This might have already been addressed before but...

Well, the search function has the option to find 'deleted games' but I have two really old games that got deleted.

Do 'deleted games' only get saved as searchable when the user deletes them?

Is there some sort of backlog or archive the mods have access to that could potentially restore a "lost" game?

Just sad to lose out on the IP is all.

Games listed as "deleted" in the search are actually only "flagged for deletion".  They can be recovered.

If the search doesn't find then game, then it has really been deleted, removed from the database, and is not recoverable.  This can happen to games that are not active, as part of the site's semi-regular maintenance.

See also: /help/?t=faqs&page=generalfaq  "Are games ever deleted from the site?"

Thank you!