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

Alien Olympics

Posted: by Frank Gasking

1994 Ocean Software

Platform: SEGA Game Gear

A new week brings another exciting recovery at Games That Weren’t! Today, we’re unveiling a previously unknown SEGA Game Gear conversion of Alien Olympics – a game we had no idea existed until just last week and has been lost for 31 years.

alien large

Originally set for release in 1994 by Ocean Software, this version never saw the light of day for reasons still unknown. Only the Game Boy and PC editions made it to market, and we suspect the Game Gear version may have been scrapped due to the platform’s declining popularity at the time. With a larger user base, the Game Boy likely took priority. Continue reading →

Posted in: Reviews, SEGA Game Gear | Tagged: | Leave a comment

Billion Dollar Monster

Posted: , last updated: by Frank Gasking

200X Lionhead Studios

Platform: PC and possibly others

Billion Dollar Monster was a cancelled game developed by Lionhead Studios, blending virtual pet mechanics with competitive battling and an ambitious TV show component. Designed as a PC game, each player would receive a unique egg that hatched into a customizable monster, which they would nurture and train, akin to a Tamagotchi. Players could then battle their monsters against others, with matches potentially being recorded.

The standout feature of this particular game was the integration of a television show, created in collaboration with the team behind Walking with Dinosaurs, featuring high-quality CGI battles. Selected players’ creatures would be showcased in dramatic, arena-style fights, elevating the game beyond just an interactive experience. Continue reading →

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

Katz vs Maus

Posted: , last updated: by Frank Gasking

2005 IOMO

Platform: Nokia N-Gage

It’s been a while since we covered a Nokia N-Gage title, and thanks to Bitmap Bureau and Michael Fitzmayer, we’re able to highlight another lost/unknown title in the shape of Katz vs Maus. The game was a top-down scrolling maze where the mouse has to escape a cat and collect cheese.

katz large

Bitmap Bureau described it as a sort of Pac-Man clone, with Chu Chu Rocket vibes with the graphics. Continue reading →

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

The Egyptian Jukebox

Posted: , last updated: by Frank Gasking

1996 Warner Bros

Platforms: PC and Mac

The Egyptian Jukebox was a CD-ROM multimedia title that was first learnt about thanks to contributor Michael Hart, who discovered about the game via the Archive on the Internet blog. This is a blog which highlights interesting media available on the Internet Archive.

jukebanner

Based on the puzzle book of the same name by Nick Bantock, a multimedia adaptation was in the works by Inscape, but was unfortunately cancelled by Warner Bros for reasons as yet unknown. On the website of Lisa Dee, line producer for the project, she includes a promotional flyer that makes it sound like it would’ve been quite elaborate:

“Players explore drawers of a clue-filled jukebox in hopes of unraveling the puzzling disappearance of eccentric millionaire Hamilton Hasp. Each of the ten drawers contains personal items of Mr. Hasp, capable of invoking his memories upon touching them.

From the imagination of best-selling author Nick Bantock, THE EGYPTIAN JUKEBOX features 3D worlds created by the magical jukebox with navigable movies conveying Hasp’s narratives, a perplexingly aggressive artificial intelligence feature, and a dense atmosphere of sound with hit tunes from the 50’s through the 70’s.”

Continue reading →

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

GTW64 March 2025 update

Posted: , last updated: by Frank Gasking

Our third update of the year has more Commodore 64 goodness in the form of 4 new entries and 14 pre-existing entries updated (check ‘history’ tab for details of changes). This includes the wonderful recent Codemasters recovery of Magnum Force, an early Ocean game that transferred to Cascade,recovery of the PHM Pegasus – Advanced Battle Disk (thanks to HOK/Remember) and a mega ton of development assets added to Mag Max V1!

Enjoy and see you next month!

