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

Rare Italian bootleg of The Quill preserved!

Posted: , last updated: by Frank Gasking

Whilst at Zzap Live in May 2025, we met up with the legendary Tim Gilberts, who set up Gilsoft at the age of just 17. Tim flagged up that he had a very rare Italian bootleg of The Quill which didn’t seem to be out there and preserved called “Adventure Writer (Creator 2)”. Unfortunately it wouldn’t load for him.

booklet 1

An hour or so later, Tim excitedly informed us that the adventure creator had suddenly loaded for him – but he had no mechanism of backing up. We attempted to back up using a 1541-Ultimate 2 from Andy Spencer (Retro Computer Museum) – but it wasn’t having it. So Tim very kindly agreed to loan the tape and manual to Games That Weren’t to preserve. Continue reading →

Posted in: Commodore 64 (C64), GTW64 news, Preservation | Tagged: | 7 Comments

Amok

Posted: by Frank Gasking

1982 EathenRoss Software

Platform: Commodore VIC-20

Before you say it, this is NOT the same Amok game as the Berzerk clone by UMI. This was a game created by Blake Senftner for EathenRoss Software around 1982 time. Blake described the game as a kind of Choplifter rescue game, but people would shoot at you, and you would shoot back at them.

The game was highlighted to us thanks to Joachim Froholt, who had a reply to a thread about mastering C64 games from Blake. It seems that the game was actually released in late 1982 along with another game called Grave Cave that was recovered recently. However, it seems to be missing in action at the moment.

We hope to learn more soon from Blake about the title and if it can be saved. If you know anything more, or even have a copy – please do get in touch!

With thanks to Joachim Froholt for highlighting the game.

Posted in: Commodore VIC-20, Reviews | Tagged: | Leave a comment

The Addams Family: Pugsley’s Scavenger Hunt (NES) Prototypes

Posted: by Frank Gasking

Following on from the recent recovery of a slightly earlier NES prototype of Elite, we now present a series of earlier builds of The Addams Family: Pugsley’s Scavenger Hunt. This was a game developed by Enigma Variations for Ocean Software back in 1993.

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We have found a total of 7 prototype builds in varying stages. For each, we’ve added the timestamp for now of the original files that were recovered, though they may not be an accurate representation of order. Continue reading →

Posted in: Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Prototype, Unused materials | 1 Comment

Games That Weren’t talk at Zzap Live 2025

Posted: by Frank Gasking

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 | 2 Comments

Snow White

Posted: , last updated: by Frank Gasking

1983 Atari

Platform: Atari 2600 (VCS)

One of the more intriguing stories from Atari’s twilight years is Snow White, a licensed title that was developed for the Atari 2600 under Disney’s watch but never officially released. Originally designated CX26107, the game never appeared in Atari’s catalogues or in gaming magazines at the time, and only internal product lists hinted at its existence. That is, until a surprise prototype surfaced in 1999.

Snow White (02 09 1983) (Atari) (Prototype) 1

Developed between 1982–83, Snow White was created by Greg Easter, with artwork by Mimi Nyden. The game was ultimately shelved due to frequent marketing changes and Atari’s corporate instability. According to Greg, constant revisions led him to jokingly dub the project “Snow White and the Seven Versions.” Continue reading →

Posted in: Atari 2600 / Atari VCS | Tagged: | Leave a comment

ShelShock

Posted: by Frank Gasking

1993 Finetime Software

Platform: PC (DOS)

Our next entry into the archives is a title that we hadn’t been aware of until it suddenly turned up during an archive search. We believe that the game was to be called ShelShock, and was written by Finlay Munro as part of Finetime Software. It may have been possibly a working title, and no story is known for it.

shelshock large

At this stage, it seems that Finlay produced a proof of concept for a new 3D engine, which is similar to games like Paul Woakes’ Damocles. Throughout there are a mixture of solid 3D objects, but also sprites too for more detailed objects. It runs quite well, though there is a bit of slowdown in places, especially where there are lots of sprite objects. Continue reading →

Posted in: PC, Reviews | Tagged: | 4 Comments

Glover

Posted: , last updated: by Frank Gasking

2006 Rockpool Games / So Games

Platform: Mobile J2ME

A short entry for a Java Platform mobile de-make of Glover, the 1998 puzzle platformer game originally by Interactive Studios. The J2ME version was to be a 2D-based version of the game, trying to cover as much of the original as it possibly could.

viking village large

In 2024, ex-Ocean Software artist Bill Harbison provided Games That Weren’t with a series of early graphical assets, including some tile sets, sprite sheets and map screens showing how the game would have looked. Continue reading →

Posted in: J2ME, Reviews | Tagged: | Leave a comment

Tintin on the Moon

Posted: , last updated: by Frank Gasking

1992 Virgin Games

Platform: SEGA Master System

One of the things most tragic with planned games is when magazines of the time featured them heavily, showing off good looking screenshots of the game in question. This would be the case with Tintin on the Moon, which had been released in the past on home computers such as the Amiga and C64 by Infogrames, but was due for release by Virgin Games on the SEGA Master System in 1992.

TinTin Shot6

The game was to mark the first console adaptation of the classic European comic series, bringing Hergé’s iconic characters to life in a new game designed specifically for the Master System. This was to be no port or rehash of the old Infogrames title. Continue reading →

Posted in: Reviews, SEGA Master System | Tagged: | 3 Comments