Hidden Palace

Hidden Palace
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Website type
Wiki
Available inEnglish
Websitehiddenpalace.org Edit this at Wikidata
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Current statusOnline
Content license
Public domain

Hidden Palace is a website dedicated to video game preservation. It catalogues and showcases early builds and prototypes of games, their source code and other materials from the development process, such as cut content.

History

Former logo

Hidden Palace was initially established as a blog on May 2, 2006. After a period of inactivity, it was re-established as a wiki exactly 10 years later on May 2, 2016.

In April 2019, a Hidden Palace user drx discovered two prototypes of a lost Tom and Jerry video game titled Tom Vs. Jerry: The Chase is On!. Originally developed for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System by Software Creations and published by Hi Tech Expressions, it was cancelled in 1991 after Turner Entertainment's purchase of Hanna-Barbera.

In March 2021, the website published over 700 early builds of games for the PlayStation 2 as part of an effort dubbed Project Deluge, including Shadow of the Colossus, God of War II and Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex as well as games which were ultimately unreleased. Later in September, 349 builds for the Dreamcast and 135 builds for the Xbox were uncovered alongside a cancelled 2003 English localization of Dinosaur Hunting: Ushinawareta Daichi.

In November 2023, a prototype of a cancelled Daredevil game titled Daredevil: The Man Without Fear was sent to Hidden Palace by an anonymous developer. It was developed by 5,000 Ft for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and Windows. Published by Encore, Inc., it was cancelled in 2004 due to creative disagreements between Sony and Marvel Studios.

In January 2024, the website published an unfinished version of Spyro: Year of the Dragon featuring several previously unreleased level themes.

In June 2025, an unfinished game for the Game Boy Advance based on Animaniacs titled Animaniacs: Hollywood Hypnotics was uploaded to Hidden Palace. It was described as "apparently feature-complete" but "lack[ing] polish" by PC Gamer.

In November 2025, a prototype of the cancelled real-time strategy game Dark Empires was uncovered in collaboration with the Sega Retro researcher Ashley Rojas. It was developed by Sega Technical Institute, starting development in 1990 and ultimately getting cancelled in late 1991 due to being too niche, according to artist Craig Stitt.

In January 2026, a lost Beavis and Butt-Head video game titled Beavis and Butt-Head Do Hollywood was recovered. It was developed for the PlayStation and was around 40% complete during its cancellation in 1998 after a failed pitch to MTV.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Stuart, Keith (April 7, 2021). "Uncovering the hidden history of bestselling video games". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved April 6, 2026. Celebrating its 15th anniversary next month, the website Hidden Palace is a collective dedicated to tracking down and archiving video game prototypes, source code and other overlooked artefacts from the development process.
  2. ↑ "10 years of Hidden Palace / Final ROM Archive Release Part 1". Hidden Palace. May 13, 2016 [May 2, 2016]. Archived from the original on June 17, 2025. Retrieved June 17, 2025.
  3. ↑ Whalen, Trevor (April 23, 2019). "Prototype for Lost Tom and Jerry SNES Game Available to Download". techraptor.net. Archived from the original on June 20, 2026. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
  4. ↑ Carpenter, Nicole (March 22, 2021). "Game preservationists release hundreds of PS2 prototypes, demos". Polygon. Archived from the original on June 17, 2025. Retrieved June 17, 2025.
  5. ↑ Scullion, Chris (September 20, 2021). "Nearly 500 Xbox and Dreamcast prototypes plus unreleased games have been uncovered". VGC. Archived from the original on May 23, 2024. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
  6. ↑ Yin-Poole, Wesley (November 1, 2023). "Cancelled 2004 PS2 Daredevil Game Unearthed". IGN. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
  7. ↑ Bellingham, Hope (January 22, 2024). "A 24-year-old prototype of Spyro: Year of the Dragon has been uncovered, featuring plenty of cut platforming content". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on January 8, 2025. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  8. ↑ Lane, Rick (July 6, 2025). "Preservationists discover a 'nearly complete' build of a lost Animaniacs game 22 years after it was cancelled, and you can play it right now". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on November 13, 2025. Retrieved December 24, 2025.
  9. ↑ Yarwood, Jack (November 3, 2025). "Sega Technical Institute's Cancelled Mega Drive RTS 'Dark Empires' Has Just Been Dumped Online". Time Extension. Archived from the original on November 9, 2025. Retrieved April 6, 2026.
  10. ↑ McFerran, Damien (January 26, 2026). "'They Did Not Seem Like A Very Happy Bunch' - Lost Beavis And Butt-Head Title Resurfaces On PS1". Time Extension. Archived from the original on June 19, 2026. Retrieved June 19, 2026.