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

8-bit Apocalypse

Posted: , last updated: by Frank Gasking

2021 AwesomeBlade Software

Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux (+ potentially others)

In 2021, 8-Bit Apocalypse appeared on Kickstarter as a very cool and interesting indie project from developer Ricardo Jorge. The game was a modern homage to arcade classics and dystopian sci-fi, blending aesthetics of 1980s pop culture with fast-paced action, a deep backstory, and an original synth soundtrack.

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The game was essentially to be top down twin stick shooter action game, where players take control of a mysterious lone soldier fighting to survive in a post-apocalyptic cyberpunk world ruled by corporate tyranny and crawling with enemies – from mutated beasts to military robots. Continue reading →

Posted in: Apple iOS, PC | Tagged: | 4 Comments

Preppies in Space

Posted: by Frank Gasking

1984 Star Systems Software

Platform: Atari 400/800

Did you know that Preppie was meant to have been a trilogy? Neither did we – though thanks to Avram Dumitrescu, we learn that back in 2005 it was established that Russ Wetmore was planning to create a 3rd game called Preppies in Space thanks to an interview.

Avram not long afterwards got some more details directly from Russ: Continue reading →

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

Alien 3 C64 prototype recovered

Posted: by Frank Gasking

Thanks to Sailor of Triad, a rare prototype of Alien 3 for the Commodore 64 has just been discovered recently. This was a demo that was seemingly produced for producer Joe Bonar to take a look at back in the day to see progress with the project.

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It is possible that it could have been also passed onto magazines for screenshots – which makes it a shame that it wasn’t included as a demo on the likes of Commodore Force or Format at the time. Continue reading →

Posted in: Commodore 64 (C64), GTW64 news, Prototype | Tagged: | Leave a comment

Canadian Tire: Carts of Fury flash game preserved

Posted: by Frank Gasking

Carts of Fury is a 2007 Canadian Tire Flash-based advergame that was once available online, and then even given out as physical CD-ROM copies about a year later. It is no longer available today (not currently on Flashpoint Archive) and was yet to be preserved until now.

CT CoF Screen8

Thanks to a contributor who wishes to remain anonymous, a physical copy was acquired and digitally preserved, and we have now uploaded everything here and to Archive.org. Details about the game are thanks to them: Continue reading →

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

Dr. Franken 3

Posted: by Frank Gasking

1993 Enigma Variations

Platform: Gameboy Original
Also known as: The Adventures of Dr. Franken: Part 3

Our next entry into the GTW archives is a surprise 3rd title in the Dr. Franken series which was being developed on the Nintendo Gameboy by Enigma Variations. However, when you look at the prototype we have recovered, you wouldn’t think it was the same series.

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The 3rd game it seems was to take a very different direction, and had Dr. Franken heading off into space and travelling around to different planets to carry out certain puzzles to then escape to the next planet, and so on. We’re not sure exactly what the story-line was at this stage. Continue reading →

Posted in: Nintendo Game Boy, Reviews | Tagged: | Leave a comment

Legacy of the Fallen

Posted: by Frank Gasking

1999 Anarchy Arts

Platform: PC
Also known as: Shogo: Mobile Armor Division Expansion Pack – Legacy of the Fallen

Legacy of the Fallen was an ambitious add-on pack developed by Anarchy Arts as an expansion for the 1998 first-person shooter Shogo: Mobile Armor Division. The project began in late 1998 after Monolith Productions, the creators of Shogo, approached Anarchy Arts with an offer to develop the add-on. For the relatively young and unknown studio, this was an exciting opportunity to make a name and earn revenue, so they accepted.

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Anarchy Arts operated initially as a virtual company with team members scattered worldwide, but the scale of the project led them to consolidate in Salt Lake City, Utah. There, the core team of about ten people, including programmers, level designers, and artists lived and worked intensely for seven months in a cramped three bedroom apartment, putting in long hours to bring Legacy of the Fallen to life. The development was powered by Monolith’s LithTech engine, which the team praised for its flexibility despite some early challenges. Continue reading →

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

The Last Stuntman

Posted: , last updated: by Frank Gasking

1989 Actual Screenshots

Platform: Commodore Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64 (GTW64 entry)

The Last Stuntman was a game that was due for release from one of CRL’s sub-labels in the late 1980s via Actual Screenshots. Little is known at this stage apart from that the game was split into 6 parts in total – mini-games essentially that were developed by different developers.

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Alan Botwright worked on the Commodore 64 edition, which is where we first heard of it – however, thanks to Brendan Phoenix, a rare screenshot from the 16-bit editions was located in Amiga Action issue 1. This shows the last level where you must jump from a plane and fight for a parachute in mid-air. Continue reading →

Posted in: Atari ST, Commodore Amiga, Reviews | Tagged: | 2 Comments

World Class Rugby SNES Prototype

Posted: by Frank Gasking

Today we add a very different and early prototype of World Class Rugby for the Super Nintendo, dated from July 1992, and some time before the final release. The engine seems quite different from the final version, with completely different sprites and a different pace about the game.

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When starting the prototype, it begins with a 2.5D viewpoint and kicks off a demo game, but pressing start on the control pad will flip you to a Mode 7 tilted viewpoint to play the game. You can control the blue set of players, kick the ball and take part in scrum and other actions within the game. Continue reading →

Posted in: Prototype, Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) | Tagged: | Leave a comment

Sorcerer

Posted: by Frank Gasking

1999 Chris Pigas

Platform: Game Boy

Our next entry into the archives is a title that was being created by Chris Pigas called Sorcerer. An early and simple platformer, featuring a protagonist looking rather like Miner Willy from Manic Miner, where you can roam freely around a single level and fight with enemies.

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Within the game, you can advance your magic levels and increase your experience, mana or health by picking up bonuses left after the destruction of enemies. Picking items – an important feature of the game play – is not implemented at this stage. As a result, harder enemies are not placed into this build. Transition from level to level is also not implemented, nor has different element firing. Continue reading →

Posted in: Nintendo Game Boy, Reviews | Tagged: | Leave a comment