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 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

Half-Life

Posted: , last updated: by Frank Gasking

2001 Captivation and Gearbox Software

Platforms: Nintendo GameCube and SEGA Dreamcast

As part of the launch and release of The Games That Weren’t book, we are  adding assets and content that didn’t make it to print as bonus DLC content to share with you.

Within the book is an in-depth and detailed 14 page story about the unreleased Nintendo GameCube and SEGA Dreamcast editions of Half-Life by Captivation and Gearbox Software. We speak to the original first developer of the Dreamcast edition (whilst originally in development at PyroTechnix), Brian Kraack, as well as Sierra’s external producer Jeff Pobst, Captivation’s Robert Morgan and Gearbox’s Randy Pitchford. There was also discussion with Dan Amrich, who reviewed a near-gold version of the game at the time.

Gearboxphotos 3
Photo from Gearbox of the final produced game that would never see release.

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Posted in: Bonus, Nintendo GameCube, Reviews, SEGA Dreamcast | Tagged: | 6 Comments

Overrun with Puppies

Posted: , last updated: by Frank Gasking

2010 Connect2Media

Platforms: Apple iOS and PC (Windows)

This is a smaller piece intended for inclusion in The Games That Weren’t book that didn’t make the final cut. As a result, please note that it hasn’t been professionally proof read compared to the published pieces in the book. As part of our Bonus material series, here is the full raw article for your enjoyment.

The boom of mobile opened us up to a new era in gaming, with a plethora of titles in many shapes and sizes. With something for everyone, the ease of access further enabled those not into games to get involved in gaming. On the other hand, it’s been seen as a contributing factor towards a sea of ‘shovelware’, with cheap cash-ins and titles lacking on depth or real value.

Scratch beneath the surface and many gems can be found amongst the rough. Starting life out on PC via Steam, Plants vs Zombies was one particular success story back in 2010 on iOS and became a favourite amongst mobile gamers. The game can be filed under the Tower Defence genre, where you must defend territory/items from attack. Early genre examples include Missile Command, but it was Atari’s Rampart which set a standard for placing defences that automatically ‘attack’ incoming enemies.

game
Overrun with Puppies (iOS). Starting in your run down kitchen within the main game.

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Posted in: Apple iOS, Bonus, PC, Reviews | Tagged: | Leave a comment

Gauntlet DS

Posted: , last updated: by Frank Gasking

2008 Backbone Entertainment

Platform: Nintendo DS

As part of the launch and release of The Games That Weren’t book, we are  adding assets and content that didn’t make it to print as bonus DLC content to share with you.

Within the book is a 10 page discussion Q/A piece  on Gauntlet DS, talking to Creative director Micah Russo, technical director David Sullivan, sound designer and composer Yannis Brown, original lead engineer Adam Rippon, lead artist Tracey King, and artist Gerald Broas.

GauntletDS 8

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Posted in: Bonus, Nintendo DS, Reviews | Tagged: | 2 Comments

Burnt Out Cop

Posted: , last updated: by Frank Gasking

2003 Infinite Lives

Platforms: Microsoft Xbox, Nintendo GameCube and Sony PlayStation 2

As part of the launch and release of The Games That Weren’t book, we are  adding assets and content that didn’t make it to print as bonus DLC content to share with you.

Within the book is an in-depth and detailed 16 page story about the unreleased Burnt Out Cop by Infinite Lives. We spoke to Dan Malone, John Rowlands, Mitchell Goodwin, Nick Lee, Robin Ellis and Steve Rowlands about the cancelled development, and what seemed to be shaping up to be a fantastic arcade action title, inspired by films such as Hard Boiled and Die Hard.

boc6

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Posted in: Bonus, Microsoft Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, Reviews, Sony PlayStation 2 | Tagged: | Leave a comment

8-Kings

Posted: , last updated: by Frank Gasking

2003 Argonaut Games

Platform: Nokia N-Gage

As part of the launch and release of The Games That Weren’t book, we are  adding assets and content that didn’t make it to print as bonus DLC content to share with you.

