Creating a major video game requires enormous teams, long production cycles and countless interlocking systems. Even ambitious projects can spend years changing direction, losing staff or waiting for a publisher decision.
Some delayed games eventually make it to players, while others are cancelled. The five projects below have each spent more than a decade in development, although some now appear closer to release than others. For more gaming coverage, visit the RETROCADE Arcade Blog.
Beyond Good & Evil 2
Ubisoft’s Beyond Good & Evil 2 began pre-production in 2007, giving it a reported 19-year development history. Despite six projects being cancelled in January 2026, Ubisoft confirmed that this sequel was still in production.
The game is planned as an open-world action-adventure set in space and serves as a prequel to the original. Players are expected to create their own character and travel between planets, each with its own societies, quests and characters. The project has also been described as closer to an RPG than its predecessor.
A reveal trailer appeared in 2008, followed by a leaked gameplay trailer in 2009 showing Jade escaping authorities through a busy street. The most significant public presentation arrived at E3 2017, followed by another trailer at E3 2018. That remains the last public showing.
Squadron 42
Cloud Imperium Games announced Squadron 42 in 2012, shortly after Star Citizen. It is a single-player first-person shooter set in the same universe, separate from the playable Star Citizen alpha that has been available since 2014.
The project was originally scheduled for 2014. In December 2025, the developer said it was fully playable and feature complete, with a 2026 release planned. However, with only four months remaining in 2026 when this information was reported and no release in sight, that target appeared increasingly uncertain.
Squadron 42 is intended to launch episodically. The first episode is planned to run for up to 20 hours, with two further episodes expected. Its cast includes Gary Oldman, Mark Hamill, Gillian Anderson, Andy Serkis, John Rhys-Davies, Damson Idris, Henry Cavill and Eleanor Tomlinson. The broader project has also attracted attention for its expensive in-game ships and more than $1 billion in reported funding.
Project Awakening
Cygames announced Project Awakening at its Next 2016 event in Tokyo and officially revealed it in 2018. A closed-door gameplay demonstration at E3 2018 showed a knight battling a realistic, scaly lizard-like monster. The combat was said to combine ideas associated with Monster Hunter and Dragon’s Dogma.
Further footage shown at the 2021 Cygames Tech Conference focused largely on technology, including terrain generation and weather effects. It ended with a soldier overlooking a huge landscape of mountains and trees.
There has been little public news since then. In a Famitsu interview, Cygames CEO Koichi Watanabe said development was progressing steadily and beginning to take shape.
Grand Theft Auto 6
Grand Theft Auto 6 entered pre-production in 2014, while full development began in 2018. That places its overall production cycle at 12 years. It was initially targeting autumn 2025, then May 2026, before moving to November 2026. The reported launch date is 19 November.
Calling the game a troubled production may be unfair, as the available information points mainly to release delays rather than a clearly troubled development process. Rockstar Games has nevertheless faced significant disruption around the project.
A major security breach in September 2022 exposed internal videos and revealed details including two protagonists and a return to Vice City. In April 2024, Rockstar required staff to return to office work for productivity and security reasons during the final development stages, prompting backlash. In October 2025, 34 employees were dismissed amid allegations that they were attempting to unionise.
The Wolf Among Us 2
The first Wolf Among Us launched in 2013, earning strong critical and audience responses with its episodic narrative and prequel story connected to the Fables comics. Its sequel was announced at San Diego Comic-Con in 2017 for release the following year, then delayed to 2019 before Telltale Games shut down and cancelled it.
LCG Entertainment later revived Telltale, and development resumed with AdHoc Studio, a team formed by former Telltale employees. Additional delays followed in 2023 and 2024. Telltale experienced further layoffs, while AdHoc left the project after disagreements between the studios.
The sequel was re-revealed at Summer Game Fest 2026. Its scheduled release window is 2027, which would put the project at the 10-year mark if no further delays occur. Like the original, it is planned as a five-episode series, but with a considerably darker tone.
Long-running projects are a reminder that game production rarely follows a straight path. While fans wait, practical arcade projects can offer a more immediate creative outlet, from DIY arcade kits to complete arcade machines. For compact setups, explore bartop arcades or browse the arcade machine buying guide.
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