8 Crazy Video Game Urban Legends You Need To Hear
5. Russian Game Killswitch Erased Itself From Existence
In 1989, Russian software developer Karvina is said to have released a game called Killswitch, but that's impossible to verify since every trace of it has since vanished.
Killswitch was a platform-puzzle hybrid with elements of survival-horror. Players could take control of either a young girl called Porto or an invisible Demon named Ghast, and the object was to escape from a haunted mine.
The premise is a strange one, but that wasn't the game's standout feature. According to the reports, Killswitch erased itself from your computer post-completion and this self-destruct feature, coupled with the fact the game could not be copied, is why it's practically non-existent today.
People have described Killswitch's gameplay, graphics, story and music in detail, but there's no tangible evidence it was ever released. Only 5,000 copies are said to have been created, and they're all lost to the ages, apparently.
You might wonder why there are screenshots and video footage of the game in circulation online. Well, that's because independent programmes have created and shared their own versions of the mythical title based on grapevine information.
Perhaps Killswitch did exist in some shape or form, but the part about the self-erasing feature seems implausible. Did Karvina really develop a cast-iron solution to software piracy all those years ago, succeeding where modern studios have failed? Simply put: no.