With the advent of gaming’s digital era, the idea of games being rendered unplayable because of a lack of availability is rather uncommon. After all,everything from re-releases to emulationcan help old games get some much-needed traction and come into the limelight once again. However, even in this age, there are times when games become lost to the sands of time, with most people finding it downright impossible to find certain titles; either because they faced obscure releases or were shelved by publishers.
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The following games are notorious for being downright impossible to play, barring some major acts such as preserving said game on consoles or tracking down an old installation file somehow. It’s a real shame too, since some of the games that can no longer be bought have been groundbreaking in many ways.
10P.T.
The release and subsequent de-listing ofP.T.made for one of the mostcontroversial gaming momentsof all time and cemented Konami’s place as the biggest villain in the industry. Kojima’s collaboration with Norman Reedus and Guillermo Del Toro brought with it one of the best horror experiences to have come out in quite some time.
Unfortunately, however, disputes between Kojima and Konami led to the video game auteur leaving the company andP.T.being de-listed from the PlayStation store. Now, only PlayStation consoles that haveP.T.pre-installed on them can experience this game, which is a pretty small demographic.
9Chaos Rings
Chaos Ringswas Square Enix’s lofty attempt at a mobile-only JRPG, withamazing visuals, a great soundtrack, and a brilliant story. The end result was theChaos Ringsseries, which was easily one of the most impressive additions to the mobile platform.
However, with mobile software being upgraded at regular intervals, Square Enix stopped patching these games to make them compatible with the latest Android and iOS versions. Instead, all the games in the series were delisted, withChaos Rings 3being the only game that fans can still download right now.
8Flappy Bird
The story ofFlappy Birdmade for one of the more unique stories in gaming history. This title literally suffered due to the immense weight of its success, with the creator going on to lament the game’s highly addictive nature.
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As a result, Dong Nguyen removed this game from stores, causing a massive uproar and many devices withFlappy Birdon them being sold for massive prices. It was a historic time that fans still look back on and laugh about to this day.
7Super Mario Bros. 35
Super Mario Bros. 35was a fun play on the battle royale concept that saw many players fight head-to-head and completethe classicSuper Mario Bros.in a competitive and engaging mode. However, this was also a timed release to celebrate the 35th anniversary ofSuper Mario Bros.
True to its word, Nintendo was very strict about the game being a timed exclusive.Super Mario Bros. 35was rendered defunct on May 19, 2025, and has remained a fun little addition to the legacy of the series, however brief its reign might’ve been.
6Too Human
Too Humanwas a game that buckled under the weight of its own ambition. The idea of combining Norse mythology with sci-fi elements was a great one, with the lore and storytelling ofToo Humanbeing its biggest strength by far.
However, the game fell flat in pretty much every other department and was considered a colossal failure by many. As a result,Too Humanhas become a relic of the past, and playing this game in modern times is simply impossible.
5Warcraft 3: Reign Of Chaos
The originalWarcraft 3is one of the greatest RTS titles ever made. Its innovative gameplay and immense worldbuilding served as a major building block fortheWarcraftseries.
Sadly, the original game can’t be downloaded right now, with players being forced to downloadWarcraft 3 Reforgedinstead. Given this game’s status as one of the worst remasters of all time, it’s easy to see whyReign of Chaos' loss is something that still stings for many fans of the game.
4Evolve
There was a time whenEvolvewas the next biggest thing on the market, with this human versus monster game making waves in the market. However, upon its release, people soon realized just how shallow the entire experience really was.
Matchmaking took ages, the maps were pretty barebones, and playing as the monster was incredibly underwhelming. As a result, 2K Games officially shelved this cursed title, which is nothing more than a bad memory these days.
3Shadow Hearts
Shadow Heartsis perhaps the least ‘lost’ game on this list, given the strides that PS2 emulation has taken in recent years. However, the fact thatthis amazing dark-fantasy JRPG trilogyis barely talked about to this day is a real shame.
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The first game might be rough around the edges, butShadow Hearts: Covenantis genuinely one ofthe greatest role-playing games on the PlayStation 2. Hopefully, some publisher can purchase the IP and re-release it once again.
2Club Penguin
Club Penguinis one ofthe greatest MMO games of all time, and so it’s a shame that the game was discontinued in 2017. Though there is now a fan-made revival of the title available, it’s just not the same.
Players havenostalgic memories of making their own unique penguinsand interacting with other people in the same world. It was a great game in its heyday, even though the game faded in popularity toward the end of its tenure.
1The Godfather
The Godfatherreceived anopen-world GTA clonethat was genuinely impressive. The game could’ve been a lazy adaptation of the legendary movie but ended up being a surprisingly competent title that most fans had a great time with.
Most people assumed that playing as a random goon in the Corleone family wouldn’t be all that interesting, but this was far from the case. Instead,The Godfatherhas quickly become one of the most underrated licensed games around that fans should definitely check out.
