With millions of players worldwide, the video game business has grown to be worth billions of dollars in recent years. According to statistics, the global video game industry acquired a net profit of $184 billion in 2023. At that time, the number of players was 3.38 billion globally. With so many people binge-playing video games, they must be worth the time and investment. No wonder AAA game development time ranges from 2-7 years!
However, there’s no fixed time for developing a video game. You cannot expect a firm “it will take around 6 weeks” response to your queries regarding an average video game development time. Depending on the kind of game, the size of the team, and the resources available, the development process might differ greatly. In this post, we aim to address some of the often-asked queries by amateur developers, such as, “How long will it take to develop this ABC video game?”
Key factors impacting the game development time
Several variables affect how quickly games are developed. Money, game duration, world complexity, scope, and unanticipated setbacks, and many more decide when the game will be up and running.
To find out how long it takes to develop a video game, let’s discuss the factors unique to the game that might extend or shorten the production time:
Finances
Funding is one of the most important variables that affect how quickly games are developed. A large financial commitment is needed to build a video game. The more funds available, the more resources may be committed to the project, thereby accelerating development time. While independent studios sometimes struggle to get money from crowdfunding sites, investors, or publishers, AAA game art studio budgets are in millions of dollars.
If developers have enough money, they can buy better tools, employ more people, and access better software. More workers working on various game features translate into greater resources, which help expedite the development process.
However, insufficient funds may cause developmental delays, because of the absence of necessary tools to finish projects on time. Of course, a video game’s success is determined by more than just its financial worth. There are instances of games that received funding yet were a commercial failure, such as Cyberpunk by CD Projekt Red. The game was full of issues when it was released, rendering it unusable, though it improved later with fixes.
Hence, not everything is financial! A decent game requires a lot of hard work, patience, a solid plan, a solid team, and a lot of luck! But, funding IS important when it comes to game development.
Depth of the earth
Everybody loves AAA open-world games. Although they need an enormous lot of resources to produce, AAA games are thrilling and immersive!
Another element that may affect how quickly games are developed is the complexity of the game environment. Since developers from AAA games must construct the setting, the people, and the mythology that comprise the game’s universe, it takes time and effort to create a rich, complex game world. A strong team of experts, including concept artists for environments and characters, 3D artists, game designers, level designers, sound engineers, programmers, etc., is required.
On the other side, creating a game with a shallow environment can take less time. A shallow universe, however, may restrict player involvement and the game’s possibilities, which would reduce popularity and sales.
Scope
Another important element that might affect video game development time is scope. A game that takes longer to build is more expansive, to say the least. The breadth of the game encompasses:
- The number of characters and stuff in it,
- The size of the game environment,
- The number of levels, and
- The intricacy of the gameplay.
The scope of the game and the resources at their disposal must be balanced by the developers.
If you ask, “What game has the longest development time?”, you should be prepared for some raised eyebrows. Duke Nukem Forever, a shooter game developed by Gearbox Software, took 15 years to develop. Because of the lengthiest duration of game development time, it even secured its place in the Guinness Book of World Records till 2022. However, Beyond Good & Evil 2, an upcoming action game developed by Ubisoft Montpellier is set to break its record.
Large games demand more resources to create, which might lengthen the production period. Narrowing the game’s scope might expedite production, but it may also reduce the game’s potential. A typical error made by many independent game developers is to begin work on a game that becomes too large for a small team to complete. Big dreams are admirable, but to be successful in the game development industry, you must first take your resources into account.
Duration of the game
The game’s duration may affect how quickly new games are developed. It takes more time to develop a lengthier game, as it needs more material to be created, such as levels, characters, and stories. Conversely, shorter games may be made faster, as they need less content to be made.
AAA titles, like God of War, are our favorite. The user may play for dozens or even hundreds of hours, and they immerse themselves in the universe. But keep in mind that they are composed of sizable teams. Again, if you’re independent, aim high but begin carefully.
