A Lost SNES Classic Is Officially Returning After 32 Years

Published Oct 14, 2026, 9:00 PM EDT

Tom Wilson is a Gaming Features Writer at Screen Rant. Over the past five years, Tom has worked as the Editor-in-Chief at The Game Crater, as a Staff Writer for GamingIntel, a List Writer at TheGamer, and, of course, as a Senior Writer at ScreenRant. Tom has experience writing reviews, guides, news, and features, and has been responsible for teams of writers, training them and editing their work.

Tom graduated with a Masters in Multimedia Journalism, and has since gone on to build up his portfolio of games journalism work.

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System played host to some of the greatest games ever made, many of which have, thankfully, survived to this very day. While game preservation has always proven to be either too tricky or not financially viable, the vast majority of games from that era and even beyond are playable, to some extent, either on modern consoles or through emulation. It's great that new generations of gamers are able to experience the classics, if only to see just how far modern gaming has come.

However, while there are a lot of SNES games available on platforms like the Nintendo Switch 2, there are still several that have been lost to time, destined to remain relics of the past. It's a shame, but it happens, an inevitability for less popular titles or even cult classics. Licenses lapse, IP holders go bust or disappear, titles are canceled, or the original code is lost. Fortunately, one such lost SNES title has avoided this fate, as, after being absent for 32 years, it is finally being restored, not through emulation, but through an official release on modern hardware.

There has been a string of restored SNES games released recently, from long-lost RPG titles to cult classics and even games that never saw the light of day in the first place. The effort to preserve many of the titles from this era is undoubtedly spurred on, at least in part, by financial gains, but that doesn't mean it's any less important. Rather, the mere fact that a lot of these games are playable on current-gen consoles is remarkable, a feat that fans likely felt was near-impossible for over three decades.

Joining this pantheon of restored SNES games is Moto X, a game with a rather storied history. Developed back in 1994, Moto X was a motocross racing game akin to Excitebike that never actually saw the light of day. Its publisher, Trimark Interactive, pulled out of the project at the last minute after deciding to abandon console gaming altogether, resulting in the shelving of Moto X for 29 years. In 2023, Piko Interactive picked the project back up and officially released it on the SNES with a physical cartridge.

Now, 32 years later, publisher Ratalaika Games has announced that it is taking over digital distribution of the game, electing to port it to modern platforms including the Nintendo Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC. The game will cost just $5.99 and is set to be released on October 16, 2026. It will feature five unique tracks for players to race on against AI-controlled opponents or each other in split-screen multiplayer, with three different difficulty options per track, including 250cc, 550cc, and 750cc.

Moto X came from developer Software Creations, which was perhaps best known for its licensed titles, including an infamously canceled Barbie game titled Barbie: Vacation Adventure that is also set to be officially released this year in a Barbie video game compilation. It is great that Software Creations' work will finally be published and that fans can enjoy this long-lost SNES game.