Games That Weren't

To finish up the week, we're adding a very early prototype of what is believed to be a horizontal scrolling shooter, and a possible sequel to Sci-Fi. We're sharing the source code which seems to have been abandoned early on. gamesthatwerent.com/2026/03/solar-…

ICYMI: in the latest Video Game History Hour podcast, host Phil Salvador is joined by two digital preservationists, Ellen Cooper and Max Solensky, to explore the world of Japanese mobile game preservation: gamehistory.org/episode-152-ja…

STAMP (Unreleased, PSP, Japan Studio

OMG this SNES development cart has GameCube test software. ...WTF....Anyways, we dumped it. Thanks to @RogueOrange_ For sending this one over. youtu.be/ZrfJiLW-SIo

The source code for the classic 1984 side-scrolling MS-DOS shoot 'em up #Sopwith revealed a secret: a colour palette and stub functions for an #AtariST port that was never completed... until now. Meet ST Sopwith! 💾 Download today from github.com/neilrackett/at…

Our first big Christmas update is with an amazing recovery of the final build of Resident Evil on Gameboy Color. Hotgen's impressive conversion that got canned. This is much closer to completion, and seems completable too. Lots to discover! gamesthatwerent.com/2025/12/reside…

GTW Highlight No.42: Then finally in November, a Polish edition of the Games That Weren't book (with extra content) was released. Never in a million years did we imagine seeing a translated edition: gknb.pl

@NE0_101 That sounds cool, thanks for the heads up!

@fgasking Fortunately, if you wish to play this, but as a mod for HL on the PC, it's on moddb: moddb.com/mods/half-life…

Half-Life on the Dreamcast, but never released. Here's footage from the cancelled port that was practically complete.

After over four decades lost to time, the ROMs for the 1982 Taito 'classic' Adventure Canoe have finally been dumped for the Taito System SJ. No modifications were required other than supplying a new MRA file for the core.

@HumanityPlague It was that close to release (inlays produced etc) - must have really annoyed Prima at the time.

@fgasking It's funny, the strategy guide for that actually did come out.

For more details, check out: gamesthatwerent.com/2020/11/half-l…

Today, let’s visit Overworks with a new Dreamcast prototype of the legendary Skies of Arcadia. This build, available for download below, marked with a pink “NEW” and dated 15 days before the US final version, shows the game in its final polishing stage👇 …dreamcast-info-games-preservation.com/en/skies-of-ar…

Resident Evil 2 (Unreleased, GBA, Raylight Studios)

I went on the Video Game History Hour podcast with fellow preservationist LNRC! It's a great overview of keitai game preservation, from the games to preservation challenges. I hope you enjoy! Big thanks to Phil Salvador for having us on. Link in the replies!

We take a look at the lost Tiger Game-com title: Small Soldiers - based on the DreamWorks film. A beat-em-up, choosing alliance with the Commando Elite or the Gorgonites with a range of fighting/weapon moves. Thanks to @nostalgicaubrey for the heads up. gamesthatwerent.com/2026/03/small-…

Dead Space Vertical Slice (2007, Xbox 360, Motive Studio)

Mario Kart XXL (Unreleased, GBA, Denaris Entertainment Software)

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