Testing and repairing bugs
The primary objective of game testing is to find problems and enhance performance and stability. The rules and requirements of the game, as well as its architecture, flow, file structures, dependencies, and user acceptance testing (UAT) should be studied by QA professionals. With each new game prototype, the test papers should be regularly reviewed to update the requirements, add new test cases, and integrate configuration support. The amount of time it takes to maintain your code grows with its messiness.
Unexpected difficulties
And last, unanticipated obstacles may also increase the average video game development time. These may include software updates or equipment supply delays, team member fatigue or sickness, and technical problems like bugs and malfunctions. These obstacles may have a big effect on development time, which can cause release delays and higher expenses.
The development timeframe has to include contingencies to help developers prepare for unanticipated difficulties. This might include recruiting more team members to help with development, allocating more time and resources for testing and debugging, or building up backup hardware or software.
How long does it take to develop AAA games?
The process of creating a game is meticulous and time-consuming for big firms like Activision, Naughty Dog, and Rockstar. Hundreds of developers with a range of expertise, including production, programming, design, art, and quality control, are employed by these firms.
Making a triple-A game is more like making a Hollywood blockbuster movie than it is like indie passion projects made in bedrooms.
Character models, lighting effects, and storylines are all subjected to rigorous idea, prototype, implementation, test, and polish processes.
Performance capture, soundtrack production, voice acting, and sophisticated engine development are also needed for these high-budget films.
So what is the average AAA game development time for most big-budget developers?
Triple-A games, with many moving elements, usually take three or five years (sometimes seven) from early conception to launch day.
While talking about games that have been in development for a long time, Beyond Good & Evil 2, Mass Effect 3, Duke Nukem Forever, etc. come to mind. We have already discussed how Duke Nukem Forever created a world record because of its development time of 15 years. Now, Mass Effect 3 was developed in 2012 and released in 2017. Then again, The Witcher 3 was finally released in 2015 after four long years of development.
How long does it take to develop mobile games?
Although they are often defined in weeks and months, mobile game development cycles may take much longer.
Niantic, the developer, needed two years to transform Pokémon Go from a joke on April 1st on Google Maps into the most-played smartphone game ever. A large portion of Pokémon Go is based on Ingress, another augmented reality game from Niantic that greatly accelerated development.
On the other hand, it just took four months to produce the beloved smartphone game Temple Run. Not bad for a game that has generated over $1 million in sales.
How much time does it take to develop indie games?
The hardest titles to estimate completion times for are independent ones. Since each independent game has its development history, it may be quite unexpected. While some independent games are the product of part-time employment, others are the creation of a single individual.
In this instance, Stardew Valley took around 4 years to build. However, the development of independent games often takes longer than that of mobile games.
How long does it take to make a video game of this genre? It might take a long time to complete if you have limited resources, both in terms of people and money.
Game Jam – A collaborative event to develop games
“Game Jam”, much like a musical jam, is an event, where game developers participate in developing video games. Collaboratively, they create one or many games within a specified duration. The game development time varies according to the event’s regulations. However, the time frame often lasts between 24 and 72 hours. People from the gaming industry and other commercial domains, such as programmers, game writers, artists, and musicians, mostly participate in the event.
Game Jam is an annual game creation event that began in 2002. This custom has persisted for more than 20 years, evolving throughout time to keep its origins while using modern technology. These upgrades enable the production of a much wider variety of games at a quicker rate.
Because of limited time, these events foster people’s desire to achieve as well as their ability to solve issues quickly. People who work hard to finish their games also have a true feeling of fulfillment in the game production process, which inspires them to work even more in this industry. The addition of new components, not only advances the game business but also gives players an amazing experience.
What is crunch time in game development?
Crunching is commonly referred to a situation when developers work day in and out to finish developing a game. Generally, crunch time occurs just before a game is scheduled for launch. However, the developers may face crunching during a major event related to the game that is being developed.
