Lost RTS Tiny Troops Resurfaces After 30 Years

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Video game history is usually told through the titles that reached store shelves, but some of the most interesting stories belong to the ones that almost disappeared. That is exactly the case with Tiny Troops, a real-time strategy game from the late 1990s that has resurfaced thanks to the work of preservation group Games That Weren’t. While Amiga fans may remember its release in 1997, new findings show that the game was once meant to be much bigger before most of its versions vanished.

Tiny Troops was developed by Vulcan Software and planned for release in 1995 under publisher Mindscape. The goal was a shared launch across Amiga, PC DOS, and the Amiga CD32. Set in a lighthearted but tactical war, the game followed two insect-like factions, the Klutes and the Furfurians, who brought their long-running conflict into a massive human world. Control was given over many unit types, from paragliders to tanks and dune buggies, spread across 65 split-screen missions that mixed strategy with fast action. Those plans fell apart when Mindscape ran into financial trouble and dropped several projects, leaving Tiny Troops unfinished on most platforms.

Even so, Vulcan Software later pushed forward on its own and released the Amiga version in 1997, where it was well received. For years, the PC DOS and CD32 versions were believed to be lost. That belief changed when archivists uncovered 33 different PC DOS builds, created between late 1993 and mid-1995. Together, these builds show how the game slowly took shape, starting under the early name Bugs and evolving into the final design.

The archive also includes a development diary, likely written by programmer Alastair Dukes. It gives a clear look at the challenges of making a complex strategy game work on older DOS systems, from memory limits to performance issues. This kind of behind-the-scenes record is rare and helps explain why many games from that era never reached release.

The most complete build found so far is dated June 13, 1995. It appears to represent the game just before it was canceled. Most of the gameplay systems are present and functional, though sound and music are missing. Despite early plans, no solid proof of a finished CD32 version has been discovered. Still, preservationists believe there is a chance that a final DOS build or a CD32 prototype may exist somewhere in old company archives.

You can download the game here.