The Holy Grail of Lost Ratchet & Clank Games
After 19 years as lost media, Ratchet & Clank: Clone Home has been found in complete, playable form. The cancelled 2006 Java mobile phone game was discovered by a team of dedicated preservationists led by college students Emily and Super Gamer Omega Clank (Sgoc), who spent years and significant money buying dozens of vintage cell phones from the mid-2000s hoping to find a copy. YouTuber The Golden Bolt announced the discovery October 8, 2025 in a comprehensive video documenting both the game’s content and the exhaustive search process that led to its recovery.
The discovery is remarkable because Clone Home was never officially released – making finding it on an old phone seem impossible. However, rumors dating back to early 2010s forum posts suggested that Clone Home was “sent to cell phone providers and accidentally got released by an even smaller number of those networks for the briefest of periods.” This theory, once dismissed as wishful thinking, proved accurate. The complete game – not a broken prototype or development build, but a near-finished version playable from beginning to end – is now preserved on Archive.org for anyone with compatible hardware to experience.
What is Clone Home?
Ratchet & Clank: Clone Home was planned as the sequel to Ratchet & Clank: Going Mobile, a surprisingly well-received 2005 Java mobile phone game developed by Handheld Games under Sony’s mobile gaming initiative. Going Mobile successfully translated the PlayStation platformer experience to button-equipped cell phones, earning positive reception despite the technical limitations of mid-2000s mobile hardware.
Clone Home was supposed to launch in 2006, continuing the mobile spin-off series with new levels, weapons, and story content. The game would have featured Ratchet navigating various environments while battling enemies and collecting bolts – the franchise’s signature gameplay loop adapted for phone controls. Development reached advanced stages with the game essentially complete before cancellation, though minor bugs and balancing issues suggest it wasn’t quite ready for commercial launch.
For years, the only evidence Clone Home ever existed came from a handful of promotional screenshots and brief media descriptions from 2006. The game became something of a legend among Ratchet & Clank preservationists – tangible enough to have had marketing materials, but ephemeral enough that no playable version seemed to exist. Until now.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Original Release Window | 2006 (cancelled before launch) |
| Platform | Java-enabled mobile phones |
| Developer | Handheld Games (presumed) |
| Found By | Emily, Super Gamer Omega Clank, Bordplate |
| Date Found | October 8, 2025 |
| Years Lost | 19 years |
| Preservation Status | Archived on Archive.org |
The Search That Took Years and Money
The quest to find Clone Home intensified after a 2019 YouTube video from The Golden Bolt, which featured information from Brad Wiggins, one of Going Mobile’s original designers. Wiggins confirmed that a sequel had been in development and shared details about the production, validating that Clone Home existed beyond just promotional materials. This kicked off a multi-year preservation effort to locate any surviving copy.
The search strategy involved buying specific 20-year-old models of cell phones that would have been compatible with Clone Home’s Java platform. Emily and Sgoc, described as “college kids” with the time and passion to undertake such a project, spent considerable money acquiring dozens of vintage phones from various sellers. Each phone had to be tested to see if Clone Home was installed – a tedious, expensive process with no guarantee of success.
“It took years of elbow grease, a decent amount of money on buying very specific 20-year-old models of duplicate phone,” The Golden Bolt explained. The process mirrors other lost media preservation efforts where dedicated fans invest personal resources into cultural preservation because no official archives or companies prioritize it. The fact that “college kids” had both the technical knowledge and dedication to succeed where professionals hadn’t even tried speaks to the importance of grassroots preservation work.
The Accidental Release Theory
The most fascinating aspect of Clone Home’s discovery is how it ended up on consumer phones despite never being officially released. An old forum post from an Insomniac community moderator suggested that “Clone Home was sent to cell phone providers and accidentally got released by an even smaller number of those networks for the briefest of periods.” This seemed too convenient to believe – cancelled games don’t just accidentally get distributed to customers.
Yet finding a complete, near-retail-ready version on an old phone validates this theory. The game was apparently sent to mobile carriers for testing or approval, and someone at one or more carriers mistakenly pushed it to a limited number of customers before the cancellation order arrived. Those handful of phones that received Clone Home in that brief window became the only evidence the game ever existed in playable form.
This accidental distribution explains why Clone Home remained lost for 19 years despite preservation efforts. Most cancelled games exist on development hardware in studios’ archives, making recovery dependent on insider leaks or companies releasing assets. Clone Home’s cancelled status meant Insomniac and Sony likely destroyed or lost their development builds years ago. The only surviving copies lived on random consumer phones owned by people who might not even realize they had rare lost media.
What the Game Actually Contains
According to The Golden Bolt’s analysis after playing through Clone Home, the game is a complete experience with beginning, middle, and end. It features multiple levels across different environments, the franchise’s signature weapon variety adapted for phone controls, and enemy encounters that challenge players using the limited button layouts of mid-2000s mobile devices.
