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.

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Pandemonium

Posted: by Frank Gasking

1992 Gremlin Graphics

Platforms: PC, Atari ST and Commodore Amiga

Our next entry into the archives is thanks to the brilliant preservation efforts of Mr Talida, who has been busy preserving all of Dave Lowe’s Amiga/PC disks of late. On one set of disks was what seemed to be a demo of a game called Pandemonium over 2 disks. Sadly the second disk couldn’t be backed up due to the disk coming away from its metal hub. Mr Talida hopes to fix this in the near future to preserve the missing files.

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We took a look at what remained, and found that the DOS demo does still run – but with at least half of the assets missing from the second disk, you get a blank screen for most parts. However, keep pressing space a few times and you’ll end up on a map screen where you can fly a balloon to a boat, before it gets stuck (as we can’t see anything else). Continue reading →

Posted in: Atari ST, Commodore Amiga, PC, Reviews | Tagged: | 4 Comments

Lethal Moves

Posted: , last updated: by Frank Gasking

1993 Radical Software

Platform: Amstrad CPC (possibly Plus range)

With the infamous Amstrad version of Street Fighter 2 never going to appear, a fan of the machine would take matters into their own hands back in 1993 with the development of Lethal Moves. Not without the nudge of a popular magazine of the time.

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The game was being developed by Rob Buckley, who ran Radical Software in the early 1990s to try and save the Amstrad by producing and selling new games for the machine. After the fuss with Street Fighter 2, Amstrad Action asked Rob if he could develop a clone – and that they would really push it if he did. Continue reading →

Posted in: Amstrad CPC | Tagged: | Leave a comment

Dead to Rights: Hell to Pay

Posted: , last updated: by Yassine Bakrim

2004 Namco Hometek

Platforms: PC, Sony PlayStation 2, Microsoft Xbox and Sony PSP

The original Dead to Rights was a breakout hit for Namco Hometek in 2002, earning several awards and nominations. Riding on that success, the studio set its sights on an even bigger and bolder sequel.

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Development on Dead to Rights 2 kicked off almost immediately after the release of Dead to Rights, with a planned 2004 release. Originally titled Dead to Rights 2: Hell to Pay, the game aimed to deliver an even darker, grittier story – once again putting players in the shoes of hardboiled cop Jack Slate and his loyal K-9 companion, Shadow. Continue reading →

Posted in: Microsoft Xbox, PC, Reviews, Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation Portable | Tagged: | Leave a comment

Technopolis

Posted: by Frank Gasking

1991 ARC / Maelstrom

Platforms: Commodore Amiga and Atari ST

Our next entry into the archives is an ambitious 3D title called Technopolis, which was in development by ARC back in 1991, and had a mix of strategy and action. Not a huge amount is known about the game at this stage, though the game did feature briefly in the press.

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Games X magazine described the storyline as follows:

“Staged in an ancient civilization sometime in the future, Technopolis sets about recolonizing wild and barren planets by transporting the skilled inhabitants of nearby worlds to establish new colonies and civilizations.

Turn the new lands into self-sufficient machine societies. But beware, competition between colonists is intense, bordering on war between the different camps of settlers.”

The game was reported to be an ingenious mix of strategy and arcade action, with super fast 3D graphics and a brilliant sound track by Martin Walker. Continue reading →

Posted in: Atari ST, Commodore Amiga, Reviews | Tagged: | Leave a comment

Missing Mindcraft titles for PC DOS

Posted: , last updated: by Frank Gasking

We’ve just added 4 new entries for a set of Mindcraft titles that were due for release between 1993 and 1994 for PC DOS. Gryphon Masters, Dominion, CyberGO and Mechamander are all currently at large. How far did they get? Thanks to Andreas Wirooks for the submission.

Posted in: News | Leave a comment

Mechamander

Posted: , last updated: by Frank Gasking

1994 Mindcraft

Platform: PC DOS

A short entry for a title called Mechamander, due for release by Mindcraft and highlighted by Andreas Wirooks and spotted in various upcoming text files in Mindcraft’s other games. A description for the game was given as follows:

It is a time when the Earth, stripped of her ores and minerals, is nothing more than a soggy crust in space. Mining corporations look to the stars to make their fortunes, but in space, it takes more than a good marketing strategy to survive! As the Mechamander, your job is to drop on ore-rich planetoids, “clean-up” any opposition, and secure ores and minerals to be sent back to Earth. Continue reading →

Posted in: PC, Reviews | Leave a comment

CyberGO

Posted: , last updated: by Frank Gasking

1994 Mindcraft

Platform: PC DOS

A short entry for a title called CyberGO, due for release by Mindcraft and highlighted by Andreas Wirooks and spotted in various upcoming text files in Mindcraft’s other games. A description for the game was given as follows:

CyberGO is a meeting of the ancient game of Go with the electric cyberpunk images of tomorrow. “Go” is a complex game of territorial domination, expressed in the simplistic use of two types of “stones”, and a gridded play field. Originating in Asia and extremely popular in Japan, it is a game easily learned, yet filled with forceful strategies and covert ploys difficult to master. In Ancient times, on the eve of any great conflict, Asian Warlords would plot battlefield strategy on their humble Go boards. Continue reading →

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

Dominion

Posted: by Frank Gasking

1994 Mindcraft

Platform: PC DOS

A short entry for a title called Dominion, due for release by Mindcraft and highlighted by Andreas Wirooks and spotted in various upcoming text files in Mindcraft’s other games.

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A description for the game was given as follows:

Dominion is a fantastic strategy set in a Naturalists Age. You play the life of a young King struggling for survival on one of several continents populated with a wild variety of natural and unnatural races. You control all areas of your kingdom directly, plus give supervision to your ministers.

New features, never before seen, include intelligent Ministers who can handle given affairs independently, a frightening look at populations and the terrors of war, barter economies, and a task-based events system to simulate the time pressures of extending personal control over a broad area. VGA, SVGA graphics – requires 16 Mhz ‘386 or faster, 2 MB RAM, Microsoft or 100% compatible mouse.

Continue reading →

Posted in: PC, Reviews | Tagged: | 3 Comments

Gryphon Masters

Posted: , last updated: by Frank Gasking

1993 Mindcraft

Platform: PC DOS

A short entry for a title called Gryphon Masters, due for release by Mindcraft and highlighted by Andreas Wirooks and spotted in various upcoming text files in Mindcraft’s other games. A description for the game was given as follows:

Bryn cannot rest in peace; his eternal slumber is corrupted with the curse of the undead. Once again, he walks the realm of the living – a dark, barbaric world where pagan curses and human sacrifice weave into the lives of all. Iron prisons pulsate with the souls of the damned, and angry gods prowl the earth and sea. Tortured, he must solve the enigma of his twisted fate and return to the solace of the grave, or dwell in eternal pain amongst the living. Continue reading →

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