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.

Latest News and Posts

Games That Weren’t talk at Zzap Live 2025

Just had a fantastic time at Zzap Live in Kenilworth over the two days with my friend Brian ONeill, catching up with lots of friends old and new (and a bit of gaming). Thank you everyone who came to heckle at the Games That Weren’t talk (and even kindly laugh at my crap Total Recall reference) and to Paul Drury for being a great wing man.

Well done to Chris Wilkins and the rest of the team of putting together yet another amazing event. There is now a video recording live at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlOGKwrN7uk thanks to Paul Davies (Back to 8-bit with Hermski). There is a surprise reveal for the Commodore 64 at the end ;-)

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Posted in Commodore 64 (C64), Commodore Amiga, Commodore VIC-20, General, GTW64 news, News | Leave a comment

Rock Star Goes Bizarre (C64) recovery

Thanks to Fliplift on the Lemon64 forums, a very rare promo edition of Rock Star Ate My Hamster on the Commodore 64 has been recovered. This was released through The Sun newspaper, and has been missing for quite some time, though a ZX Spectrum version has been recovered a while back.

rockstar1

According to Luca/Fire on the forum thread, Codemasters and The Sun ran a competition with ten runners up prizes being special editions of the game. The special edition includes 7 additional stars, with Kylie Minogue renamed as Koily Mynose instead of Bimbo Baggins. Continue reading

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GTW64 April 2025 update

Our fourth update of the year has yet more Commodore 64 goodness, and a bit more of a holiday bonanza with 14 new entries (including a stack of titles intended for the Commodore MAX). Also we have 20 entry updates that you can check out too (details of each update in the history notes).

Should hopefully have a nice surprise for you all soon too – watch this space and see you next month!

14 new entries added

Ace Of AcesApple EaterAvengerBally FootballDartsGolfHall Of The Mountain KingMenagerieQix-type gameRacetrack SpecialSargon IISpiders From MarsTornado BaseballWindsurfing

20 updates added

Air BattleBarbarian 3BattlestormBenidormCommando Libya – part 2CosmaxFun FlyerGreenhouse (MAX edition)Heavy BarrelLauren of the 25th CenturyLeague of LightLifespanMagnum ForceMars CopsMidwinterMissile CommandPaddle ManiaPirate AttackSub HuntVanguard

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GTW64 March 2025 update

Our third update of the year has more Commodore 64 goodness in the form of 4 new entries and 14 pre-existing entries updated (check ‘history’ tab for details of changes). This includes the wonderful recent Codemasters recovery of Magnum Force, an early Ocean game that transferred to Cascade,recovery of the PHM Pegasus – Advanced Battle Disk (thanks to HOK/Remember) and a mega ton of development assets added to Mag Max V1!

Enjoy and see you next month!

Mag Max V1 asset scans added

Thanks to developer Sean Townsend, over 300 items have been added to the gallery, showcasing the development of the long lost Mag Max V1 by Canvas:

Mag Max V1

4 new entries added

ConcentrationKevin in the WoodsMagnum ForceMoonshadow

13 updates added

AutoguardComplexCrossinvert 2Hareraiser 2HårsfjärdenIn The BeginningKukulcan V1Moreta – Dragonlady Of PernPHM Pegasus – Advanced Battle DiskQuadrillionSherwood ForestSunburst Communications titlesThe Elysian Fields

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GTW64 February 2025 update

Our second update of the year has more Commodore 64 goodness in the form of 7 new entries and 11 pre-existing entries updated (check ‘history’ tab for details of changes).

See you next month!

7 new entries added

Dino TimeHårsfjärdenMickey’s Crossword Puzzle MakerMoonshadow 2Nova 9: The Revenge of Raf TorinSkyfox 2 – missing missionsTorpedo

11 updates added

Back in the USSRComputer TheaterDeathbringerDonkey Kong JrMessiah 3MicroLeague Sports titlesPiper Software gamesThunderhawkTransmuterUFO Robo DangarUnknown K-Byte game

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A talk at Retro Collective

Just had the most fantastic weekend at Retro Collective with my wife, Tasha, giving a talk on Games That Weren’t and the digital preservation of unreleased games over the past 25 years or so. A huge thank you to Neil and the team for inviting me – I was completely blown away by how many people had paid to come along (some from quite far, including the Netherlands!) just to hear me ramble on for just over an hour. It was especially great to see my friends Paul Drury and Paul Savage, who had traveled a long way – mostly to heckle me!

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I was incredibly nervous at first, especially with a few hours to wait before my 2 PM talk and the challenge of cramming everything into an hour. But Neil and the whole Retro Collective team made us feel so welcome, and the crowd was fantastic – laughing at the embarrassing photos and bad jokes, asking loads of questions, and generally making it an interactive and fun experience. I even managed to sneak in some audience participation to give them a breather from my voice!

UPDATE: You can now view the talk here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsLHpIC2Ycs

Afterwards, there was a book signing and some great chats with people who had come along. I couldn’t believe it when Neil told me that all the copies had sold out! Continue reading

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