Top 30 Video Game Secrets It Took YEARS to Find

#30: Calendar Man’s Clues

“Batman: Arkham City” (2011)

In “Arkham City,” chatting with the villain Calendar Man on twelve different holidays can get you an Achievement or Trophy. However, there’s another seemingly ordinary date that reveals new dialogue, and a nod towards the game’s sequel, that took three years for anyone to hear. If you set your console or PC’s date to December 13th, 2004, the date developer Rocksteady was founded, Calendar Man gives a cryptic clue about “Arkham Knight.” This may have taken longer to find if not for a mysterious YouTube channel, JG Jour, uploading a single video that only shows the beginning of the exchange. Since Calendar Man’s real name is Julian Gregory Day, and jour is the French word for day, this was likely someone within Rocksteady itself.

#29: The Secret Metroid

“Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze” (2014)

After breathing new life into “Metroid” with the “Prime” games, developer Retro Studios was brought on for “Donkey Kong Country Returns” on the Wii. For the game’s sequel. “Tropical Freeze” on the Wii U, the team hid a small tribute to its past work. On level 4-3, ‘Amiss Abyss,’ players eventually come to a long underwater tunnel they must swim upwards through. Reaching the next area, you must then swim back down the path, and through painful sea anemone blocking your way. Doing this causes a small Metroid to swim through the background. A player named Shane Marchis discovered the Easter Egg in 2018, four years after release, and posted his findings on Twitter.

#28: Skipping to the End

“NieR: Automata” (2017)

Nearly four years after the release of “NieR: Automata,” its final secret was revealed. Modder Lance McDonald was reverse engineering the game when he found a bit of code he didn’t recognize. After defeating the prologue boss, McDonald stood in between a set of barrels within the room and entered a cheat code. Players wishing to replicate this will find that it takes them straight to the epilogue of the game’s final, true ending, being the shoot ‘em up credits sequence. Not only that, but it unlocks the Chapter Select and Debug menus, features that are normally unlocked only after beating the game three times. That can definitely save you time on a replay.

#27: Seal Rescue Mission

“Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Double Agent” (2006)

This rescue mission is another secret that might have taken longer to find if not for developer interference. In the Xbox version of “Splinter Cell: Double Agent,” there’s a hidden co-op mission to rescue five baby alien seals: Cookie, Muffin, Vanilla, Pepperoni, and Buddy. Players can find it in the Ellsworth Penitentiary level. It requires several obscure steps to find each one, which is probably why no one ever stumbled on it. In fact, after four years of no one finding it, level designer Simon Lasalle, the one responsible for putting it there in the first place, uploaded a video of he and a friend completing the mission.

#26: A Vulgar T-Shirt

“Splatoon 2” (2017)

Deciphering a fictional language is no small feat, but “Splatoon” fans are a passionate bunch. Following the release of the second game in 2017, players took up the task of compiling all the text across various signs and pieces of clothing to bring together the Inkling alphabet. They eventually got there, and so the next step was finding out what everything said. By far the most entertaining discovery to come from this endeavor was revealed around five years after launch. When translated, a T-shirt that Jelfonzo the clothing merchant wears on Tuesdays reads ‘F- You,’ though not so family friendly. It’s surprising to find this in a Nintendo game, but undeniably hilarious.

#25: Locust Shooting Range

“Gears of War 3” (2011)

“Gears of War” is a series that loves its Easter Eggs, but some of them can squeak by unnoticed. In Act 2, Chapter 2 of the third game, there are three golden coins hidden at the top of various trees. Shooting them in the proper order leads to you dropping into a shooting range, where you’ll gain access to a mini-game. Five enemies will pop out of the ground at different spots. And depending on how many of them you’re able to hit, you’ll get better rewards. This hidden mini-game wasn’t found until five years after the game’s release, by the YouTube channel Tac-Com. How they were able to spot coins in those trees is beyond us, but it’s a neat secret regardless.

