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

Wreckers

Posted: , last updated: by Frank Gasking

1991 Audiogenic

Platforms: ZX Spectrum 128k

Only recently has GTW made a surprise recovery of an abandoned Commodore 64 development of Denton Design’s classic Wreckers, though more famous is the ZX Spectrum 128k edition which was promised in 1991, but would never see the light of day.

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This is odd considering that the game was fully reviewed by Crash magazine in May 1991, but then something seemed to happen behind the scenes which prevented a release. And it was a decent review too – perhaps a swan-song for the platform from the Denton Design greats.

A few issues later, Crash were reporting that the game hadn’t been released yet. Your Sinclair also gave a preview of the game in May, but oddly no review at all. It wasn’t until much later in October of 1991 that Your Sinclair were reporting that the game was due out in September now. Continue reading →

Posted in: Reviews, ZX Spectrum | Tagged: | Leave a comment

A.T.A.C: Advanced Tactical Air Command

Posted: , last updated: by Frank Gasking

1992 MicroProse

Platform: Commodore Amiga
Also known as: A.T.A.C: Advanced Tactical Air Command – The Secret War Against Drugs

MicroProse’s flight sim, A.T.A.C: Advanced Tactical Air Command was previewed for the Amiga in various magazines back in 1992, but was sadly only to get a DOS release in the end. It seems that the PC edition was released first, and an Amiga conversion was following. The developers were none other than Argonaut, who had a rich history with 3D developments.

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Described as a simulation/strategy game, the title sees you as a Supreme Commander of an entire anti-drugs campaign. At your disposal are an entire army of undercover infiltration agents, two fully armed attack helicopters, four F22 stealth fighter/bombers and a secret base tucked away in South America. Continue reading →

Posted in: Commodore Amiga, Reviews | Tagged: | 2 Comments

Target Renegade C64 early version

Posted: , last updated: by Frank Gasking

Not a massively early version as such, but contributor Bruce Coates has highlighted that the Commodore User review of Target Renegade seems to have the baseball bat as a weapon in the other levels in the game.

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In the version released, it seems that you can only pick up a baseball bat on the first level – and such pick ups don’t exist from that point on. In the CU review, there is even suggestion of being able to pick up a stick as a dropped weapon. Continue reading →

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

GTW64 May 2023 updates

Posted: , last updated: by Frank Gasking

OK, so not as big an update as last month, but still a sizable one none-the-less, and with two very important additions. A total of 14 completely new entries too to further increase the size of the C64 archive, along with 11 updates overall and two very special findings! Many of the new entries are for titles which may well be out there, just not yet preserved. Can you help us find them?

Total Recall V1 and Wreckers recovered!

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The big news of the month was the recovery of both the long lost first version of Total Recall from Active Minds (missing for 33 years), and a surprise start of a conversion of Wreckers by Denton Designs. Download both for yourself!

Total Recall V1 and Wreckers

This is then accompanied by the following updates on the site:
14 new entries added

Blood Bath at Orc’s Drift, Intellectual Software titles, Island Software titles, JMH Software titles, Micro-Ed, Inc titles, Micrograms, Inc titles, Microphys Programs Inc titles, Moses Engineering titles, Quality Input, Inc titles, Resource Software International titles, Right on Programs titles, Teacher’s Pet Software titles, The Enemy Within, The War of the Worlds

11 updates added

Arsenal FC, Battlecars, Boston Educational Computing, Inc titles, Cyberdyne Warrior Intro, Judge Death, Krell Software, Pharaoh’s Pyramid, R.I.S.K! V1, Rastan V1, Runestone, The War of the Worlds

Posted in: GTW64 news, News | Leave a comment

Wreckers C64 recovered!

Posted: by Frank Gasking

Considered vapourware, Denton Design’s Wreckers for the Commodore 64 has been recovered in its final build state.

wreckers large
Before you get too excited, sadly the game was only in development for a very short period of time – and essentially what we have is a tech demo showing a navigable game map. There are no playable elements and there is limited map collisions.

Though considering that just a year ago we were doubtful that a C64 conversion ever existed, this is a lovely surprise.

Check it out at: https://www.gamesthatwerent.com/gtw64/wreckers/

Posted in: Reviews | Leave a comment

Extractors: The Hanging Worlds of Zarg

Posted: , last updated: by Frank Gasking

1995 Millennium

Platform: Commodore Amiga CD32
Also known as: Diggers 2

It is perhaps unsurprising that a game as ground breaking as Lemmings would inspire a series of other inventive puzzlers, which seem to share some DNA in places. Diggers was one such title, where you control a mining team trying to get precious minerals.

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Scoring well with magazines at the time, it comes as no surprise that a sequel was put into motion. The same developer, Toby Simpson would get to work once again to try and improve on his original success.

Many issues that were found with the original were set to be resolved for the sequel on the Amiga CD32, including have more reigned in level map sizes, so that most users would get to appreciate most of the game. There would also be better defined goals as well. Continue reading →

Posted in: Amiga CD32, Reviews | Tagged: | Leave a comment

Sherlock Holmes in Under the Boardwalk

Posted: , last updated: by Frank Gasking

1985 Bantam Software

Platforms: Apple II, PCjr and potentially Commodore 64 (TBC)

Planned as a sequel to Sherlock Holmes: Another Bow, which was released by Bantam Software in 1984 on a variety of 8-bit platforms. Sadly it was never to be.

In an interview with Scott Stilphen, artist Michael Becker revealed that the sequel was using the same engine as the original game, and featured Al Capone, Babe Ruth, and the mob as Sherlock visited Atlantic City in the 1930s and solved some crimes whilst in his 70s.

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Mark Hardisty spoke with Peter Golden in issue 11 of Classic Adventurer, where Peter recalled having completed his work on the title, though Bantam would leave the market before it could be fully released to the world. Continue reading →

Posted in: Apple II, PC, Reviews | Tagged: | 1 Comment

GTW64 April 2023 updates

Posted: , last updated: by Frank Gasking

A much larger update this month, as there was a lot of corrections and fixes done to some old posts, but we also have 7 completely new entries too to further increase the size of the C64 archive. Won’t be long until we hit 3000!

BoringHour

New entries include details of a City Connection conversion, a great looking and recent Ghostbusters tribute, a cool looking wresting game, an abandoned graphic text adventure, two missing games that could well be out there and a post on an early Pac-Man clone by Andrew Trott. Enjoy!

7 new entries added

City Connection, Code 3, Ghostbusters 2021, Nedime – The Caliph’s Daughter, Terragon, The Boring Hour, Unnamed Pac-Man clone

50 updates added

64 Tape Computing – Issue 14, Babylon, Ballisation, Bird Mother V1, Black Gold 2, Bobby Charlton Soccer, Bombzone, Buffalo Roundup V1, Butch – Hard Guy, CDU Games Disks, Danger! High Voltage, Dimension X, Drugbird, Dynaboys, Egy kis kiruccanás, Enforcer 2, Evil Garden, Fire & Forget, Flight Deck 2, Furry Knibble Girls 2, Gargantuan, Go Ape!, Hard Fire, Immensity, Imperium, Italian pirated games, Jumpy64, La Venganza del Toro, Mortal Kombat 2, Mythos, Panic Button, Proxima, Quark, Quark IX, Rex Hard, Sabian Island, Sankara Stone, Single Extreme Freedom, Squad One, Star of Africa, Sunburst Communications titles, Super C, Tank Battle Simulator, The Brainies, The Seven Gates Of Jambala, The Sixth Sense, The War of the Dragon, Toi Acid Game, Vietnam Gunboat, Xenodrome

Posted in: GTW64 news | Leave a comment