The game does contain bugs and balancing issues that indicate it wasn’t quite ready for commercial launch, explaining why cancellation occurred so close to completion. However, these issues are minor enough that Clone Home is fully playable from start to finish – a remarkable preservation find compared to many lost games recovered as broken, unplayable prototypes missing crucial code or assets.
Interestingly, the game contains some lore inconsistencies that might explain its cancellation. The Golden Bolt notes references to “Deadlock” (the name of Ratchet & Clank: Deadlocked in some regions) that don’t align with that game’s actual plot or terminology. This suggests the development team at Handheld Games may have been working from limited reference materials without deep familiarity with the franchise’s lore – a contrast to Going Mobile’s development, where designer Brad Wiggins confirmed the team were fans who insisted on faithfulness to source material despite Sony producers’ lack of franchise knowledge.
If Clone Home’s developers weren’t as familiar with Ratchet & Clank and made lore mistakes that fans would notice, that could have contributed to Sony or Insomniac deciding the game didn’t meet quality standards. Alternatively, the mobile gaming market may have shifted in 2006 in ways that made continuing the mobile spin-off series commercially unviable, leading to cancellation despite Clone Home being nearly complete.
Insomniac and Sony’s Reaction
The Golden Bolt reached out to contacts at Sony and Insomniac Games to inform them about Clone Home’s discovery. While nobody wanted to comment on the record officially, sources “privately shared that they’re excited by this news.” This positive reception contrasts with companies that aggressively pursue legal action against preservation efforts, viewing them as threats to intellectual property control rather than cultural preservation.
Insomniac’s apparent enthusiasm makes sense given their history of supporting fan communities. The studio regularly engages with Ratchet & Clank fans on social media, hires from fan communities (Brad Wiggins himself became a professional designer), and seems to appreciate preservation efforts that keep franchise history accessible. The fact that Clone Home was never officially released and generated no revenue means there’s no lost sales to complain about – it’s pure preservation of something that would otherwise remain lost forever.
The Broader Context of Mobile Ratchet Games
Clone Home represents part of Sony’s broader mid-2000s attempt to establish PlayStation brands on mobile phones before smartphones revolutionized the industry. Ratchet & Clank: Going Mobile in 2005 was followed by attempts to bring other PlayStation franchises to Java phones – an initiative that quickly became obsolete once iPhone launched in 2007 and Android followed in 2008, creating the smartphone app ecosystem that dominates modern mobile gaming.
From 2002 to 2021, the Ratchet & Clank franchise amassed 17 different games across every PlayStation platform from PS2 to PS5, including the PSP and Sony’s short-lived PlayStation Mobile initiative. This proliferation made Ratchet & Clank PlayStation’s most consistent franchise if you exclude annual sports titles. The discovery of Clone Home adds an 18th entry to this list – one that almost nobody ever got to experience.
The Java mobile game market that Clone Home targeted essentially ceased to exist within a few years of the game’s cancellation. By 2010, smartphone apps had completely replaced button-phone Java games as the mobile gaming platform. This makes Clone Home not just lost Ratchet & Clank media but also an artifact of a transitional moment in gaming history when the industry experimented with pre-smartphone mobile platforms before the iPhone revolution rendered those experiments obsolete.
How to Experience Clone Home Today
Clone Home is now preserved on Archive.org, where anyone with the technical knowledge and hardware can download and play it. However, experiencing the game requires either vintage Java-enabled cell phones from the mid-2000s or emulation software that can run Java mobile games. This technical barrier means Clone Home remains relatively inaccessible despite no longer being lost – most people lack the expertise or hardware to actually play it.
The preservation community is working on creating better emulation solutions and documentation to make Java mobile games more accessible. Projects like J2ME Loader for Android allow smartphones to run old Java games, though compatibility and performance vary. Clone Home’s discovery will likely accelerate these preservation efforts as more people become interested in experiencing this piece of lost gaming history.
The Importance of Fan Preservation
Clone Home’s recovery demonstrates why fan preservation efforts matter. No company or institution was searching for this game – Sony and Insomniac had presumably moved on decades ago, and official archives (if they ever existed) were lost or destroyed. Only dedicated fans cared enough to invest years and personal money into finding Clone Home, recognizing its cultural and historical value even if it lacks commercial viability.
This pattern repeats across gaming preservation. Most lost media is recovered through grassroots efforts by passionate individuals rather than corporations or museums. Companies rarely prioritize preserving cancelled projects, especially for obsolete platforms, meaning fan communities become the default archivists of gaming history. Without Emily, Sgoc, The Golden Bolt, and others who spent years searching, Clone Home would remain lost forever.
The success also validates preservation methodologies that seem outlandish – buying dozens of old phones hoping one contains lost media sounds absurd until it actually works. Future preservation efforts for other lost mobile games may adopt similar strategies now that Clone Home proved the viability of this approach.