Due to the overtime workload and excessive pressure, crunch time has become a distinguished phenomenon in game development. The developers may even end up working 60-80 hours sometimes. According to an article by The Washington Post, crunching is highly exploitative, as it’s limitless and uncompensated.
There are four main types of crunch times, as explained in research by the University of Gothenburg. These are:
- Final Crunch – Lasting a few weeks till the delivery date (or launch date)
- Continuous Crunch – Lasting throughout the project schedule, as a lack of systematic planning
- Mini Crunches – These pop up multiple times during the project schedule to meet different objectives and deadlines
- Delusional crunches – It’s a tricky situation, where the game studio believes that the developers are not working hard enough and create pressure. These crunches are not deadline-driven but, as the term implies – particularly delusional.
So the next time someone asks you “What is crunch time in game development?”, don’t forget to mention that it’s not a healthy practice for the workforce.
What is development hell?
The process of creating video games can be quite challenging and time-consuming. One of the many challenges that a game developer has to overcome is preventing Development Hell.
It’s referred to as a project that languishes in pre-development or development phases for an extended period, leading some enthusiasts to wonder whether it will ever be released.
Games that survive development hell often exhibit signs of a difficult process. The lengthy development time and poor quality of Duke Nukem Forever and Aliens: Colonial Marines are well-known. Nevertheless, despite years of development delays, certain games, such as Alan Wake and Final Fantasy XV, proved to be successes when they were released.
Examples of games in development hell
It is most likely that the words “Development Hell” would make the spines of the gaming world shudder in terror. Some very big-scale projects have been given up when the games that took a long time to develop without the end of the production period in sight have experienced significant delays.
Do we have any notable games that were in development hell?
If yes, for how long have they been there?
Dead Island 2
2014 saw the announcement of Dead Island 2, which came out three years after the first Dead Island and a year after the release of the spin-off Dead Island: Rip currents. In contrast, the book was written over ten years and published in 2023. The publisher was the only one who remained the same and did not change throughout the entire process, which was characterized by constant waves of ups and downs.
The Dead Island 2 was the end of a collaboration by other developers. In the past games, the developers were the Techland group. Yet, for the Dying Light, the studio chose to drop the partnership with Deep Silver, the publisher. The Yager Studios, Sumo Digital, and Dambuster Studios were the next studios to take up the franchise. The game didn’t have a set release date, and in fact, it was delayed many times.
L.A. Noire
The L. A. Noire investigative computer game is the only one of its kind, intriguing, and highly acclaimed. It offers extensive role play with the NPC’s emotions and attitude so that players can decide if the NPC is lying about what happened or not. The game’s most talked about feature, the development of which was extended for a very long time, was this one.
While the game had started its production as early as 2004, it wasn’t released until 2011. The problem with this technology was that it needed sophistication to create realistic facial emotions. Like all teams, Team Bondi’s management problems were also a factor. The business finished its activities without any more games released, after the public criticism of the company’s staff stress and toxic working environment issues.
The Last Guardian
The Last Guardian is Fumito Ueda’s highly acclaimed sequel to Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. It even had a well-received demo by 2009 when it went into production in 2007. It was intended to be a PS3 game, however, the Last Guardian didn’t come out until 2016, hence it came out much later than the PS4.
Team Ico split up because the development of The Last Guardian moved so slowly. The creation of the game was very delayed due to both hardware problems and Ueda’s unique idea. Japan Studios took up production and created a well-written, entertaining action-adventure game with key members of Team Ico.
What is a game development document?
A GDD or a game development document is a blueprint of a game from development to launch. It’s a design document that helps streamline the development process and maintain consistency and collaboration.
A typical game development document basically comprises of:
- Executive Summary – Game concept, scope, genre, and target audience
- Gameplay – Game objectives, progression, etc.
- Elements – Game characters, story, locations, level designs, etc.
- Assets – BG score, general music, effects, etc.
- Mechanics – Physics of the game, rules, combats, and more
Here’s how you can keep the GDD simple, concise and comprehensive:
- Clutter-free: Don’t overweight the documentation. Start with a single page, if possible, and let it expand along with the development.
