Developing video games is incredibly difficult, and the need to create something big and bold can feel rather alluring. And like so many of you, I spent a long time watching these games from announcement to release.
Sometimes, we even mournedthem as they faced cancellation. In a world as uncertain as the video game business, it’s hard not to feel like your most anticipated title will get canned.
Thankfully, you can’t keep a good game down, and these titles managed to reach the promised land. Some of them even became instant classics, perhaps proving that their ambitious designs were well-founded.
10L.A. Noire
Advanced Facial Scan Technology Led To Long Development Cycle
There aren’t a lot of games out there likeL.A. Noire, and I’d say that’s for a good reason. Replaying it recently, I’m still blown away by the cutting-edge face-scan technology.
L.A. Noire’s ambition to create a realistic police thriller was part of both its lengthy development process, and its behind-the-scenes drama.
Accusations of a poor working environment and the threat of publisher Rockstar Games pulling the plug certainly did some damage to the game’s reputation, but it did finally launch in May 2011.
9Aliens: Colonial Marines
Complex FPS Developed By Multiple Teams
Aliens: Colonial Marines
Games based on the Alien franchisehave been pretty inconsistent over the years. A few have stood out, however, includingAliens: Colonial Marines, an ambitious FPS with a prolonged seven-year development cycle.
Following the development of Colonial Marines was somewhat stressful, as I could see in real time that the project was perhaps getting too big for its own good.
Reports at the time focused on the game’s unoptimized performance on PS3, as well as internal conflicts regarding its scope and features. Colonial Marines was one of my biggest disappointments, but it’s easy to understand why it ended up the way it did after its troubled development.
8Metroid Dread
Every Metroid Fan Knows About Dread
Metroid Dread
The word dread has a lot of meanings forMetroidfans. It isn’t just the creeping sense of impending doom that the series may go into hiatus again, but something far more compelling in the form ofMetroid Dread.
I remember hearing about it as far back as 2006, where it was often described as Sakamoto’s most ambitious Metroid project to date. Metroid Dread was faced with multiple false starts and was canceled by Nintendo several times.
The way it was described made me nostalgic for a game that never existed, which made its eventual re-announcement and launch on the Switch in 2021 even more special.
7Duke Nukem Forever
When It’s Done
Duke Nukem Forever
DuringDuke Nukem Forever’slong development cycle, the biggest hurdle it had to overcome was itself. Director George Broussard would routinely introduce new features, as well as make engine changes that amounted to complete restarts of the project.
I spent countless hours re-watching the E3 2001 trailer as a young FPS fangirl, and couldn’t help but imagine it was going to be the greatest shooter of all time. Sadly, it was not.
The seemingly unlimited scope and feature creep just killed the game. Duke Nukem Forever would never recover, and you could tell how checked out the devs were when it was given the date of “when it’s done”.
It would eventually release in 2011, but to largely negative reviews.
6Final Fantasy 15
A Fantasy Based On Reality
Final Fantasy 15
Fextralife Wiki
Final Fantasy 15was originally conceived as part of the Fabula Nova Crystallis subseries, but the ever-increasing scope of the game saw Square-Enix change course.
This expanding scale resulted in multiple delays and even a hardware change, as the game was re-branded into the fifteenth mainline title. A good idea, except it didn’t make the game come any faster.
It spent another four years in development, at which point Hajime Tabada stepped in to direct. It turned into one of my favoriteFinal Fantasygames, which made the long road to get there worth everything in the end.
Enhanced Gore Engine Caused Protracted Development Cycle
Dead Island 2
The originalDead Islandis one of my favorite games of all time. The campy, completely unhinged story and oddball gameplay is right up my alley.
Which is exactly what made the wait forDead Island 2so difficult, as it was handled by three different development teams. Dambuster Studios finally got the game out the door in 2024.
The impressive gore engine designed to help hack zombies down to the bone is mighty impressive, and likely the reason the game stayed in development for as long as it did. Dead Island 2 had a lot to live up to, but it managed to meet those expectations head on, crafting a fabulous zombie RPG experience that is well worth diving into.
4Too Human
Delays And Multiple Hardware Changes
The concept forToo Humanwas developed by Denis Dyack in the late 1990s, envisioned as a trilogy based on Norse mythology. A bold idea, and one that left it struggling to find its feet for nearly a decade.
Developing one game is hard enough, but setting out to make a trilogy is perhaps a bit much. Too Human was also accompanied by a short film tie-in, further stretching the scale of an already troubled project.
While Too Human did finally launch on the Xbox 360 in 2008, it didn’t live up to expectations and was a massive disappointment for Silicon Knights. The concept was brilliant, but it just didn’t have the focus it truly needed.
3Alan Wake 2
My Name Is Alan Wake
Alan Wake 2
I still find it hard to believe thatAlan Wake 2exists, as I spent a rather long time dreaming about it. This was a community that never quit, even in the face of uncertain IP ownership.
So, when Remedy bought the IP back from Microsoft, Alan Wake 2 was poised to be their next big project.
And as they always do,Remedy concocted something truly uniquewith Alan Wake 2. It is powered by a complex dual-story that allows you to control either Alan or the newcomer Saga, as well as a mind-bending series of innovative gameplay mechanics.
It took roughly 13 years for Alan Wake 2 to come into existence, and in spite of how big their vision was, Remedy stuck with it. It was met with worldwide critical acclaim and became Remedy’s fastest-selling game.
2BioShock Infinite
Shooter Desperately Needed Help To Get Final Push Out The Door
BioShock Infinite
I don’t think I’ve followed a game’s development closer thanBioShock Infinite. It was an immediate obsession with its complex, highly compelling world.
The team at Irrational Games were creating a world, one that utilized TV-style documentary tie-ins and powerful portals that could be used in-game. The scope of the game was massive.
If it weren’t for 2K hiring Rod Fergusson to spearhead the final days of development, it’s tough to imagine where the game might have ended up. He had already garnered a reputation as a guy who gets games finished, and he was crucial to BioShock Infinite’s completion.
Expansive Turn-Based RPG Took Twelve Years To Come Out
If there’s one word that describes Shigesato Itoi, it’s ambition. And perhaps no game exemplifies that more thanMother 3, a title that was in development for over a decade.
Itoi initially conceived it as a chapter-based RPG that abandoned the traditional road trip formula. Instead, he focused on a town that evolved and grew over time with a story that did the same.
Mother 3’s enormous size made it far too complex even for the N64, at which point it was unfortunately canceled. Years later, Itoi and Nintendo would revamp theproject for the Game Boy Advance, finally bringing closure to this long-running saga.
