GTW Highlight No.07: In February, we were honoured to give a talk at Retro Collective about Games That Weren’t and 25 years of uncovering unreleased, cancelled, and forgotten games. Here is a link to the full talk:
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
GTW Highlight No.06: Dropzone 2 and International Karate assets and protos (Atari 800, Commodore 64)
GTW Highlight No.06: One of our final December updates saw unseen screens from the lost Dropzone 2 on the Atari + Commodore64, along with a strange Arcade edition of Dropzone. Also various International Karate protos and IK+ graphical assets too:
https://www.gamesthatwerent.com/2024/12/archer-maclean-a8-prototypes-and-unused-assets/
GTW Highlight No.05: Early origins of Jimmy White’s Whirlwind Snooker (Atari ST, PC)
GTW Highlight No.05: Also in December, we revealed early prototypes of Jimmy White’s Whirlwind Snooker, including early PC tests, Atari ST protos. Also showcasing concept artwork + icons from the game – created by the late and great Archer Maclean:
https://www.gamesthatwerent.com/2024/12/archer-macleans-snooker-prototypes/
GTW Highlight No.04: Wacky Races V1, Apprentice and more! (C64)
GTW Highlight No.04: Last year’s Commodore 64 Christmas update saw the recovery of the unreleased Wacky Races V1, Aladdin’s Cave, Apprentice and 666 games and a lot more. More is on the way for this year’s update – so watch this space!
https://www.gamesthatwerent.com/2024/12/gtw64-christmas-update-2024/
GTW Highlight No.03: Unseen IK+ design docs revealed (Commodore 64)
GTW Highlight No.03: Not unreleased, but we took a look last December at rare, never seen IK+ development documents from the late Archer Maclean’s archive, including ideas + graphical concepts that led to creation of the famous fighting game.
https://www.gamesthatwerent.com/2024/12/ik-design-and-development-notes/
GTW Highlight No.02: Team SAS prototype recovered (Xbox)
GTW Highlight No.02: Last December, we released Team SAS prototype for the original #Xbox. 1st person arcade shooter with 4 different characters and several levels to check out. Due for release in 2003, it didn’t make it after issues with the PS2 edition.
GTW Highlight No.01: Argonaut’s Cult recovered (PC)
It’s been a bittersweet year for Games That Weren’t – one of our most productive, but also marked by the loss of my mum last month. The archive might never have existed without her buying gaming magazines for me every month growing up.
We’re now gearing up for our Christmas updates (with a few surprises in store). Over the next few weeks (starting from today) we’ll be sharing our 2025 highlights daily from the archive (though we’re starting from last December!), along with the occasional new entry too. Here is the first:
GTW Highlight No.01: Last December, we recovered very early remains of Cult on the PC. A third person zombie game due for release in 1997 by Argonaut Games that aimed to showcase the new Voodoo 1 3DFX card and BRender engine at the time.
Games That Weren’t book – Polish Edition
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 7 Comments
Tinhead
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.
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: Preview available 1 Comment
Cartoon Network’s “Toon Jam!” fully preserved for the first time
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.
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