- Collaborative – Let the GDD be a collaborative process and not a single-handed project. That way, every team member will know how to resolve issues unanimously.
- Regular updation – The game development doc should evolve along with the game. Use tools that keep version histories for reference and update the GDD regularly.
- Visual elements – Use visual elements in the GDD to intrigue your readers. Adding such elements reduces monotony and helps improve the game development time in many cases.
Can you reduce game development time?
Now that you know how long game development takes, you can think about how to reduce this time.
Careful planning, good workflows, and economical resource management are necessary to shorten the time it takes to produce a game. The following tactics may assist to expedite the game development process and reduce production schedules:
Boost Your Group
If your team needs assistance executing sophisticated features or a specific portion of a project, dedicated teams may be the best option. For companies that need to employ a developer but have a tight budget, this is the ideal solution.
Collaborate in Small Groups
Typically, a team of five people is optimal. Organizing the whole team into smaller groups according to the parts of the project that each member is working on is a smart strategy for game development projects that need additional developers.
Utilize Existing Resources and Equipment
Make use of existing frameworks, asset libraries, game engines, and development tools to expedite development and minimize the need for bespoke solutions. Utilizing pre-existing resources and technologies can accelerate the development of gameplay systems, asset generation, and prototyping.
Clearly Define Your Needs
Before starting the development process, take the time to draft a project plan and GDD and review it with the team. You may save time by outlining project needs and objectives in detail before talking about what comes next.
Prioritize implementing these elements before focusing on adding secondary or tertiary features. This will help the team work more rapidly to produce a playable prototype, or minimum viable product (MVP).
Boost Automation
Automation will expedite the development and delivery process and save your team time. Additionally, you’ll work on the general technological architecture and be more actively engaged in product discovery.
Use Effective Tools
Although you may use any tools to produce the MVP or final product, a team should use a shared set of tools. For instance, the Unity platform was used in the creation of 71% of the top 1,000 mobile games in 2020. A rich ecosystem of tools is included with Unity to assist in creating stunning games that function flawlessly on any mobile device.
Besides managing a lucrative company, it helps you to expand, interact with, and monetize your player base. It integrates with IDEs, graphics tools, version control, and other tools commonly used in game development and design.
The following list entails some other advanced game development tools that you can incorporate into your system:
- Blender – Best for 3D games with superb animation and graphics, Blender is free with an active community to resolve issues, if any. It has in-built integrations, like D5 Render, Kasm Workspaces, V-Ray, and RebusFarm.
- GameMaker – It specializes in 2D game development for indie developers and small studios. Priced at $4.99 per user/month, GameMaker is amazing for its in-built assets and extensive event library.
- Unity – Known best to assist starters in game development, Unity flaunts a simple but fully-fledged interface. If you’re new to game development, find some tutorials online to make the most of this engine.
- Godot – Free, flexible, and open-source, Godot Engine is a delight for both 2D and 3D developers. It allows for an easy switch between dimensions and exports games in varied qualities for a range of devices.
- Unreal Engine – A highly sought-after gaming engine for professional 3D developers, the Unreal Engine flaunts amazing graphics and an unmatched versatility. If you’re a professional game developer looking for assistance, this tool is a must for you.
Ongoing Education and Development
Encourage team members to pursue ongoing education and skill development so they may remain current with emerging technology, industry trends, and best practices. Invest in programs that promote knowledge-sharing, workshops, and training to enable developers to work more productively and effectively.
If you are looking for online game development courses, here are a few popular ones:
- Game Design and Development with Unity 2020 – It’s a beginner-level course offered by Coursera to help you design 2D/3D games with ease. In 2 months, you’ll not only learn how to create games from scratch but also earn a certificate for excellence to add to your profile. More than 20,000 people have already enrolled for this course. Be quick and scale up to increase your chances of becoming a professional game developer.
