Game Development Timeline: How Long Does It Really Take?

In today’s competitive business environment, time management is vital, especially when you are in the game development industry. Whether you are a developer, investor, or client, managing time efficiently will enable you to create and launch your game on schedule. But as you know, game development involves numerous complexities. From character creation to gameplay mechanics setup, it needs a lot of work and research when you invest in a game development project. Hence, estimating the required timeline at the beginning shall allow you to execute your game project with the right planning, budget amount, and technological resources. For that, it will be wise to consult a leading game development company. 

With the emergence of new game types, features, technologies, and concepts, the importance of estimating the required timeline has become more essential than ever. Hence, in this blog, we will help you explore the crucial factors that tend to influence your game development timeline. But at the same time, you should not miss the crucial insights that are shaping the game development industry.

Game Industry Insight- Some Top Picks

As opportunities in the game development industry are steadily increasing, we are providing you with some useful insights that will encourage you further to join this promising industry. 

• Currently, the worldwide population of male gamers is 1.7 billion, and that of female gamers is 1.39 billion (Demand Sage).   
• Hyper-casual games constitute 31% of the total downloads of mobile games. (Sensor Tower).
• The global downloads of Role-Playing games have crossed the mark of 8.8 billion from the previous figure of 4.1 billion in 2019. (Business of Apps).
• Battle Royale Games are very much popular among the young audience within the age of 18 to 34 years old. (Verified Market Reports).
• Revenue from the in-game advertisement segment is forecasted to reach the value of $169.48 billion in 2029 (Grand View Research). 

How Long Does It Take to Make a Game?

When developing a game, you have to be prepared to meet the evolving requirements of your project efficiently to ensure a satisfactory outcome. Similarly, you also need to identify crucial factors that influence your game development timeline. Let’s discuss them here:

• Game Type

It is one of the crucial factors that often influence your game development timeline. When you are developing a simple 2D casual game, it hardly takes much of your time to ensure a proper execution.

As 2D games come with a minimalist design and the movement of characters is restricted to a particular direction, you do not have to spend much time to execute your goals properly. It often takes 2-4 months to complete a 2D game.

But the timeline gradually extends 2 years or more when you are creating complex 3D games like Devil’s Eyes, Red Dead Redemption, etc. In such games, you have to frequently validate concepts and add high-end technologies to get the desired outcome. Similarly, when you are working on AAA games, the development timeline will extend between 4-6 years. 

So, to complete your 3D game project on the scheduled deadline, you should seek help from a prominent game development company. 

• Feature Integration

In a 2D game, it is enough to add a tap-and-start gameplay feature with in-app purchase and in-game ad options to ensure the smooth progression of your players. As a result, your development team never has to work hard implementing your desired requirements.

But in a 3D game, you have to add multiple features like LiveOPs, procedural content generation, dynamic Non-player Characters (NPCs), and other exciting functionalities using the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). For that, it extends your project completion timeline to ensure the proper deployment of the cutting-edge features.

• Platform Selection

When you are developing a simple game for Android, iOS, and web, it usually takes around 4-6 months for completion. But the deadline extends normally over 12 months or more when you are developing a complex game for these leading-edge platforms.

Similarly, the timeline to create a game for different platforms separately further increases your completion timeline. However, when you invest in a cross-platform solution, you can create a game for multiple platforms using the same code.

This helps to reduce your game development timeline. Whether you want to build a native game or a cross-platform game, seeking help from a recognized Unity game development company will be very useful. 

• Technology Stack Integration

Your choice of game engine also plays a decisive role in determining the completion timeline for your game project. When you are crafting a game of simple complexity with Unity, it will take around 2-4 months for completion. But for complex games, it may take above 2 years.

Similarly, the timeline also varies when you are using the Unreal Engine. To create a mid-level game with Unreal, it will take around 9-15 months.

However, the timeline will increase when you develop a complex game with Unreal. Ultimately, it all depends on your project needs, where you should act decisively to make the right choice between Unity vs Unreal.   

• Engagement Model

You should not ignore this factor, as it also impacts your development timeline, whether you are developing a simple game or a new-age 3D game. For instance, when you are choosing the Fixed-Cost engagement model, your development timeline will never exceed as your game project scopes and objectives are fixed. 

However, in dedicated hiring and hourly rates models, your project timeline can be extended with the evolving requirements, for which you need to be prepared in advance to ensure the smooth execution of your project vision. Hence, to get the best team for game development, you should connect with a leading Android game development company.

Final Thought

As competition in the game industry is increasing, you have to seek high-end game development services to ensure a competitive advantage. For that, you can connect with an experienced game development agency like Red Apple Technologies. No matter how complex your game development project is, we always execute it with proper evaluation and innovation. Our dedicated team of artists and designers brings life to your game stories with unbeatable artwork. Similarly, our development team integrates many exciting features that make your game stand out in the market. It is also our commitment to helping you find the best team for your game project and ensure its successful execution. 

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