After nearly two decades of existing only as faded screenshots and forum rumors, Ratchet & Clank: Clone Home has been found, preserved, and made playable. The cancelled 2006 Java-based mobile game, described by YouTuber The Golden Bolt as “a holy grail for probably 14 people,” was discovered on a 2004-era Sony Ericsson W880i phone by dedicated community members after six years of searching. On October 8, 2025, a complete build was released online alongside a retrospective video explaining the years-long hunt that finally brought this lost piece of gaming history back to light.
The Six-Year Hunt
The search for Clone Home began in earnest in 2019 when The Golden Bolt, a Ratchet & Clank video essayist, released a video about Ratchet & Clank: Going Mobile that mentioned the cancelled sequel. That video provided the first solid lead about Clone Home’s existence beyond scattered forum posts and a few promotional screenshots from 2006.
The Breakthrough
College students known as “Emily” (SuperSmasherEmily) and “Super Gamer Omega Clank” deserve credit for the actual discovery. They managed to locate a Sony Ericsson W880i phone from 2004 that still contained working files of Clone Home. But finding the phone was only half the battle.
Breaking the phone’s encryption proved to be the most difficult obstacle. The team worked for years to crack the security protecting the Java game files. Through meticulous preservation work involving members of the Ratchet and Clank modding and speedrunning communities, they finally decrypted the data in 2025, revealing a nearly complete build that confirmed Clone Home had reached advanced development before cancellation.
What Clone Home Actually Is
Ratchet & Clank: Clone Home was announced in 2006 as the follow-up to Ratchet & Clank: Going Mobile, which released on mobile phones in 2005. Like its predecessor, Clone Home was designed as a 2D side-scrolling platformer adapted for the limited hardware of mid-2000s mobile phones running Java applications.
The Plot: Digital vs Physical
The story centers on digital clones of Ratchet and Clank created by Gleeman Vox, the notorious antagonist from Ratchet: Deadlocked. These digital replicas exist inside a video game within the game itself, creating a meta-narrative that the series is known for. The real Ratchet and Clank team up with their digital counterparts, switching between physical and digital worlds to foil Vox’s plans.
Around halfway through the story, the real versions of the duo are transported into the game world, creating opportunities for the narrative to explore themes about reality, identity, and what makes someone “real” versus a copy. For a mobile game from 2006, this was ambitious storytelling that went beyond the simple premise of Going Mobile.
Gameplay Improvements Over Going Mobile
Clone Home wasn’t just a reskin of its predecessor. JavaGround, the developer handling the sequel (replacing Going Mobile’s developer Handheld Games), made substantial improvements across the board.
The controls were refined to feel smoother on mobile keypads. The weapon selection expanded significantly beyond Going Mobile’s limited arsenal. Players could now use the Lancer, Mini-Nuke, and the Yoozi, a weapon that transforms enemies into sheep in classic Ratchet & Clank fashion. The game also featured Ratchet’s trusty Omni Wrench for melee combat.
Mobility options included Clank’s Heli-Pack for gliding, a Clank-mounted Swingshot grappling hook, grind rails, and Ratchet’s wall jump ability, though the wall jump was never fully finished and could break platforming challenges through Mega Man X-style single-wall jumping exploits.
The Collectibles and Progression
Clone Home streamlined the collectible system compared to Going Mobile. Where Going Mobile featured 31 Titanium Bolts (fairly absurd for a mobile game of that size), Clone Home scaled back to just 13 total across 14 levels, with at most one per level. Collecting all Titanium Bolts unlocked the Rhino, a bonus weapon/vehicle.