Other Lost Ratchet & Clank Media
Clone Home isn’t the only piece of Ratchet & Clank media that was lost or nearly lost. The franchise’s extensive history across multiple platforms and spin-offs means various cancelled projects, prototypes, and early builds exist in various states of preservation. Some are safely archived, while others remain lost or partially recovered.
The difference with Clone Home is that it was a complete, near-retail-ready product that would have been a commercial release if not for last-minute cancellation. This makes its recovery more significant than finding early prototypes or concept materials – Clone Home represents a genuine entry in the franchise that fans were meant to play but couldn’t for 19 years.
Community Response – Celebration and Gratitude
The Ratchet & Clank community reacted to Clone Home’s discovery with overwhelming excitement and gratitude. Reddit threads and social media posts celebrate the dedication of Emily, Sgoc, and others who made this possible. Many fans expressed amazement that the game actually existed in playable form rather than being cancelled before development reached that stage.
The Golden Bolt’s comprehensive video documenting the discovery and game content received praise for thorough journalism and preservation advocacy. By publicly sharing Clone Home’s existence and archiving it on Archive.org, the team ensured that even if their specific phone copies are eventually destroyed, the game itself is preserved for future generations.
Some comments noted the irony that Clone Home is probably more accessible now than it would have been if officially released in 2006. The mid-2000s mobile game market was fragmented across carriers, phone models, and regional availability – Clone Home might have only been available on specific carriers in certain countries, reaching fewer players than it will through modern emulation and archival.
FAQs
What is Ratchet & Clank: Clone Home?
Clone Home is a cancelled 2006 Java mobile phone game that was supposed to be the sequel to Ratchet & Clank: Going Mobile (2005). It was nearly complete when cancelled and remained lost media for 19 years until discovered in October 2025.
Who found Clone Home?
College students Emily and Super Gamer Omega Clank (Sgoc) led the search, with contributor Bordplate. They spent years and considerable money buying dozens of vintage cell phones from the mid-2000s before finding a phone with Clone Home installed.
How was Clone Home found on a consumer phone if it was cancelled?
Evidence suggests Clone Home was sent to mobile carriers for testing/approval and was accidentally released to a small number of customers “for the briefest of periods” before cancellation. Those handful of phones became the only place the game existed.
Can I play Clone Home?
Yes, it’s now preserved on Archive.org. However, you need either a vintage Java-enabled cell phone from the mid-2000s or emulation software like J2ME Loader to run it. Technical barriers make it relatively inaccessible despite being preserved.
Is the game complete?
Yes, Clone Home is playable from beginning to end. It has minor bugs and balancing issues indicating it wasn’t quite ready for commercial launch, but it’s a complete experience with all levels, weapons, and story content.
What did Insomniac and Sony say about the discovery?
Neither commented officially, but contacts at both companies “privately shared that they’re excited by this news” according to The Golden Bolt. This suggests positive reception rather than legal concerns.
Why was Clone Home cancelled?
Unknown officially. Possible reasons include lore inconsistencies suggesting the development team lacked franchise familiarity, shifting mobile gaming market conditions in 2006, or commercial decisions by Sony to end the mobile Ratchet initiative.
How many Ratchet & Clank games are there now?
With Clone Home discovered, there are 18 Ratchet & Clank games across PlayStation platforms from 2002-2025, making it one of PlayStation’s most prolific franchises.
Conclusion
The discovery of Ratchet & Clank: Clone Home after 19 years as lost media represents a remarkable preservation success story powered by dedicated fans willing to invest years and personal resources into recovering gaming history that no company or institution cared enough to preserve. Emily and Super Gamer Omega Clank’s exhaustive search – buying dozens of vintage cell phones hoping to find a game that was accidentally released to a handful of customers for the briefest period before cancellation – sounds absurd until it actually succeeds, validating preservation methodologies that treat lost media recovery as archaeological excavation requiring patience, money, and luck. The complete, playable nature of Clone Home makes this discovery particularly significant compared to typical lost game recoveries that yield broken prototypes or incomplete builds – fans can now experience a legitimate Ratchet & Clank entry that was meant for commercial release but remained inaccessible for two decades. Insomniac and Sony’s privately expressed excitement suggests corporate appreciation for preservation efforts rather than legal hostility, a positive sign that major publishers may be evolving toward accepting fan archival work as cultural preservation rather than intellectual property theft. Clone Home’s recovery also serves as a time capsule of the mid-2000s Java mobile gaming market that existed before smartphones revolutionized the industry – a transitional moment in gaming history where button phones ran games that would seem primitive years later but represented cutting-edge mobile entertainment at the time. For the Ratchet & Clank community and gaming preservationists broadly, Clone Home’s discovery proves that patient, dedicated searching can recover seemingly impossible lost media, inspiring future efforts to locate other cancelled games, prototypes, and historical artifacts before they’re permanently lost to time.