Within the book is an in-depth and detailed 10 page story about the unreleased Nokia N-Gage title 8-Kings by Argonaut Games. We spoke to Martin Piper and Oscar Ferrero about the cancelled development.

game1

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Posted in: Bonus, Nokia N-Gage, Reviews | Tagged: , | Leave a comment

Creation

Posted: , last updated: by Frank Gasking

1996 Bullfrog Productions

Platforms: Amiga CD 32, PC, Sony PlayStation and SEGA Saturn

As part of the launch and release of The Games That Weren’t book, we are  adding assets and content that didn’t make it to print as bonus DLC content to share with you.

Within the book is a short double page spread on the unreleased Creation game by Bullfrog, with a quote from Glenn Corpes to briefly summarize the project. The title was a very ambitious underwater game, where marine life have been saved from the Earth’s destroyed Oceans.

main 050

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Posted in: Amiga CD32, Bonus, PC, Reviews, SEGA Saturn, Sony PlayStation | Tagged: | Leave a comment

GTW64 update for November 2020

Posted: , last updated: by Frank Gasking

Almost the end of 2020, and continuing our regular GTW64 posts, here are the various additions and updates that have occurred over the past month.

5 new entries added

Gauntlet 3 V1, Heroes and Cowards, PP Hammer 2, Stratos, The Time Crystal

15 updates added

Babylon, Daffy Duck, Delphian, Jet Set Willy V1, Jonny Quest and the Splinter of Heaven, Kljuc, Last Ninja V1, Mindbending Aliens From Hyperspace, Mortal Kombat 2, Night Hunter, Phoenix Lair, Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race, Who Dares Wins, X-Men, Zzap Italia homebrew

Posted in: GTW64 news, News | Leave a comment

Frogger 2: Swampy’s Revenge

Posted: , last updated: by Frank Gasking

2000 Interactive Studios

Platform: Nintendo 64

As part of the launch and release of The Games That Weren’t book, we are  adding assets and content that didn’t make it to print as bonus DLC content to share with you.

Within the book is an in-depth and detailed 10 page story about the unreleased Nintendo 64 edition of Frogger 2 by Interactive Studios. We spoke to Andrew and Philip Oliver, Andy Eder, Darren Wood, Matt Cloy and Steve Bond about the cancelled platform development due to cartridge commitment costs.

Whilst researching about the game, Philip Oliver very kindly dug out a number of photos and pictures of assets from around the time of the game’s development, including an unused advert showing the N64 as a release platform. Not everything could be included in the book, so we have added it here as bonus DLC, including a number of screenshots which we obtained that were not used. Continue reading →

Posted in: Bonus, Nintendo 64, Reviews | Tagged: , | 8 Comments

Stunt Car Racer Pro

Posted: , last updated: by Frank Gasking

2003 Simergy and Lost Toys

Platforms: Microsoft Xbox, PC and Sony PlayStation 2

As part of the launch and release of The Games That Weren’t book, we are  adding assets and content that didn’t make it to print as bonus DLC content to share with you.

Within the book is an in-depth and detailed 12 page story about the unreleased Stunt Car Racer Pro, the sequel to the classic Microprose game by Simergy and Lost Toys for the Microsoft Xbox, PC and Sony PlayStation 2 platforms. We overall speak to Geoff Crammond, Alex Trowers, Ben Carter and Glenn Corpes about the project which was sadly never to be and never picked up by any publishers at the time.

SCR Pro 25

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Posted in: Bonus, Microsoft Xbox, PC, Reviews, Sony PlayStation 2 | Tagged: | 4 Comments

Halloween/horror themed games from the archive

Posted: , last updated: by Frank Gasking

Just seeing all the Halloween posts today, I wondered if there were that many Halloween/Horror related games in the GTW archive, so decided to have a bit of a delve and was quite surprised just how many cancelled titles there were.

So here is a quick post to share and highlight 25 Horror/Halloween themed games we have covered over the years:

Amiga/ST
C64
NES
ZX Spectrum

Happy Halloween everyone!

Posted in: Atari Lynx, Atari ST, Commodore 64 (C64), Commodore Amiga, Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), ZX Spectrum | Leave a comment