Whenever your favorite game franchise announces a sequel or an entirely new game, there's hope that it'll launch soon. But when there are endless delays, a year turns into a decade, and anticipation becomes desperation that the game will exceed expectations because of the years put into it.

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Unfortunately, some games seem to get stuck in development for what feels like forever. From Duke Nukem Forever to Final Fantasy 15, there are a whole host of games that took a decade to develop. While these games are stuck in a development rut for a number of different reasons, sometimes they end up being well worth the wait.

Updated March 234, 2023 by Jouanna Bondakji: ​​​​​As time passes, games are seeing longer development times compared to a few years ago. The exposure of crunch culture in the gaming industry has no doubt influenced this. Though waiting for a game you're excited about can be frustrating, there's no question that the physical and mental well-being of the ones developing the games is most important. However, not every reason is as simple and well-intentioned as taking care of employees' health. There are bound to be internal issues, conflicts, and even complete renewal of teams and managers that can delay games to the point of ridiculousness.

11 Diablo 3: 11 Years

The player in Diablo 3 shooting purple magic at animal-like glowing enemies

Diablo 2 was always going to be hard to match, and that seemed to be a factor in Diablo 3 taking so long to make. According to an anonymous former employee who worked on the majority of the game, there were constant changes to the main idea of Diablo 3 because the senior staff were never totally confident in their ideas. A lot of time was wasted developing concepts only to throw them away.

Also, though there were a lot of things they could have innovated, there was too much focus on making things exactly like the previous Diablo games. Diablo 3 eventually launched to mostly positive reception, but only after the backlash towards and subsequent removal of a mechanic where players could use real money to buy and sell loot.

10 Metroid Dread: 15 Years

Samus from Metroid Dread running with a gun as a machine is about to shoot a laser at her in a level

Though they may not be as prominent as something like Mario, the Metroid games are a beloved Nintendo series. Metroid Dread is the fifth mainline game, and before its pleasantly surprising announcement in 2021, it had originally been in development for the Nintendo DS before being canceled.

One of its creators, Yoshio Sakamoto, had some grand ideas but couldn't execute them due to the DS's limitations. That makes sense, as Nintendo hardware isn't exactly known for being powerful. But with the release of the Nintendo Switch, Sakamoto was finally able to realize his vision. It took a while, but both fans and developers won in this case.

9 UnReal World: 20+ Years

A map in UnReal World showing the player surrounded by silhouettes of trees with a side menu showing the player's portrait and stats

UnReal World is a survival game that was nearly three decades in the making, with its ultimate 2016 launch on Steam. Even now, the game continues to receive constant updates. It's a roguelike RPG that takes inspiration from Finnish mythology and represents much of Finnish culture.

In the game, you are expected to survive in harsh and unforgivable terrain as best you can because anything from animals to weather can kill you. The reason UnReal World had taken so long to develop is that its team consists of just two people. Plus, it'd been in development since the 1990s, and their vision was seemingly too grand for what they could realistically achieve at the time. But despite its lengthy development, it seems everything panned out since the game is acclaimed for its immersive and realistic elements.

8 Star Fox 2: 20 Years

The cast of Star Fox 2 smiling at the viewer

The spectacular success of Star Fox in 1993 encouraged both Argonaut and Nintendo to create a sequel. Its successor, Star Fox 2, was already completed by 1997 but was not launched until 2017.

The reason for this was due to the increasing popularity of 3D gaming. The developers became less confident that their finished product could compare with other 3D games in the market. Instead, they focused their efforts on developing the Nintendo 64 and Star Fox 64. Ultimately, the game was canceled until it was picked up again decades later, and its revival was announced in 2017.

7 Psychonauts 2: 16 Years

Psychonauts 2 Razputin Aquato without his hat fistbumping an object

There were plans for Psychonauts 2, but the game was scrapped due to the commercial failure of 2005's Psychonauts. This was probably not because the original Psychonauts was a bad game but because of poor marketing decisions surrounding it.