#24: Homage to Sci-Fi Classics

“Titanfall 2” (2016)

One of the best missions in “Titanfall 2” sees you shift through time. At a certain point in ‘Effect & Cause,’ players will come across a flaming hallway and are meant to shift to the past where it’s safe. You can open a certain locked door after having shifted 88 times, a nod to the DeLorean in “Back to the Future.” Inside the room, you can find two bodies: one on the floor, electrocuted, and one propped up on tables in a split. This references another time travel movie, “Timecop,” in which Jean Claude Van Damme avoids being electrocuted like his opponent with a well-timed split. This took players six years to find, and only after developers at Respawn gave out some hints.

#23: The Infection’s Origins

“The Last of Us” (2013)

Things begin ramping up during the prologue of “The Last of Us” when Sarah witnesses the onset of the outbreak on TV and sees an explosion outside the window. You’re then meant to head downstairs to continue the story. Well, if you stop on the stairs, quit the game, reload the save, and head back to Joel’s room, the TV will now display the picture of an ant infected with the cordyceps fungus, the real-life inspiration for the game’s version. This was found in 2021 by streamer and speedrunner Anthony Calabrese, seven years after the game’s launch. Designer Kurt Margenau stated it must have been a bug left over from a shader test, but it definitely makes for a cool Easter Egg.

#22: A Hidden Birthday Message

“Halo 3” (2007)

This Easter Egg makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside. For a while after “Halo 3’s” launch, developer Bungie hinted towards the existence of its final secret that players had yet to find. In 2014, seven years after the game’s release, it was finally uncovered by YouTube user Lord Zedd. On Christmas Day, or with your console’s date simply set to December 25th, load into any campaign mission. While on the loading screen, pressing down on both thumbsticks causes the image of the Halo ring to change and display a message that reads, “Happy Birthday, Lauren.” This was put in by programmer Adrian Perez, immortalizing his wife in one of the best games of all time. Lucky lady.

#21: Play as Master Hand

“Super Smash Bros. Melee” (2001)

In “Melee,” you can play as the big bad, Master Hand. It just takes a bit of work. On the character select screen, as Player 3, you must Press B and A at the same time while choosing a Name. Then let go of A, and press it once more as another player backs out of the screen. If timed correctly, it takes you to the Stage Select screen without having picked a character, and Player 3 will be loaded in as Master Hand. Known as the ‘Name Entry Glitch,’ it was first discovered by user Exchord92, who posted their findings on the German fan site, SmashBoards. And other players would later figure out that the glitch could be used in single player modes as well, like Event Matches. Although not a secret intended by the developers, the glitch wasn’t found until 2008, seven years after the game’s release.

#20: The Spider Dream Mystery

“Red Dead Redemption 2” (2018)

The devs at Rockstar love to craft mysteries for their players. And sure enough, their fans love it just as much. At several points on the map in “Red Dead Redemption 2,” you can find a telegraph pole with a spider symbol carved into it. And at different times of day for each of them, a spider appears above it, spinning a web. But that’s not all: Carvings of cardinal directions and objects leading to different areas, with puzzles that somehow all piece together. The first clue was discovered by several forum posters in late 2025, seven years after release. And since then, the entire community has been banding together to solve the mystery. As of April 2026, it has yet to be solved.

#19: Bored Commentary

“Wave Race: Blue Storm” (2001)

As with most sports games, the commentator in “Wave Race: Blue Storm” is appropriately excited. But if you’re hoping to switch things up, there’s a hidden code that will give you the exact opposite experience. If you go into the audio settings and enter a specific string of buttons, your first race will be commentated by someone who sounds like he wishes he was doing anything else. Not only that, he’ll also insult literally everything you do. This Easter Egg didn’t begin making the rounds until 2010, nine years after the game’s release. It was posted on NeoGAF by user RaoulDuke, though how they could’ve possibly stumbled upon this is anyone’s guess.

