Summary
Perhaps more than any other medium, video games are constantly being delayed or abruptly canceled. It’s heartbreaking to see a highly anticipated game miss its original release date, but the development hell that unfolds behind the scenes is even worse.
What Is Development Hell?
When an unreleased game is stuck in “development hell,” that means it has stalled in its production for an extensive period of time due to ongoing problems. The way these problems impact game development depends on the source of the problems. Being in development hell can mean a game is far behind schedule while being actively developed or that it has been indefinitely shelved.
Development hell can occur as early as the beginning of a game’s production. During the initial stages of development, game developers typically create prototypes that demonstrate a possible vision of what the full game may look like. Some of these prototypes will be shown ingame trailers, but they’re usually made for internal studio purposes.
However, if the game’s directors or publishers aren’t satisfied with an early build, they may scrap it and restart development with a different concept. While some narrative concepts, visual assets, andgame mechanicsfrom a game’s early builds are often reused in later versions, these restarts can set development back by months. Many games go through multiple failed scripts and unrealized prototypes before they land on a finalized idea, but this process can take years to complete.
The original 2005 version ofResident Evil 4underwent multiple development builds before becoming the iconic action/horror masterpiece seen in the final release. Many of the game’s early prototypes presented radically different concepts for whatResident Evil 4could have been, many of which experimented withdifferent styles of horror.
One prototype emphasized psychological horror with players fighting hallucinations in a mysterious castle, while another presented a fast-paced action game centered around stylish melee combat and a super-powered protagonist. The latter build was considered too different to be aResident Evilgame but was later reworked intoDevil May Cry.
Many games fall into development hell during the later stages of production due to an overambitious and constantly ballooning scope—a problem that’s often known as “feature creep.” While it’s not uncommon for developers to change or add features mid-development, these additions can cause significant delays by expanding too far beyond a game’s initial plans.
Cyberpunk 2077struggled with severe feature creep throughout its development, and the developers' focus on adding new mechanics rather than polishing pre-existing parts of the game likely contributed to its rushed state. Even more infamously,Star Citizenhas been in development since 2012 and has amassed over $800 million throughcrowdfundingandearly access sales, yet its growing number of planned features and massive scope has kept in an alpha build since 2017.
However, it’s not always the developers' fault when a game’s production goes awry. Some games likeDuke Nukem ForeverandDead Island 2were handed off to different studios mid-development. Similarly, the controversialSix Days of Fallujahwas delayed indefinitely after its publisher pulled out of the project and its original development studio went bankrupt—though the game was recently revived as an early access title. Various other factors such as poor direction, publisher interference, and licensing issues have also contributed to the extensive delays of countless other games.
It should be noted that development hell isn’t exclusive to the gaming industry. The term is also regularly used to denote troubled film productions and mismanaged software projects. Although there are many differences between video games and these other mediums, they often land in development hell for the same reasons. Overambitious ideas, studio interference, and technical issues can bring any production to a standstill.
Why Development Hell Is Becoming More Common
Over the years, the gaming industry has changed and expanded in multiple ways. Development teams are now larger,AAA budgetsare higher, and the expectations for modern games have rapidly escalated with each new console generation. Evenindie gamesare being held to loftier standards, with titles likeDeltaruneandHollow Knight: Silksongexperiencing prolonged developments due to their massive scopes. Across the board, modern video games require more time and resources to complete.
However, these growing costs are one of the biggest contributors to many recent cases of development hell. With the increased budgets of newer games, everyAAA releasehas a lot more riding on its success than ever before. A single failed game can lead to the loss of millions of dollars, potentially prompting layoffs or entire studio closures. Unfortunately, these high expectations and unmanageable risks are standard for modern AAA games, and it’s led to countless stories of recent financial flops and mass firings throughout the gaming industry.
With the massive risk behind every new release, many studios spend years fine-tuning their games to deliver the highest quality possible, but this push for perfectionism can lead to massive production setbacks. The upcomingMetroid Prime 4: Beyondwent through nearly two years of development before restarting development under Retro Studios—the original developer of thePrimeseries—in 2019, withNintendo citing the early build’s failure to meet quality standardsas the reason for its massive setback.
Many games have also struggled with development hell due to sudden mid-production shifts in direction, which are often motivated by publishers' misguided attempts to follow current gaming trends. Ubisoft’sSkull and Bonesentered development in 2013 as anMMOspinoff ofAssassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag. However, the game was delayed for over a decade due to constant gameplay overhauls, story rewrites, and repeated efforts to balance the game aroundlive-service monetization.
Trend-chasing isn’t anything new for games—especially among AAA developers—but it has led to some of the most costly cases of development hell in recent years. The development teams behind notable financial flops likeConcord,Redfall, andSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leagueall struggled with poor direction from higher-ups and a lack of familiarity with the live-service formula.
Additionally, the lengthy development cycles of these games hurt their chances of success. Despite entering development in the early days of the live-service craze, their delayed releases provided other games with plenty of time to garner massive fanbases and add years' worth of content. By the time these games finally came out, popular titles likeOverwatchandEscape from Tarkovhad already dominated their respective genres.
Even when it’s running smoothly, game development is a lengthy process that can take years to complete, but gaming trends are constantly changing. By the time a game completes development with the goal of cashing in on a popular trend, most players have already moved onto the next fad. Some studios will change a game’s direction mid-development to focus on newer trends, but that only prolongs production and often leads to the struggles of development hell. Unfortunately, with publishers like Square Enix and Sony still adamant onsending live-service games out to die, it’s likely that we’ll see even more games repeat these mistakes.
Modern Game Development Is More Transparent
Although development hell is becoming more common in modern games, that doesn’t mean older titles were ever immune to troubled production cycles. Information about the development process behind many older games was rarely publicly available. You could sometimes find details in development blogs and interviews ingaming magazines, but even these were scarce on behind-the-scenes details.
Today, there are far more resources for learning about the development history behind old games, canceled projects, and upcoming releases. Social media platforms have made it easier for creators to provide updates on a game’s progress and directly communicate with fans. Plenty ofindie developersalso use social media to share projects in their early stages of development. This has also encouraged developers to be more open about their development progress and explain the reasons for their delays.
Games journalism has also evolved over the years to provide more detailed coverage of gaming news. Whereas games journalism was previously limited to reviews and information announced at press events, most major gaming news outlets now have direct access to interviews with prominent figures in the industry. Additionally, independentpreservation projectsand gaming historians have been able to uncover information on the development history of retro classics and interview their creators.
When it comes to learning about a game’s troubled development history—especially for newer games—the most helpful sources of information have been leaks and anonymous interviews. Of course, you should always take unverified information with a grain of salt, but these sources have delivered some of the most important insights into recent cases of development hell. Through online posts and various interviews with the developers on notable flops likeConcordandRedfall, we’ve been able to learn about the mistakes and challenges that led to their development hell.
Not every modern game is equally transparent—just ask theHollow Knightfans still waiting forSilksong—and very few games ever suffer from major data leaks. However, between the more open-ended communication from developers and the dedicated community of gaming historians, it has become much harder for game studios to mask their developmental struggles. Whether a game suffers from massive staff shakeups, misguided changes in direction, or constant delays prolonging production, it never takes long for modern stories of development hell to be publicly unveiled.
Development hell has always been a risk for game developers, but the endlessly growing budgets and rapidly increasing standards of modern games have made delays and setbacks more damaging than ever before. The odds of studios becoming trapped by their own perfectionism or failing to keep up with current trends have never been higher, and there’s more at risk with every new release.
Unless something changes in the gaming industry, expect to see more delays and canceled projects in theupcoming console generation.
