Preserving Cancelled & Unreleased Video Game History Since 1999
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 since 1999.
Please Browse our archive and discover the many entries that we host for many different platforms.
Platforms: Commodore Amiga, PC, SEGA Mega Drive and Super Nintendo
Our next entry into the archives is a bizarre title which seems to have got around in various magazines, and across a number of platforms – each showing the same set of screenshots.
Rocket Rescue was due for release from Colchester based Hot-Shot Entertainments, and was described as an “original concept” game where you have to control a rocket ship, negotiate forcefields and weather conditions, and destroy all enemy predators.
There were plans for 100 levels, keyboard or joystick controls, Parallax scrolling, power-ups and weapons, a game save feature and digitized sound effects. Continue reading →
It is surprising how emotions can run high, and the warm fuzzy memories flow when playing games from your childhood – and playing Chariot Race by Micro-Antics on the Commodore VIC-20 is no exception. I have always had a real soft spot for the Commodore VIC-20, and Chariot Race was a mind-blowing title for an unexpanded machine, but ferocious fun too.
Our article is a tribute to this wonderful game, but crucially its vastly talented, and sadly late, author Paul Hope. We also celebrate the completion and release of a fully preserved collection of Micro-Antics titles, after over a decade of trying to track down all the missing and unpreserved games, and reveal an unreleased game at the end too.
First of all, lets take a look at the game which put Micro-Antics firmly in people’s hearts and minds, followed by a brief history of the company from the Hope family, and how Paul Hope once conquered the Commodore VIC-20 during the early days of home computing.
The amazing Chariot Race, which put Micro-Antics firmly on the map.
If this is the first time you have heard of Chariot Race, then fear not – we have you covered. Featuring very large chariot racer characters, you control Sinister and Dexter, and must navigate your way through a sea of vertically scrolling chariot traffic. Although the game always starts as a simultaneous 2-player game, you can play on your own too – the second player just crashes out pretty quickly. allowing you to continue. Continue reading →
Prehistorik Kart is a new entry into the GTW archives that should have a compilation bonus title to go along with the Nintendo Game Boy Advance release of Prehistorik Man – a 1995 Titus title that was released originally on the Super Nintendo.
When the Game Boy Advance update was planned, it was clear that Titus felt that there needed to be something a little extra included, and the plan was for a spin-off Mario Kart clone based on the franchise.
Bonk was a very popular character from Hudson Soft that featured in a number of popular platforming titles, especially on the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16. The first title for the game was known as PC Genjin in Japan, and BC Kid everywhere else and would almost make it to the Virtual Boy too.
The popularity would see a number of other titles produced, many of which featured on the NES and SNES platforms. So, it comes as no surprise perhaps that when Nintendo announced the Virtual Boy, Bonk would look to try and make an appearance. Continue reading →
Mighty Max was based on the popular toys and subsequent cartoon of the time (huge in the US!), and was initially developed on the Amiga 1200 as the primary platform, with possible plans for an enhanced edition for the CD32 shortly afterwards. It wasn’t long though until focus would switch over to console editions.
Developed by WJS, who had done a series of titles for the likes of Psygnosis, Ocean and Microprose, the team had approached Ocean with their very own platform title around 1993 time. Ocean liked what they saw, and asked the team to reskin the game into a Mighty Max licenced title. Continue reading →
A very short entry for now and for a potential sequel to Soccer Kid, a platformer game where you control a kid with a football who can perform a series of special moves to defeat enemies and progress through the game.
It was a successful title that saw conversion to a number of platforms, including SNES, Playstation and many more. The game had built upon the engine that had been created for Arabian Nights. Continue reading →
In August 2023, Chris Wilkins (Fusion Retro Books) entrusted Games That Weren’t with the task of preserving all of Archer’s development disks. Whilst going through Archer’s 5.25″ work disks, a series of significant discoveries were made which show how Archer was testing out different Arcade concepts as he got to grips with the hardware.
We have created a special video that goes through the findings and talks about them in more detail:
Within the disks we found early graphic tests for Donkey Kong, Tempest and also a Pole Position clone that Archer had named Road Roller, which included what seems to be a series of road routine drawing tests. Continue reading →
Platform: Atari 2600 (possibly VIC-20 and others too – unconfirmed)
Team member Fabrizio Bartoloni recently brought to my attention a very intriguing title which SEGA announced as part of their first line up of games for various home platforms, including the Atari 2600. In particular, it was the rather cool game cover artwork that caught my eye.
Simply called Muffett, the game was based around Little Miss Muffet, and was advertised by SEGA in their press kit and at Winter CES in 1983. It showed a slightly darker/creepy variation of the nursery rhyme character, wearing some kind of singular shades and firing a small gun. In the background you can see a series of spiders crawling down in the background. Continue reading →
Then we have a new batch of titles added to the archives thanks to our contributors (each credited in each piece). The archive continues to grow even today!
Then as usual – we finish with a series of updates to entries already in the archive. Details of what has changed/been added can be found in the history tab for each title.
Allan has been helping out GTW64 for many years with various preservation efforts, and he is now uploading many more over at Archive.org, so be sure to check things out:
ICOM Simulations, the makers of Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective, were to follow up with a title called Global Golf: The Earth Invitational.
Announced around Summer 1993, the game would give you the chance to play on hypothetical holes on places like Everest, the desert and the Grand Canyon. The game had been in development for sometime, and PC Player magazine showed a single screenshot of the game in action (in what seems to be at the Grand Canyon). Continue reading →
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Games That Weren't® is the registered trademark of Frank Gasking.