Mag Max V1 asset scans added

Thanks to developer Sean Townsend, over 300 items have been added to the gallery, showcasing the development of the long lost Mag Max V1 by Canvas:

Mag Max V1

4 new entries added

Concentration, Kevin in the Woods, Magnum Force, Moonshadow

13 updates added

Autoguard, Complex, Crossinvert 2, Hareraiser 2, Hårsfjärden, In The Beginning, Kukulcan V1, Moreta – Dragonlady Of Pern, PHM Pegasus – Advanced Battle Disk, Quadrillion, Sherwood Forest, Sunburst Communications titles, The Elysian Fields

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

Populous

Posted: by Frank Gasking

1992 Imagineer / Bullfrog

Platform: Nintendo Entertainment System

Hot on the heels of the recovery of Sensible Soccer for the NES comes yet another long-lost title for the platform – the legendary god game, Populous. It isn’t clear yet if the game was previewed in any magazines at the time, though there is reference to a conversion thanks to David Whittaker’s music credits online.

populous main large

The game was fully completed by the Enigma Variations team for Electronic Arts/Bullfrog, but Mark Greenshields tells us that the client just decided not to proceed with publishing the title. Darren Melbourne (who was producer for the game), informs us that Imagineer decided that the NES was probably past its prime and they wouldn’t achieve the necessary sales. Darren was pretty upset because they had put a lot of time and effort into creating the game. Continue reading →

Posted in: Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Reviews | Tagged: | 5 Comments

P-47 II: The Freedom Star

Posted: , last updated: by Frank Gasking

1990-2025 Jaleco / Retro Bit

Platform: SEGA Mega Drive

A short entry for a cancelled conversion of the Jaleco classic arcade. This is old news, but the cancelled P-47 II: The Freedom Star for the SEGA Mega Drive was recently finished off recently and properly released after being missing for 35 years!

P47 II Gameplay 14

In development by Jaleco, in what was to be their first title on the Mega Drive, but was cancelled for reasons unknown. It’s not really a sequel as such, but a conversion of the arcade title P-47: The Freedom Fighter. Continue reading →

Posted in: Mega Drive / Genesis, Reviews | Tagged: | Leave a comment

Rare Cyberspace PC demo located and added to the site!

Posted: by Frank Gasking

A rare PC demo of the extremely ambitious 3D Amiga and PC title Cyberspace has been located thanks to Kusfo. Out there all along after release by a Spanish gaming magazine. Check it out for yourself, and could the non-playable segment be made playable?

cyber1

https://www.gamesthatwerent.com/2020/10/cyberspace/

Full video (no sound sadly) at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTkyeQjswLM

Posted in: Commodore Amiga, News, PC | Leave a comment

Tetris V1

Posted: , last updated: by Frank Gasking

It’s been a little while since we last took a look a rather different looking version of a game that was released. Today we take a look at Mirrorsoft’s Tetris, which was reviewed in an issue of Happy Computer magazine.

tetris v1 shot pageshot

Reviewed in March 1988, the screenshot shown was of a rather different looking game to the one we eventually got. Basically the same layout and tile design as the Atari ST and Commodore Amiga versions, but with very different background graphics. Continue reading →

Posted in: Atari ST, Commodore Amiga, PC, Prototype, Unused materials | Tagged: | 1 Comment

Smarties: Adventure in Colourland

Posted: , last updated: by Frank Gasking

199X Nestle

Platform: PC

Also known as: Smarties: Colourland Adventure

Not to be confused with Smarties: Meltdown on the PS2, this was a game released in a promotional way where you likely had to save up smarties lids to send away for a free PC game. This is probably what happened to contributor Oli Payne, who has highlighted this title.

We think there is a very small chance the game was perhaps released around the same time as this Kit Kat promotional game: https://archive.org/details/kitkatdesktoppack .It’s unlikely, but was all we could find during our initial searches.

All we know thanks to Oli is that the game was released sometime in the late 1990s and players would engage in various mini-games and challenges, often involving the different coloured Smarties. The theme was around time travelling to particular time periods to solve various puzzles. The game was point and click, 2D, in a cartoonish design. Continue reading →

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