This reduction suggests JavaGround learned from Going Mobile’s excessive collectible hunting and focused on tighter level design. Whether some Titanium Bolts were cut during development or if this was intentional from the start remains unclear, though The Golden Bolt speculates the developers may have planned to add more in hidden spots during final testing phases.
| Feature | Going Mobile (2005) | Clone Home (2006) |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | Handheld Games | JavaGround |
| Platform | Java mobile phones | Java mobile phones |
| Status | Released 2005 | Cancelled 2006 |
| Levels | Varies | 14 levels |
| Titanium Bolts | 31 total | 13 total |
| Story | Standalone adventure | Digital clones vs originals |
| Weapons | Limited arsenal | Expanded: Lancer, Mini-Nuke, Yoozi |
Why Was Clone Home Cancelled
The exact reason for Clone Home’s cancellation remains unclear, but The Golden Bolt has theories based on circumstantial evidence and industry context from that era.
The Handheld Games Legal Dispute Theory
The leading theory involves a possible legal dispute between Sony and Handheld Games, the developer of Going Mobile. When Clone Home was assigned to JavaGround instead of Handheld Games for the sequel, this suggested something went wrong with the relationship. If Handheld Games had contracts giving them rights to future mobile Ratchet & Clank titles, Sony switching developers for the sequel could have triggered legal complications.
Rather than deal with expensive litigation over a relatively small mobile game, Sony may have simply cancelled the project and moved on. This was 2006, when mobile gaming meant Java apps on flip phones rather than the smartphone revolution that would arrive with the iPhone in 2007. The financial stakes were minimal compared to console titles.
The Accidental Canadian Release Rumor
Rumors circulated on Insomniac message boards for years claiming Clone Home saw an accidental release in Canada before being pulled. Nobody could verify this definitively, and no copies surfaced despite collector interest. Now that the complete build has been found, that rumor suddenly seems plausible.
Perhaps Clone Home was briefly available through Canadian mobile carriers by mistake, someone downloaded it to their phone, and it sat encrypted and forgotten for 19 years until Emily and Super Gamer Omega Clank located that specific device. The timeline fits, and it would explain how a supposedly cancelled game ended up on a consumer phone rather than staying locked in development archives.
The Preservation Effort
Clone Home is now available for download on Archive.org thanks to the preservation team’s efforts. SuperSmasherEmily provided the world’s first full playthrough of the title online, documenting every level and feature for posterity.
Why This Matters
Game preservation activists have spent years warning that early mobile games face extinction. Unlike cartridge or disc-based titles that collectors can physically preserve, Java mobile games existed as encrypted files locked to specific phones that have long since stopped working. When those devices die, the games disappear forever unless someone dumps and decrypts the files.
Clone Home represents exactly the kind of endangered media that preservation communities fight to save. Without the dedicated work of The Golden Bolt, Emily, Super Gamer Omega Clank, and other community members, this piece of Ratchet & Clank history would have vanished completely within a few more years as the last working phones containing it died.
Sony and Insomniac’s Response
The Golden Bolt reached out to contacts at both Sony and Insomniac Games about the discovery. While nobody would comment officially, the impression he received is that some people internally are excited to see this previously lost piece of Ratchet & Clank history resurface.
This measured response makes sense from a corporate perspective. Sony can’t officially endorse sharing a game they cancelled for potentially legal reasons 19 years ago. But individual developers who worked on Ratchet & Clank titles during that era likely appreciate the preservation effort and are curious to see what Clone Home became before cancellation.
Perfect Timing for Starving Fans
The discovery couldn’t have come at a better time for Ratchet & Clank fans. The franchise has been dormant since Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart launched in 2021. Despite that game’s critical and commercial success, there’s been no announcement about what’s next for the series.
While Clone Home is obviously not the same as getting a new mainline entry, it provides genuine new content that no one outside the original development team has experienced in 19 years. For a starving fanbase, even a cancelled 2006 mobile game represents something fresh to explore and discuss.
The game’s meta-narrative about digital clones versus originals also feels eerily appropriate given modern gaming’s obsession with remasters, remakes, and trying to recapture past glory. Clone Home asks “what makes you real if there’s a perfect copy of you?” which is exactly what the gaming industry grapples with every time another remake gets greenlit instead of taking risks on new IP.