#18: A Friendly Rover

“Mass Effect 3” (2012)

Here we have another Easter Egg brought to light by a dev who got tired of waiting for someone to find it. On Mars in “Mass Effect 3,” if you walk a specific path through the group of solar panels, you’ll trigger an interaction where a rover drives up to you and gives you a friendly nod. No one realized this until 2021, nine years later, after the remastered “Legendary Edition” had come out. It was ex-BioWare designer Richard Boisvert who put the Easter Egg in the game and revealed it to the world, even drawing players a map of the path to follow. Guess it was just too well-hidden.

#17: A Company in Need

“The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt” (2015)

Somehow, a game as picked over as “The Witcher 3” still has secrets to give. In 2024, nine years after the game’s release, YouTuber xLetalis was told by a viewer of hidden artwork they found by glitching under Novigrad. After some digging, they found the artwork: a drawing of a Temarian soldier doing his best Uncle Sam pose, with the text “CDPR Needs You!” underneath. Why does this exist? xLetalis speculated it could have been an artist’s joke or an actual recruitment tool from CD Projekt Red for game testers who can find bugs. Regardless, it’s always cool to hear about new secrets in a game we all think everything has been found in.

#16: The Mystery Person

“Resident Evil 4” (2005)

One of the most famous Easter Eggs in “Resident Evil 4” is still a mystery today. In Chapter 5-4, after Mike’s helicopter explodes, you can spot a mysterious figure in a distant building. It’s incredibly hard to see, and only by using a sniper rifle can you even make out the shape of someone. Using a NoClip mode to move the camera closer, we find a 2D image of an Asian man in a green jacket. YouTube user SR212787 first uploaded footage of this discovery in early 2017, twelve years after the game’s initial release. While the person is probably someone who worked for Capcom, no one knows for sure who this is. And that mystery has remained over the years.

#15: The Lost Nero Family

“Final Fantasy IX” (2000)

A side quest in “Final Fantasy IX” went undiscovered by most players for nearly 13 years. Towards the end of the game, you can find two siblings, Zenero and Benero, at the Tantalus hideout, wondering where their sibling is. Each time you defeat a boss or watch a cutscene, you can return to the hideout for a new scene with a different family member. Only after doing this process nine times will you complete the quest and earn a Protect Ring. GameFaqs poster The_Kusabi found out about it in “Ultimania,” a Japanese-only book released in 2002. Because there’s no indication to do this nine times, and because the quest wasn’t in the original English-language guide, most people had no idea about it.

#14: A Secret Weakness

“The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker” (2003)

“The Legend of Zelda” series is packed with secrets, many of which aren’t found by fans until long after release. One of the coolest concerns Kalle Demos, the second boss in “The Wind Waker.” Inside the Forest Haven, Link can find mystical spring water that gives life to the Great Deku Tree. Well, if you take a bottle with you into the boss fight of the Forbidden Woods dungeon and sprinkle the pure water onto the monster, it instantly dies. That’s a great secret mechanic and a small bit of worldbuilding. And it wasn’t discovered until 2016, fourteen years after its original Japanese release, when Fish_waffle64 was streaming the HD version on Twitch.

#13: Company History

“GoldenEye 007” (1997)

Before Rare made it big, developing classic Nintendo games in the 90s, it released multiple games in the early 80s on the ZX Spectrum, a series of 8-bit home computers. It seems the company once toyed with the idea of emulating its old titles, as it’s possible to access them in “GoldenEye 007” on the N64. It was merely a side project that was abandoned, with the code disabled but never taken out. It wasn’t until fifteen years later in 2012 that a user known as spoondiddily uploaded their discovery on The RWP forums. Accessing the hidden emulator is very technically complex, but still possible in an original copy if you know how to do it.