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However, Psychonauts had developed a cult following, and soon there was a desire to see a sequel. It wasn't until the 2015 Game Awards that Double Fine announced its plans to start a crowdfunding campaign to fund Psychonauts 2's production, quickly reaching its intended target. Though there were delays, Psychonauts 2 was finally launched in 2021 with overall positive reviews.

6 Duke Nukem Forever: 15 Years

First person view of Duke Nukem's fists against a giant robot with one red eye in Duke Nukem Forever

Ironically, Duke Nukem Forever took what felt like forever to come to fruition. It was first announced in 1997, but severe delays and changes in development teams caused the game's launch to be delayed until 2011.

In the game, Duke Nukem must save the world from yet another alien invasion, but it seems the story had fallen flat and was quite dated by the time it came out in 2011. It appears that its delayed launch has caused the game to seem old-fashioned in terms of plot, in-game mechanics, and graphics.

5 Mother 3: 12 Years

Mother 3 Claus at Alec’s Home with flowers and pigs in the corner

Mother 3 is the latest installment in the Mother series, and no one could have foreseen that it would take 12 years for the game to launch. Development started in 1994, and a demo of the game was displayed at the 1999 Nintendo Trade Show. But in 2000, it was announced that the game was being canceled.

This was apparently because they needed resources for developing the GameCube at the time. Thankfully, the developers announced a continuation of the project in 2003. Despite delays and cancelations hampering its progress, the 2006 launch of Mother 3 was a smash hit.

4 Prey: 11 Years

Prey protagonist Tommy Tawodi looking at his reflection in the bathroom mirror

Prey is a first-person shooter that follows the alien abduction of protagonist Tommy Tawodi, his girlfriend, and his grandfather. Tommy finds out he is special because of his ability to astral project and uses it to battle the aliens.

Although it was announced in 1995, this sci-fi game went through a series of design changes, along with a new in-game mechanic. Developing the engine to make this mechanic understandably took a while. Add the director leaving and needing to be replaced, as well as some trouble fine-tuning the mechanics, and you've got an answer to why it took so long to come out. After a few stops and starts over the years, the game was finally launched in 2006 to praise for its graphics and storyline.

3 Final Fantasy 15: 10 Years

The Throne Room in Final Fantasy 15 being lit by sunlight from outside

Square Enix's Final Fantasy 15 undoubtedly has a great cast of characters, although some feel the storyline surrounding it is not fleshed out well enough.

Final Fantasy 15's development went through a string of problems, starting in 2006 when the game was meant to be made for the PS3; the game changed hands and switched platforms eventually. As a result, Final Fantasy 15 had to be redone with a new storyline and a revamp of some of the characters before finally launching in 2016 for the next generation of consoles.

2 Star Citizen: Still Ongoing Since 2010

A black spaceship traveling through space in Star Citizen

Star Citizen has been in development since 2010, despite the launch of a Kickstarter campaign in 2012 as a taste of what's to come. A launch date had been slated for 2014, but the game is nowhere in sight almost a decade later.

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The game's developers continue to pump out updates and raise funds. In November 2021, they raised up to US$400 million, but it seems things have come to a standstill. The developers' incessant crowdfunding has also triggered legal problems, with some investors backing out and not receiving their money back yet. Over a decade since pre-production began, it seems Star Citizen's launch is still a far-off dream.

1 Dwarf Fortress: Still Ongoing Since 2003

A procedurally generated map with pixelated graphics showing dwarves and random items in Dwarf Fortress

Dwarf Fortress is a game that combines roguelike and management sim gameplay. The maps are procedurally generated, and your goal is to help a group of dwarves build a fortress and survive by keeping them fed and uninjured, both physically and mentally. Unlike most other games, this one is still in development on purpose.

It's been developed by a team of two brothers since 2003 and is a passion project of sorts. It's technically out already, and you could play it right now if you wanted to. But it's constantly being worked on, and its team is planning to continue developing it for years to come. With all the work being put into it, who knows how good it'll be in the future?

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