Creating modern video games is a massive undertaking, often requiring hundreds or even thousands of people working for years. We’ve become accustomed to long development cycles, and most players understand they take time. While fans would love to see new installments of games like Grand Theft Auto, Fallout, or The Elder Scrolls more often, that’s just not realistic. There’s a difference between a typical long development and an exceptionally long one. The following ten games took an unbelievably long time to make, and they’re listed from the quickest to the slowest development periods.
1) Doom (2016)
The latest installment of Doom launched in 2016, successfully rebooting the iconic series for modern gaming consoles. Both longtime fans and newcomers enjoyed the fast-paced action, making it a major success. The game had been in development for a long time – originally announced as Doom 4 in 2008. After several iterations and a restart of development, it was revealed in 2014 that the game would simply be titled Doom. It finally released on May 13, 2016, almost eight years and six days after its initial announcement.
2) Too Human
The action role-playing game Too Human, based on Norse mythology, came out in 2008 for the Xbox 360. Although it didn’t receive great reviews and was later involved in a major lawsuit that ended plans for a series, we’re talking about it now because of its exceptionally long development process. Originally revealed at E3 in 1999 for the PlayStation, development shifted to the GameCube a year later. Eventually, Microsoft bought the rights and the game was finished for the Xbox 360, finally launching on August 19, 2008 – a full 9 years, 3 months, and 9 days after its initial announcement.
3) Team Fortress Two
The popular game Team Fortress started as a modification for Quake, leading to the creation of Team Fortress Classic. Team Fortress 2, released in 2007, has remained a favorite among players and critics ever since, and Valve continues to support its servers. Originally planned as an expansion pack for Half-Life in 1998, the game evolved over time. While Team Fortress Classic was released, TF2 underwent further development and was showcased at E3 in 1999. However, it wasn’t until October 10, 2007 – almost nine and a half years after its initial announcement as a Half-Life expansion – that Team Fortress 2 finally launched.
4) Final Fantasy XV
It’s typical for new Final Fantasy games to take years to make, but Final Fantasy XV had an exceptionally long development cycle. Originally starting in 2006 for the PlayStation 3 as Final Fantasy XII, the game underwent a major overhaul around six years in, requiring a complete rewrite. As development continued, the game outgrew the PS3, forcing the team to shift gears and target the PlayStation 4 instead. Final Fantasy XV finally launched on the PS4 on November 29, 2016 – almost 10 years and 5 months after it was first announced in the July 2006 issues of Hyper PlayStation and Gaimaga.
5) Diablo III
Blizzard Entertainment is known for taking its time with game releases, which often results in high-quality products. A prime example is Diablo III, which took nearly eleven years to develop. Work on the game likely started shortly after the release of Diablo II: Lord of Destruction in June 2001, but wasn’t officially announced until June 2008. Finally, on May 12, 2012, Diablo III was released to widespread critical and player acclaim.
6) Prey (2017)
Man, the whole Prey saga is a wild ride. The first game came out in 2006 and did pretty well, so they announced Prey 2 almost immediately. But then it got stuck in development hell for years! The rights moved to Bethesda in 2011, and they handed the project over to another studio, but eventually, they just cancelled it. Then, out of nowhere, a new Prey dropped in 2017. It wasn’t really Prey 2 as we originally imagined, more like a fresh take on the same idea. Honestly, it took over ten years – ten years, eight months, and 26 days to be exact – from the first announcement to actually getting a new Prey game in my hands. It was a long wait!
7) Mother III (2006)
I’ve been a huge fan of the Mother series – known as EarthBound over here – for years! The first game came out way back in 1989 for the Famicom, and it’s amazing to think the third one finally arrived in April 2006. The development of that third game was a long process. It actually started in 1994, originally planned for the Super Famicom. They even showed it off at Nintendo Space World in 1999 when they were aiming for a Nintendo 64 release! But after a lot of delays, they moved it to the GameCube. In the end, though, it didn’t come out on any of those systems. It was released on the Game Boy Advance, but only in Japan. It took twelve years from the start of development to finally see the game released – it was a really winding road!
8) Grand Theft Auto VI
For fans of the Grand Theft Auto series, long waits between games are expected. GTA V came out in 2013, and Rockstar Games started working on GTA VI soon after. As of today, GTA VI still isn’t available, but it’s currently scheduled for release on November 19, 2026, and doesn’t appear to be facing any further delays. If this release date holds, the development process will have taken roughly 13 years – perhaps a few months more or less, since the exact start date isn’t known.
9) Duke Nukem Forever
The original Duke Nukem 3D was incredibly popular, and fans eagerly awaited a sequel for over a decade. Announced way back in 1997, the game faced numerous development challenges and seemed destined to remain unreleased. Despite years of anticipation, the final version, released in June 2011, didn’t live up to expectations. From initial announcement to release, the game took a staggering 14 years, 1 month, and 13 days to complete.
10) Metroid Dread
The Metroid series is different from many other Nintendo franchises, like Mega Man or Mario, because it doesn’t have a lot of sequels. While the original Metroid was popular, new mainline games have been released infrequently. Metroid Dread continues the story from Metroid Fusion, which came out in 2002. Development on Dread actually began as early as 2005 for the Nintendo DS. Some work was done on the game, and a 2006 release was planned but didn’t happen. After many years of work, Metroid Dread finally launched on October 8, 2021. While the exact development time is uncertain, it took roughly 16 years and 4 months to create the game.
What’s your favorite game that had a really difficult and prolonged development process? Share your thoughts in the comments and join the discussion on the ComicBook Forum!
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2026-02-14 16:12