#12: Totaka’s Song

“Pikmin 2” (2004)

Famed game composer Kazumi Totaka hides a simple 19-note song in each Nintendo game he works on. Although it’s usually well-hidden, Easter Egg hunters know to look for it. However, it’s in “Pikmin 2” twice, so it took a long time for the second instance to be found. First, you have to enter one of the cave dungeons without a memory card in your GameCube. You then have to wait on the Save screen for about three-and-a-half minutes, and then the tune will play alongside the standard soundtrack. YouTube user Quote Balrog discovered the Easter Egg in 2019, fifteen years after “Pikmin 2” was released.

#11: The HMCS Bitter

“Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain” (1996)

In 2010, fourteen years after the release of the first “Legacy of Kain” entry, a team was working on recreating it in 3D. And they made a pretty surprising discovery in the game’s files: a completely hidden ship area called the HMCS Bitter. When asked about it in 2017, director Denis Dyack claimed it was still possible to reach this area in the base game through four invisible switches in different parts of the world. Those switches weren’t found until 2020. Not only were they invisible, they were also unreachable and required using the Energy Bolt spell to activate. That is absurd, but if any player wishes to visit the HMCS Bitter, you can now find the method to do so.

#10: The Final Rainbow Coin

“Donkey Kong 64” (1999)

“Donkey Kong 64” is infamous for its staggering amount of collectibles, with each of the five Kongs having several dedicated groups of items only they can collect. Among the many items you can find are Rainbow Coins, which are earned by performing a slam attack on specific mounds of dirt. Until 2017, a little over seventeen years after release, everyone thought there was only one Rainbow Coin in each level. But then, speedrunner Isotarge discovered that the fifth level, Fungi Forest, actually held a second one, hidden in a field of grass. Finding something so long after the game’s release was impressive, but it also changed how speedrunners tackled their 100% runs.

#9: Hidden Features

“Silent Hill 2” (2001)

“Silent Hill 2” really hones in on the survival aspect of its horror, with limited ways to save and no mini map. Actually, there is a way to save when you want and see where you’re going; it’s just that no one knew about it for years. Found only in the PS2 version, you first have to unlock the famous joke ending featuring a Shiba Inu, which means beating the game a couple of times. On your next playthrough, you can turn on a mini-map and the ability to save anywhere, each through a different code. Players didn’t know about this until 2018, seventeen years after the game’s release, when X users punk7890 and BigmanjapanSC posted their findings online.

#8: Cheat Codes

“Gran Turismo 4” (2005)

Who doesn’t love a good cheat code? “Gran Turismo 4” on the PS2 has some pretty decent ones. It’s just that no one knew they existed for nearly 20 years. In 2023, Twitter user Nenkai shared that they had found a group of hidden cheat codes, like one that lets you win Gold in any event and one that instantly gives 10,000,000 credits. So, why did it take so long for someone to find these cheats in a game from 2005? Well, according to Nenkai, you can only access them after 365 in-game days have passed. Naturally, that’s a lot of actual time to spend on a single game.

#7: Debug Room

“Shadowrun” (1993)

Based on the TTRPG of the same name, “Shadowrun” got a lot of praise when it launched on the Super Nintendo. Yet, even something as beloved as it can hold secrets fans never find. In honor of the game’s 20th anniversary in 2013, the creators were interviewed by Retro Gamer Magazine. They revealed that there was a hidden Debug Room you could access near a specific lamppost in an early part of the game, though they couldn’t remember all of the details. Still, that was all players needed. Soon after, GameFaqs user GanonTEK found the lamppost, and figured out how to access the room through a 10-step process. The room holds a lot of cool features, like a ton of money and doors that let you access later parts of the game.

#6: In the Stars

“The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask” (2000)

With a terrifying moon glaring down at you, it can be hard to notice anything else about the sky in “Majora’s Mask.” But it holds a small Easter Egg that’s almost impossible to notice unless you’re looking for it. In 2021, 21 years after the game’s original release, a programmer by the name of zel640 was digging into the code, and shared something interesting that they found. The placement of stars and even constellations in the night sky will change depending on what you name your save file. It’s still unclear if this was meant to be part of some larger feature, which was perhaps scrapped due to the game’s short development time.

