Hardcore, a never-released SEGA Genesis game, is finally coming out 25 years later

Another '90s-era video game thought to be lost to the sands of time (no, not you, Prince of Persia) is finally getting to see the light of day thanks to Analogue's upcoming throwback console, the Mega Sg.

Capable of emulating over 2,000 titles for the SEGA Genesis, the Mega Sg will include Hardcore, a side-scrolling sci-fi action shooter (a tad reminiscent of Metroid) developed by Digital Illusions (aka DICE) in 1994. However, the original release was reportedly canceled after 99 percent of it had already been completed. Analogue, creators of the Mega Sg, note the game has drifted around in various versions as a "long-lost" title for decades — but now it's finally getting an official drop. It just took 25 years.

"It has become one of the most sought after unreleased video games," Analogue wrote in a statement. "We're thrilled to announce that Hardcore is being released for the first time ever on Mega Sg. The only known source code of the game was stored on a single, dead hard drive that was barely recovered."

You can check out the gameplay in the video below. The footage was captured from a Mega Sg console running the game. 

"Hardcore is a fast paced, euro-style run'n'gun, space base thriller," reads the rest of Analogue's release. "We're dedicated to preserving this piece of video game history and Hardcore is included digitally on each Mega Sg system."

These days, no "long lost" video game can remain lost forever. Just recently, The Video Game History Foundation recovered an unfinished copy of SimCity, an original 8-bit adaptation for the NES that never got released, despite being announced in the early 1990s.

The Mega Sg (which costs $189.99 a pop) ships this April. In case you don't need a new throwback console, Hardcore is also getting a release on PS4 and Vita.

DICE (now owned by EA) did not immediately respond to SYFY WIRE's request for comment