Welcome to Games That Weren't 64!
We cover Cancelled & Unreleased Video games for the Commodore 64 computer. A non-profit large archive dedicated to preserving lost games that were never released to the public, as well as prototypes and the odd preservation of released titles. Our aim to share 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 and have saved over the years.
Latest News and Posts
New final release of Worron (C64)
Happy Sunday everyone!
A lovely surprise today, where author of the unreleased Firebird game Worron, Richard Paynter got in touch to provide GTW with an upgraded and fixed version of his 34 year old game.
After GTW recovered Richard’s work in 2015, it was found that the game wasn’t quite finished in places and there were a number of issues which made it impossible to complete without cheats enabled. It was something that bothered Richard for a few years, so this year he decided to decompile and fix it all.
Not only has he fixed a lot of the collision and crash issues, but he’s added an introduction picture and a variety of music and sound effects to round off and polish up the game he created when he was just 17 years old.
Check out the full story here and grab a copy for yourself to check out – yet another new and complete C64 game for your enjoyment and a happy outcome for a game once lost.
GTW64 May 2021 update
How is it May already? A slightly smaller update this month with just 3 new entries, but there are 32 updates to various titles in the archive. Mostly tidy ups of old pages, but also some new information too for some of them and some new scans.
3 new entries added
Alien Syndrome V1, Miami Vice, Stareggs V1
32 updates added
Arc Doors 2, Batty Builders, Big Nose The Caveman, CJ’s 4th Adventure, Cattivik, Covermount casualties, Double Dragon V1, FSS Liberator, Frixxion, Hangman’s Hazard, Inspector Gadget, Last Ninja V1, Make My Day!, Mega Games, Moebius Strip, Murder!, Nimitz, Obliterator, Operation Mindcrime Xertyn-X, Plum Duff, Prince Of Persia, Pyramids Of The Sun, Rolling Ronny 2, Rugby World Cup 2, Sonic the Hedgehog, Subclavian, Super Thief, System X, The Search For Sharla, Twin Turbo V8, UXB, Ultrabulb
Games That Weren’t book back in stock!
I’ve been completely blown away by the support when The Games That Weren’t book was launched late last year, and even more so when it completely sold out by the start of the new year.
After a number of queries asking if there was going to be another production run, i’m pleased to announce that there has been and the book is now available once more via https://www.bitmapbooks.com/products/the-games-that-werent
So if you missed out the first time and would like to grab a copy, then now’s your chance. Thanks for all your support everyone!
Frank
GTW64 April 2021 update
Slightly late this time round, with an odd game that turned up which we thought was previously unseen (until the name was established from the end sequence :D ) and more unreleased Commodore 64 games posts for your enjoyment.
Operation Mindcrime Xertyn-X – early preview recovered
A bizarre finding for the GTW archives, found on a Hungarian disk collection by contributor Csaba Virag. The game is seems has been out there for some time in preview form (once the name was established). Check it out for yourselves below:
Then we have 9 new entries added
Bird Mother V1, Buffalo Roundup V1, Big Nose The Caveman, Covermount casualties, , Robocop 2 V1, Silverwolf, Splish Splash, Sword Of Aragon, System X
And finally – 20 updates added
A Chance In Hell, Beep Boy, Dungeons, Amethysts, Alchemists ‘n Everythin’, Gold Train, Gotcha Maths, Heavy Barrel, Ixion, King, Mysterious Worlds, New Zealand Story V1, Portal, Pubjumper Mario, Scramble 2010, Sorderon’s Shadow: The Legend of Elindor, The Bobby Yazz Show, Trojan, Ultrabulb, White Feather Cloak, Winning Streak, Zone Of Darkness
Ixion
1983 SEGA
Platforms: Arcade, Atari 2600, Atari 8-bit and Commodore Vic 20 (Probably C64 too)
Ixion is an intriguing arcade title that was due for release from SEGA back in 1983, and was based on Zaxxon’s hardware, even though you may not think it looking at the game. The game was a top-down 2D grid based action title, where you must collect all the letters to spell out the word IXION, whilst shooting enemies and avoiding being shot yourself.
According to Segaretro.org , it is suggested that Ixion likely failed its location test, considering that it was largely finished. Thankfully the game has been dumped and is actually fully playable in MAME.
Ted Bear’s Rainy Day Game preserved!
It’s been on the Gamebase64 and GTW64 missing list for many years now and was unknown if it was released or not. Well, it can be confirmed that the game was indeed released and has been fully preserved.
The game is an educational game from 1987, and is yet another piece of C64 history now preserved.
Check it out at https://csdb.dk/release/?id=199870
With thanks to Chris Kraus and Simon Quernhorst for their preservation efforts!