#5: Play as Shin Akuma

“Street Fighter Alpha 2” (1996)

Unlocking new characters in fighting games is always exciting. But the method for playing as Shin Akuma in “Street Fighter Alpha 2” is so obscure, it went undiscovered until 2021, 25 years after the game’s release. A modder named Gizaha was trying to reverse engineer the Super Nintendo version when they came across the method. After getting the top score in Arcade mode, you must enter KAJ as your initials. Back on the title screen, you must then hold L, X, Y and Start on a second controller. While still holding those buttons down, the first controller must select the Versus mode. Then, you just have to hold Start when selecting your character, and you can play as the more powerful version of Akuma.

#4: Changing the Code

“Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness” (1999)

Most players know the Konami code, a famous string of button inputs that has been featured in many of the studio’s games. But for “Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness” on the N64, the code was altered, which is probably why no one knew it was there until 2024, 25 years after the game was released. Normally, you’d input Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start, and get access to some nifty cheats or power-ups. But here, you have to use the C buttons instead of a joystick or D-pad for directions, and the final three buttons are changed. So, instead, it’s C-Up four times, C-Down four times, C-Left twice, C-Right twice, C-Left twice, C-Right twice, L, R, and, finally, Z twice. This was uncovered by YouTuber, JupiterClimb, and gives you access to all characters from the beginning, as well as their alternate costumes and Hard Mode.

#3: Programmer Initials

“Donkey Kong” (1981)

Back in the Atari days, programmers weren’t allowed to have their names anywhere in a game they worked on. One man, Landon M. Dyer, took issue with this. Dyer was responsible for reprogramming the original “Donkey Kong” game for the Atari 400 and 800 systems by himself, which was released in 1983. In 2009, 26 years later, he revealed there was an Easter Egg no one had found in his port, but could not remember how to activate it. Enter: programmer Don Hodges, who used an emulator to figure it out. Players must first set a new high score of either 37,000, 73,000 or 77,000, with numbers in the other spots being unimportant. Once done, they must die to start over, with their last life used up by falling. Then, you must set the difficulty to 4 by pressing the Options button three times. If done correctly, you’ll find ‘LMD’ at the bottom of the start screen, the initials of one hardworking developer.

#2: Hidden Two-Player Mode

“Super Punch-Out!!” (1994)

Like its predecessors, “Super Punch-Out!!” is solely a single player game. Or at least, that’s what everyone thought until a secret two-player mode was discovered 28 years post-release, in 2022. Twitter account Unlisted Cheats posted they had found two new cheat codes. On the starting screen, by holding B and Y on a second controller and then pressing A or Start on the first controller, you’ll be taken to a ‘Free Fight’ mode, where you can choose to fight any opponent in the game, even ones that are meant to be locked. But if you do the same button inputs again on this screen, the second player will be allowed to choose the opponent, and face Player 1 instead of the CPU.

#1: Helping a Player Out

“Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!” (1987)

The NES’ “Punch-Out!!” is a fan favorite to old school players, pitting Little Mac against a series of boxers with patterns to learn and exploit. But in some cases, the game tries to give you some help. In 2009, 22 years post-launch, artist Makoto Wada revealed a camera flashes in the right of the audience just before Bald Bull charges you. And if you punch at that moment, Bald Bull goes down instantly. However, there’s a different hint in Bull’s second fight, as well as the second fight with Piston Honda, that no one noticed until Reddit user Midwesternhousewives in 2016, 29 years after launch. A bearded man on the left will nod, signaling when to punch in order to knock either boxer out immediately.

Do you know of any other video game secrets that weren’t discovered until years later? Share them with us in the comments!