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
GTW64 July 2023 updates
The months are flying fast, and now its time for our July 2023 update for the GTW64 archives with two new additions, including an unnamed Andrew Braybrook game and a potential title where music was composed by Tim/Geoff Follin. We also have 16 pre-existing entries which have been updated too. Enjoy, and happy summer everyone!
2 new entries added
Footloose, Unnamed Andrew Braybrook game
16 updates added
A Fi$tful of Buck$, Albedo, Alloyrun, Big Run, Braindeath, EastEnders, Fantastic Voyage, Flonk, Graham Gooch World Class Cricket, Power Prick, Rockus, Sankara Stone, Sapiens, Save Those Janitors, Stratos, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Where to find us
Just a reminder that we have various social media outlets, where we also do regular news updates and posts from the site (as well as other prototype and unreleased games communities). If you use one of the following, then please feel free to give us a follow:
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gamesthatwerent
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/fgasking
- Threads: https://www.threads.net/@gamesthatwerent
- Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/gamesthatwerent.bsky.social
- Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gamesthatwerent
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GamesThatWerent
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gamesthatwerent/
Find us on Threads.net
If you have recently joined the new Threads.net service, then you can now find Games That Weren’t on there too at gamesthatwerent or https://www.threads.net/@gamesthatwerent
Hoping a desktop version arrives soon, but we’ll keep posting out our updates to here, as well as our other social media outlets.
Cataball – An early Wonderboy?
Chatting with team member Gary Spence the other day, Gary wondered if he had perhaps an over-active imagination when looking at Elite’s Cataball game one evening. A game that was released on one of their Hit-Paks, but then spruced up a year later with different levels and released at full price as Hoppin’ Mad.
Gary highlighted that Cataball seemed to have graphics very similar to Wonderboy in places – especially on the very first level with the forest, and with the rock formation at the bottom of the game. Could Cataball really have started out as a Wonderboy conversion for Elite? Continue reading
GTW64 June 2023 updates
Another month gone already, and now as we enter into Summer, here is another GTW64 update with 7 new entries into the archive, including a title which oddly doesn’t seem to have had a UK release by Ocean and another which is based on a popular UK soap.
7 new entries added
A Fi$tful of Buck$, EastEnders, Picnic Paranoia, Power Prick, Return of the Things, Taxar, Turbo Towers
11 updates added
Babies of the Dirt, Chess, Denny’s Quest 2, Escape from London, Fire & Forget, Ninja Grannies, Putty, Rockus, Show Crazy, Total Recall V1, Wreckers
Breakdown – lost loading screen
If you haven’t played Breakdown before, then you should check it out. It’s a fun and simple shooter/platformer/puzzler mix, which was generously given away on Zzap!64 issue 90’s covermount.
When flicking through the magazine the other day, I realized that the magazine shows a screenshot of a loading screen that I can’t recall seeing in the game at all:
Sure enough, checking the original tape image – there is no loader screen, but just a Novaload screen. I suspect that this was supplied as a separate thing to load in, but because it was on tape – it was just jettisoned. The screen seems to have been done by Jonas Holmsten (listed as “Jon”).
Well, in March 2024 – Icon / The Preservers got in touch, as he has been preserving Jonas’ disks. Found was a work stage version of the loading screen, but also a disk version of the game – complete with level editor, and the loading screen. So here is the screen that hasn’t been seen properly until now:
This is likely what was sent to Zzap-64 back in the day, but the loading screen was separate and not added to the tape loader.
Here is the download, so you can check it out for yourself and see the complete version of the game as originally intended.
Download
With thanks to Icon / The Preservers for saving!
Gallery
Target Renegade C64 early version
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.
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
GTW64 May 2023 updates
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!
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!
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
A video look at Total Recall V1
Following on from the recent recovery of Total Recall V1 – we today take a detailed video look at the prototype, the story of its search and how it was found.
Including highlighting of differences from the original Zzap!64 preview screens.
Total Recall V1 found!
Lost for 33 years, we are pleased to announce the recovery of the original abandoned development of Total Recall for the Commodore 64!
So happy to finally see those old Zzap!64 screens in motion after years of searching!
Full story + download at: https://www.gamesthatwerent.com/gtw64/total-recall-v1/
