but turns out it was.
The game sees players building a football team and battling their way to the top of the league, facing random hazards like weather, injuries, and bank managers. These events play out across a physical game board that was bundled with the software – merging board game mechanics with home computer interactivity. Continue reading →
Our seventh update of the year is a special one, as July featured one of our holy grail titles finally being found with the release of Nigel Mansell World Championship. There were also seven new entries added to the archives, including the full recovery of The Mystic Zone graphic adventure and the sad inclusion of the very promising Moonspire 2.
Then to conclude, we have 12 existing entries updated, including confirmation that Runestone was the work of Sensible Software, and that Special Agent 2 sadly was merely vapourware. See you all next month!
The Mystic Zone full graphic adventure (Hungarian) recovered!
Thanks to the amazing recovery work of team member Csaba Virag, yet another full game has been recovered – this time a complete Hungarian graphic adventure game called The Mystic Zone.
Posted separately during July – we recovered and released the full remains of the long lost Gremlin racer that many of us had been waiting for since 1992
Thanks to the amazing recovery work of team member Csaba Virag, yet another full game has been recovered for the Commodore 64 – this time a complete Hungarian graphic adventure game called The Mystic Zone.
DISCLAIMER: We are a non-profit digitisation project, aiming to digitally preserve software and history which would otherwise be lost for good. If for any reason there is anything that you do not wish to be on the website, please contact us for removal.
Games That Weren't® is the registered trademark of Frank Gasking.