How to Play Clone Home Today
The preserved build is available on Archive.org and can be played through Java mobile emulators on PC. The game runs in emulation surprisingly well considering its age and origin platform. While the controls were designed for physical mobile phone keypads, most emulators allow button remapping to keyboard or controller.
The complete 14-level campaign takes roughly 2-3 hours to complete, though finding all 13 Titanium Bolts and exploring every secret extends playtime. For gaming historians, speedrunners, or just curious Ratchet & Clank fans, it’s a fascinating glimpse at how the franchise adapted to limited mobile hardware during the pre-smartphone era.
Other Lost Games Still Out There
Clone Home’s discovery provides hope for other lost media searches. Gaming history is filled with cancelled projects, unreleased builds, and forgotten prototypes that exist somewhere on aging hardware or in forgotten archives.
The Hidden Palace’s Project Deluge released over 700 PS2 prototypes in 2021, proving that massive preservation efforts can succeed with community coordination. Similar finds for cancelled mobile games, unreleased arcade titles, and development builds of classic games happen regularly as preservation activists race against time to save endangered media.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Ratchet & Clank: Clone Home?
Clone Home is a cancelled 2006 Java-based mobile game that was the planned sequel to Ratchet & Clank: Going Mobile. It features digital clones of Ratchet and Clank teaming up with their originals to fight Gleeman Vox.
How was Clone Home found after 19 years?
Community members Emily (SuperSmasherEmily) and Super Gamer Omega Clank located a 2004 Sony Ericsson W880i phone containing encrypted Clone Home files. After years of work breaking the encryption, they successfully dumped and preserved the complete game.
Why was Clone Home cancelled?
The exact reason is unknown, but theories suggest a possible legal dispute between Sony and Handheld Games (Going Mobile’s developer) led to the cancellation when JavaGround took over development for the sequel.
Where can I play Clone Home now?
The complete build is available on Archive.org and can be played through Java mobile emulators on PC. The game takes 2-3 hours to complete across 14 levels.
Is Clone Home better than Going Mobile?
Reviews from those who played both suggest Clone Home improved controls, added more weapons, featured better graphics, and told a more ambitious story than its predecessor, though both are limited by mobile hardware from that era.
Will Sony or Insomniac take down Clone Home?
While The Golden Bolt received unofficial positive reactions from internal contacts, neither company has made official statements. The game remains available for preservation purposes as of October 2025.
What other Ratchet & Clank games are lost?
Clone Home was considered the major lost entry in the series. Most other Ratchet & Clank titles remain available through various platforms, remasters, or backwards compatibility.
Conclusion
The discovery of Ratchet & Clank: Clone Home after 19 years represents one of gaming’s most satisfying preservation success stories. What started as scattered forum rumors and a few promotional screenshots from 2006 became a six-year hunt that ended with a complete, playable build being shared with the world. The dedication of community members like The Golden Bolt, SuperSmasherEmily, and Super Gamer Omega Clank proved that even the most obscure lost media can be recovered with enough persistence and collaboration. Clone Home itself is a genuinely interesting piece of Ratchet & Clank history, showing how JavaGround attempted to evolve the mobile formula with smoother controls, expanded weapons, and an ambitious meta-narrative about digital clones versus originals. While it’s still a 2006 Java mobile game with all the limitations that implies, it represents legitimate lost content that enriches our understanding of the franchise’s evolution. For a series that’s been dormant since 2021’s Rift Apart, Clone Home provides something new to experience and discuss while fans wait for whatever Insomniac has planned next. And for game preservation activists, it proves that the fight to save endangered media matters. Without this effort, Clone Home would have disappeared completely within a few more years as the last phones containing it failed. Now it’s preserved forever for anyone curious about this forgotten chapter of Ratchet & Clank history. Sometimes, being a holy grail for 14 people is enough.