- CS50’s Introduction to Game Development (Harvard University) – Learn from the basics of 2D/3D game development with certified instructors. It’s a 12-week course, self-paced and free (unless you need a verified certificate). You need to pay $199 for the certificate on completion.
- Unreal Engine 5 C++ – If you want to work on Unreal Engine, this course is the best bet for you right now. You can learn all about creating the best action games with combats involving swords, enemy creation, motion warping, and several other features on Unreal Engine. It’s a short-term paid course taught in 3 languages.
- Unity C# Mobile Game Development – A 13-hour free course, this one will teach you how to create Android and iOS mobile games with Unity and C#. Enrol in this course, if you’re keen to develop mobile games on Android or iOS platforms.
- Game Design: Art & Concepts – This course specializes in the principles of storytelling in game creation. Offered by the California Institute of the Arts, the 26-week course helps any developer learn the basics of game design, develop narratives, design characters, and also create GDDs effectively.
You can always find other effective courses on game development that suit your specific preferences. Make sure that the course you choose is updated and recognized globally before investing your precious resources.
Control Burnout and Crunch
Put the development team’s health and well-being first by preventing protracted crunch times and burnout. To guarantee that team members can continue to be productive and creative over time, keep a steady pace of work, set clear limits, and give sufficient resources and support.
Some of the greatest video game developers of all time
When talking about game development, you should know a few eminent developers in the industry, who are known for their exceptional gaming ventures and successes. It’ll help create motivation for your development endeavors.
Since the 90s, these companies have takling the gaming industry by storm are are ruling high still. Let’s get down to those names without further ado.
- Blizzard Entertainment – Founded in 1991, this video game developer based in Irvine, California, is one of the pioneers of the American gaming industry. Currently, it’s known as Activision Blizzard, due to a merger between Bizzard Entertainment and Activision in 2008. After the merge, some of the powerful games, such as Call of Duty, Diablo, and World of Warcraft came under a single roof. War of Warcraft is an exceptional game full of fantastic gameplays, attracting millions of users globally. Activision’s Call of Duty is no less. With over 26 million active users per month, the series generated 400 million unit sales in 2021.
- Ubisoft Entertainment SA – The French video game publisher comes second in the list with some notable franchises, like Far Cry, Assassin’s Creed, Prince of Persia, and Watch Dogs, in its kitty. Founded in 1986, Ubisoft has managed to maintain a stronghold in the world of video games, earning 323.5 million euros in revenue (2023-24).
- Epic Games – Also founded in 1991, Epic Games is a global interactive entertainment business that also offers 3D engines for game development. Fortnite, a beloved of the company, offers an unmatched virtual experience through social entertainment. Unreal Engine, a gaming development tool is founded by none other than Epic Games, which aims to engage developers and game creators from across the globe.
- Sony Interactive Entertainment – Well of course, you have heard of this one! Founded in 1993, Sony Interactive stands second in the list of renowned gaming companies in the world. The games they have developed are known for excellent creative visuals, innovation and sophistication. God of War, Spider-Man, Uncharted, and The Last of Us are some of the notable projects of the company.
- Electronic Arts, Inc. – A 1982 gaming company, Electronic Arts specializes in developing interactive games for a range of devices. A few of its critically-acclaimed projects are Battlefield, Need of Speed, and FIFA. With a net revenue of $7.56 billion in 2024, Electronic Arts has maintained its place successfully in the competitive landscape.
- Nintendo – One of the largest global video game companies, Nintendo was founded in 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi. It originally produced card games before venturing into the video game industry. Now, who isn’t familiar with our favorite childhood video game, Super Mario? You should know that it was developed by none other than Nintendo.
Over to you
Creating a game is a journey that calls for thorough preparation, sufficient funding, and a great deal of labor.
So, how long does it take to create a video game? Because each game is unique, the amount of time it takes to create it may vary widely. If you are aware of these aspects, you may be able to plan your game development project more effectively and have more reasonable expectations.