Welcome to Games That Weren't!

We are an 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 since 1999.

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

Latest News and Posts

Goodnight Cruel World

1989 Activision / Abstract Concepts

Platforms: ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 (see linked page)

Our next entry is for a title from the creators of Mindfighter by Activision, developed by Abstract Concepts and mentioned within the manual. We assume therefore that Activision were set to release the game around 1989 time.

Little is known so far, apart from that those behind the title were Fergus McNeill, Anna Popkess and John Popkess. However, within the Mindfighter manual, the following details were given:

“By 1998, New York has become a violent police state. Ravaged by constant gang warfare and organised crime, the police have fallen back, leaving no-go areas in the control of the drug barons. Disease is rife and areas of the city are frequently sealed off to control an epidemic.

And yet, throughout all of this, life goes on as normally as possible for the people of Manhattan.

John Schulz is a computer operator for the Rosling Corporation. He lives with his girlfriend, Val, in a basement apartment in the Chinatown area.

One night after a row, Val leaves the apartment and vanishes. John’s worries turn to a nightmare when he learns that the police suspect him of foul play. Knowing the Justice Department’s ´Shoot First, Ask Questions Later´ policy, John goes into hiding.

His fugitive search for Val uncovers deeper crime and corruption than he ever imagined…”

Was the game ever started, why was it cancelled and could anything still exist of it today?

With thanks to Tobias Hultman and JazzGhostrider for the heads up and details.

Gallery
Posted in: Reviews, ZX Spectrum | Tagged: | Leave a comment

GTW64 September 2024 update

As we leave Summer and begin to enter into Autumn, we have more updates to the Commodore 64 archive with the following for the month:

Stargate found!

If you missed it earlier this month, then the long lost AtariSoft development of Stargate has been recovered.

Stargate

5 new entries added

Harris House Software titlesMission ExtremeMonster BashSinisterTime Capsule

10 updates added

7 Minutes To MidnightBlack CauldronChampionship RunCovermount casualtiesIndustria 14Make My Day!Murder!Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3TetrisXamitlu

See you next month!

Posted in: GTW64 news, News | Leave a comment

Quarterstaff: The Tomb of Setmoth

1988 Infocom

Platforms: Apple II GS, PC

Quarterstaff: The Tomb of Setmoth is an RPG title that was created for the Apple Macintosh back in 1988 for Infocom. It featured text entry, but also a dynamically generated map and graphics throughout the game. The game was developed by Scott Schmitz and Ken Updike.

qstaff 003

In the game you would control Titus, sent by the Druid Council to explore remains of an abandoned colony. Along the way, you meet and recruit friends and improve your skills as you try and progress through the game. Continue reading

Posted in: Reviews | Tagged: | 5 Comments

Mars Cops

1988 Arcana Software

Platforms: Atari ST, Commodore Amiga, Commodore 64

Mars Cops is game that we’ve long covered within our C64 archive and we found after a mention A game in Zzap issue 49 on page 3 – listed as coming soon on the Amiga, Atari ST and C64. A few mentions were done of the game across a few issues, but sadly nothing was to ever surface.

marsshot7

Thanks to contributor Jason Lethert (who has trawled through and dug out a lot of information about the game via archive.org and Stephen Stuttard’s amazing scans), we learn now a lot more about the Amiga and ST editions which seemingly got much further ahead compared to the Commodore 64 edition. We are sceptical that an 8-bit version ever existed, but we keep an open mind until confirmation.

As you might guess, the game has you flying around the Mars terrain, but with a Afterburner’esq viewpoint with your ship travelling along the surface and in space. Perhaps it may even be closer to SEGA’s Galaxy Force, which was released around the same time – was that a major inspiration perhaps? Continue reading

Posted in: Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Reviews | Tagged: | 7 Comments

Last Ninja collection + unreleased titles

A quick news post to highlight that System 3 have launched a new Kickstarter to release a special Last Ninja collection on various platforms including PS5, PS4, Switch and PC.

Last Ninja advert image

Why are we reporting this? Well, the Diamond Ultimate Collection tier will offer previously unseen content with demos of Last Ninja 4 for the PC and IK++ on PC.

Unfortunately it has been made clear that the demos cannot be reproduced anywhere else upon release – so at best we’ll add some screenshots and video of the demos in action in the near future.

For more details, visit the Kickstarter page.

Posted in: News, PC | 2 Comments

Hydrogenese – Preview of a game missing for 35 years on the Commodore 64

Missing for 35 years, a preview of the long lost Hydrogenese on the Commodore 64 has finally been recovered by CBA/SCS+TRC. A brilliant early look at what could have been an amazing space shooter!

In addition to the shooter part of Hydrogenese being recovered, parts of the platformer elements were also saved. These have been added to the download thanks to CBA/SCS-TRC.

Read more about the title at:

https://www.gamesthatwerent.com/gtw64/hydrogenese/

Posted in: GTW64 news, News | Leave a comment

Time Capsule

1987 Keypunch Software

Platforms: Atari ST, Commodore 64, Atari 400/800, Apple II and PC

A very short entry for a title that was advertised within the manual of Aliants at the very end. Time Capsule was listed as “Coming Soon” and was a strategy action game.

Nothing else is known at this stage, and no version seems to have surfaced for any other platform. If you know anything more – please do get in touch.

With thanks to Michael Huth for highlighting.

Gallery

Posted in: Apple II, Atari 400/800, Atari ST, Commodore 64, PC, Reviews | Tagged: | Leave a comment

Early Paradroid screens added

Thanks to Andrew Braybrook, rare prototype Paradroid screens on the Commodore 64 (including early unused “fishbone” designs) were preserved for the excellent Graftgold book by Retro Fusion Books. Many didn’t make it inside, but thanks to Ste Day, here is a glimpse of them all in full.

All the screens can also be viewed in full glory on our prototype page on the game at: https://www.gamesthatwerent.com/gtw64/paradroid-v1/

To order the Graftgold book, please visit: https://fusionretrobooks.com/products/graftgold
(NOTE: Copies are running out fast!)

Posted in: GTW64 news, News, Prototype, Unused materials | Tagged: | Leave a comment

Planet 10

1989 Mastertronic

Platforms: ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64

A short entry for a Mastertronic title that never was called Planet 10 – a late title that was due for release back in 1989.

It is thanks to a great article by Simon Plumbe about the game on the ZX Spectrum (which was also unreleased) that we learn about the title for the first time and a potential C64 conversion.

The game itself was created by Davor Magdic, and was reviewed by most major ZX Spectrum magazines of the time but disappeared without a trace and never made it out onto shelves. It was essentially a 3D version of Pac Man and each level was a recreation of the original Namco mazes. Continue reading

Posted in: Reviews, ZX Spectrum | Tagged: | Leave a comment

Stargate (C64) saved after 40 years!

Following on swiftly from the amazing recovery of Monster Muncher on the VIC-20, we now have the Commodore 64 edition of Stargate by Atarisoft for you. A long lost development by Tom Griner which has been part of our search for many years now.

It is all thanks to the brilliant Ken Van Mersbergen for his preservation efforts and saving the title for Games That Weren’t to add to its archives. It is another case pretty much closed!

More details at:

https://www.gamesthatwerent.com/gtw64/stargate/

Quick YouTube video of the gameplay:

Posted in: GTW64 news, News | 1 Comment