Open-world games are among the most complex productions in the gaming world, demanding expansive environments, systemic interactivity, narrative depth, and technical ambition on a whole new level. While many projects are completed within standard multi-year cycles, certain titles undergo prolonged development, sometimes stretching across a decade or more.
These extended timelines often reflect internal difficulties or evolving levels of scale that make it difficult to pin down a definitive release date.
It might not always be clear why the wait was so long, but many open-world titles were well worth the wait, even if it meant adding a few years to the development cycle.
Dying Light 2
Restart After Restart
Following the success of the original, Techland aimed to create a larger, more reactive open world with branching storylines, elevated parkour systems, and more player-driven consequences in the world. This ambition, combined with internal restructuring, extended the development of Dying Light 2 far beyond those initial expectations.
The prolonged schedule allowed for technical upgrades and expanded scope, though the team faced challenges balancing that ambition with the actual execution. Ultimately, the additional time allowed the team to deliver a vast urban playground that ticked every box for fans and new players alike.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance
A True Medieval Fantasy
Kingdom Come: Deliverance aimed to create a historically accurate open-world RPG set in 15th-century Bohemia. But because of the scope, the project faced delays due to crowdfunding constraints, engine development, and the overall challenge of simulating realistic combat and NPC behavior across a large, explorable map.
With a prolonged development, the team was able to craft a deep, realistic medieval world with intricate quests, realistic social structures, and immersive exploration, and the years of refinement contributed to the game’s attention to detail, making it one of the most authentic open-world RPGs released in the 2010s.
Starfield
Bethesda’s Next Long-Term Vision
Starfield
10/10
- Released
-
September 6, 2023
- ESRB
-
M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs, Strong Language, Violence
As Bethesda’s first new major IP in years, Starfield promised everything from procedurally generated planets to the same iconic NPC interactions that made the developer’s previous games so iconic. These demands, alongside iterative delays for polish and scale, contributed to the extended timeline.
With technical challenges related to a new engine and the weight on the team’s shoulders, delays were to be expected. The wait allowed the game to release in a more finished state and to deliver on the promise of a large-scale space-exploration RPG rather than a rushed failure.
Final Fantasy 15
Reworking A Previously Announced Sequel
Initially announced under another name, FF15 underwent creative reboots and internal changes before finally emerging as a mainline open-world action-RPG in one of gaming’s most beloved franchises. The extended schedule stemmed from an expansion in scope that required more attention than expected over a longer period of time.
In the end, the open-world structure, cinematic storytelling, and expansive world design satisfied most long-time fans, despite making them wait a little longer for a fully realized product.
L.A. Noire
Historical Reconstruction That Demanded Care Beyond The Norm
L.A. Noire is a remarkable neo-noir thriller set in a faithful reconstruction of a 1940s Los Angeles, which includes a lot of technical innovation that led to an extended development time. The focus on realism required more advanced facial motion capture and engaging gameplay systems, meaning that a standard window quickly extended to many years.
This extended cycle led to a higher level of fidelity across the board and a more cinematic feel that resulted in an open-world experience that captures every expectation and more for a realistic detective narrative.
Cyberpunk 2077
A New Futuristic Epic Years In The Making
CD Projekt Red began work on Cyberpunk 2077 soon after The Witcher 3 entered production, with full development starting around 2012. The sheer ambition of crafting a futuristic megacity, alongside engine rewrites, evolving hardware expectations, and team restructures, stretched the schedule beyond the norm, worrying fans and developers alike.
The challenges of building a dense open world filled with quests, systems, and narrative branches proved more taxing than anticipated, and while the launch was rocky due to performance issues, the extended cycle allowed for an unparalleled level of world-building detail, which was steadily realized through patches and updates post-release.
Skull And Bones
Almost Dropping Below Sea Level
Originally conceived as a spin-off from Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Skull and Bones underwent numerous redesigns, shifting from a multiplayer-focused naval experience to a broader open-world pirate simulator. Multiple reboots, management changes, and scope adjustments all contributed to the extended production, which left many feeling as though it would never launch.
The final product faced mixed reviews from players who had waited many years for the launch, but after patches and continued support from the development team, the future looks bright for a game with so much effort and heart behind it.
Kenshi
An RPG Evolution Over 10 Years In The Making
Kenshi is a vast open-world sandbox RPG built primarily by a single developer in its initial years. The protracted timeline emerged from the deep system complexity and immersive world-building that demanded a lot more attention from the development team than it could handle.
But over time, the organic growth and community feedback enabled the gameplay to evolve in a more player-focused direction that wouldn’t have been possible within more strict constraints. The final product demonstrates how the slow refinement of a single IP can lead to a deeply immersive world that can keep players invested for 100s of hours.
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