GTW64 Jan/Feb 2021 update
First update of 2021, and hopefully first of many more this year with the following:
16 new entries added
After The Fire, Beyond the Infinite, Chinese Juggler V1, Daxis, Felix the Cat, Midwinter, Pyramids Of The Sun, Sorderon’s Shadow: The Legend of Elindor, Teacher Trouble, Terror Tunnels, The Legacy of Light, The Wooden Box, Trooper, Valley Of The Source, Winning Streak, Wrath of Magra
24 updates added
Bloo’s Magic Trip, Body Slam, C64GS cartridge titles, Chainsaw Warrior, CubeSim64, Dreamraider, Great Giana Sisters, Heavy Barrel, Italian pirated games, Katabatia, Mad Crash Racing, Magic Sword, Movie Monster, The, Mr. Pilic, Ooops Up, Operation Thunderbolt V1, Paku Paku, Restrictor, S.D.I, Space Hop, Spooky, The Reactor, The Soul Gem Of Martek, Touchlight
GTW64 Xmas update for 2020
The yearly tradition of a large GTW64 xmas site update continues, even if this year has been pretty shite overall. We kick off with the following updates for you:
41 new entries added
A ton of new entries, mostly with downloads for you to check out of various previews that have been floating around for some time but may have passed you by. Ultrabulb is worth a look – a previously unknown Gremlin Graphics game.
Bad, Brain Tumour, City Champ, Coloris, CubeSim64, Eelona – The Warrior Princess, Flex, FootMan, Immensity, Jagged Sword, Jump-Kid, Jumpy64, Katabatia, Lingo, Mad Crash Racing, Mad Ninja, Mario Clone, Mario Run, Minimus, Misfire, Motorman, Mr. Pilic, On Table, Oolong, Outbreak, Oxygen Racer, Pac Man Arcade, Paku Paku, Phantasm, Proxima, Rip Off, Space Ball, Squad Force Five, Squirm 2, Squost, Star Fighter, Star-Wars, The Last War Brains, The Lost Vikings, The Sixth Sense, Ultrabulb
17 entry updates added
Then the usual updates for a number of posts, including tidy ups and new scans.
3 Days In Carpathia, Alloyrun, Atlantian, Bubble Blaster, Defensive, Dux, Futureball, Great Giana Sisters, Klartz and the Dark Forces, Nightbreed RPG, Nuclear War, Outrage, Pipe Mania 2: Plumber’s World, Play and Learn series, Savage Platforms, Teladon, Total Recall V1
Not C64 related, but over the past few months we have been adding a plethora of new content, detailed write ups and assets for a number of different platforms. Most of these are in relation to articles covered in the book and assets that didn’t make it to print. There are also a number of multi-format posts which you may want to check out via the links below:
- https://www.gamesthatwerent.com/bonus/
- https://www.gamesthatwerent.com/features/
- https://www.gamesthatwerent.com/prototypes/
As you can see, we didn’t get to dig out any new big C64 findings in time for the update, which was mostly due to being tied up over the past few months with the release of the Games That Weren’t book and committing to adding bonus content to the site which was referenced in the book. Just hasn’t been time i’m afraid. The aim is to resume trying to find more lost C64 titles once more in the new year, now things are beginning to settle.
However, my good friend Vinny Mainolfi has come to the rescue this year and has two previously unreleased and complete games being released as part of his Xmas newsletter to subscribers to FREEZE64. These are in the shape of Trooper (by Barbarian 2 developer Rob Stevens) and Winning Streak with graphics by Jon Temples (artist for CJ’s Elephant Antics). This is along with some new titles as part of his Christmas pack to supporters. Well worth checking out at https://freeze64.com/
Finally – thank you to everyone for all their support during 2020 and for those especially who have brought the book and shared their love of it online and personally. It has meant a great deal seeing all the positive reviews and photos, and has been very humbling. Happy holidays to you all and here’s hoping for a more positive 2021!
Frank.
(Long suffering GTW webmaster!)
Nightbreed RPG
1990 Ocean Software
Platforms: Atari ST, Commodore Amiga, PC and Commodore 64
This was to be the last of a trilogy of Nightbreed games produced by Ocean Software in 1990 and produced by Imagitec, overseen by David Wightman. The game would utilize essentially the same engine as Times of Lore, which they developed on the Amiga. This means it is likely that Adrian Waterhouse and Julian Gardner were the developers, with Nigel Cook on graphics duty.
GTW64 update for November 2020
Almost the end of 2020, and continuing our regular GTW64 posts, here are the various additions and updates that have occurred over the past month.
5 new entries added
Gauntlet 3 V1, Heroes and Cowards, PP Hammer 2, Stratos, The Time Crystal
15 updates added
Babylon, Daffy Duck, Delphian, Jet Set Willy V1, Jonny Quest and the Splinter of Heaven, Kljuc, Last Ninja V1, Mindbending Aliens From Hyperspace, Mortal Kombat 2, Night Hunter, Phoenix Lair, Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race, Who Dares Wins, X-Men, Zzap Italia homebrew
