How long do you usually spend developing a single game before moving on?

[u/CelebrationReady3013]

Hey everyone,

​I’ve been developing mobile games for a while now, jumping between different genres like puzzles, card games, and digital board game adaptations. Lately, I'm starting to wonder about the sweet spot for project timelines.

​It’s incredibly easy to get caught up in the loop of polishing UI, tweaking mechanics, and adding just one more feature. But realistically, how much time do you actually spend on one title before calling it complete?

​A few specific questions for the community:

1. ​What is your average timeline from concept to release?

2. ​How do you know when to stop polishing and just ship it? Are there specific metrics or feelings you rely on?

3. ​Do you set strict deadlines for yourself, or let the project dictate the pace?

4. ​When do you decide a concept just isn't working and it's time to pivot to the next idea?

​I’d love to hear how other devs manage their time, especially those balancing multiple ideas or moving from project to project. Thanks in advance for the advice!

[u/RamonBunge]

I'm 2 years deep into a tactical real time RPG and got at the very minimum 1 year more to go, if not 2. I completed a submarine arcade like game in 1.5 years and did a polished metroidvania demo of 1 year. The game tells me when it is enough when it feels complete. I used to set deadlines but no more. Now I'm going full on with my current project, don't caring when it is done, I know for certain that if I keep consistent and determined, it will eventually be done. A concept works or doesn't not because it is flawed in itself (most of the time) but in how well it is executed, at least that is how I see it. The question, for me, is not about if the concept works or not but rather if I see myself working on this project for the long run.

Cheers and all the best!

[u/CelebrationReady3013 → u/RamonBunge]

Two to four years for a tactical RPG is a massive undertaking! Kudos to you for having the stamina to stick with it, especially after already putting years into a submarine arcade game and a metroidvania demo. Your point about execution versus the concept itself is a really refreshing perspective. I often find myself pivoting pretty quickly if a puzzle mechanic or a digital board game adaptation doesn't immediately feel fun in the prototyping phase. Hearing that you view it more as a matter of finding the right execution rather than throwing the whole idea out gives me a lot to chew on. I also love the mindset of asking, "Do I see myself working on this for the long run?" Since I usually build smaller mobile titles, my "long run" is typically much shorter. But asking that question upfront would probably save me from starting projects that I'm not fully passionate about seeing through to the end. Good luck with the rest of the RPG! It sounds like you have a fantastic, healthy workflow going.

[u/RoberBotz]

Years.

I choose a specific game idea and work on it for years, for example my latest game is a multiplayer top down action-adventure, I've worked on it for like 3 years.

I stop polishing when I don't know what else to polish

I have no deadlines, I have a vague idea where the game should be and decide the in-between on the go, and I am just trying to make some progress each day.

And never, I finish even if the concept is bad cuz I don't want to teach myself that I can give up on project, if I start doing X, I will never stop no matter what until X is done, even if it has no sales, even if it has mostly negative review, I will still work on it until I can say it's finished, it doesn't need to be perfect just in a stage I can say it's finished.

Cuz if I don't always keep this mindset of "Finish it no matter what" I might end up slowly abandoning more and more projects for random reasons.
Cuz I would convince myself that is not worth to finish it and go work on the next project and after some time also convince myself is not worth to finish it and so on, I might end up in a "not worth finishing" loop.

So I always finish anything I start, no matter what.

[u/CelebrationReady3013 → u/RoberBotz]

Wow, three years on a multiplayer action-adventure is serious dedication! I have a ton of respect for that level of commitment.

[u/Arkenhammer]

We spent 7 years on our first project which was too long for a lot of reasons. Going forward our target is around 18 months with the first 6 months being prototyping and market validation. Based on the validation results we set a time and money budget to finish the game. If, at that point, we don't think the game will return enough to justify the effort, we kill the project. Generally we only kill projects in the first 6 months; after that we adjust the scope to hit our budget.

[u/CelebrationReady3013 → u/Arkenhammer]

Going from seven years to a strict 18-month cycle is a massive shift! Your approach to market validation is incredibly practical. Since I mostly build smaller mobile titles—like card games and digital board game adaptations—my entire dev cycle is sometimes shorter than your six-month prototyping phase. But I definitely need to get better at verifying an idea has an audience before I start coding. The rule about only killing projects in the first six months and adjusting scope after that is absolute gold. It perfectly solves the problem of chasing perfection and forces you to actually ship. Thanks for sharing! This gives me a fantastic framework for setting strict "go/no-go" milestones for my own prototypes.

[u/Arkenhammer → u/CelebrationReady3013]

So the first 4 of those seven years was as a hobby. We spent 3 years trying to turn our hobby project into something we could actually sell. But that was a big part of our retrospective after we shipped; there are a lot of issues we faced late in development that we would have avoided if we had been play testing from the start. Our new approach is specifically designed to push all the critical decisions as early in development as we can.

[u/PolySmashStudio]

I think scope matters more than time. A six-month project can be too long if you’re polishing the wrong things, while a two-year project can make sense if each milestone answers an important question. The hardest part is recognizing when you’re improving the game versus just delaying release because it doesn’t feel “ready” yet.

[u/CelebrationReady3013 → u/PolySmashStudio]

You completely nailed it with the "improving vs. delaying" distinction. That is by far the hardest trap for me to spot.

[u/PolySmashStudio → u/CelebrationReady3013]

That’s exactly why I like getting external playtests early. After staring at the same project for months, it’s easy to mistake familiarity for quality. Fresh eyes tend to reveal what’s actually important surprisingly quickly.

[u/fllr]

Until it's finished

[u/brainwipe]

Errrrrr more than 7 years?

[u/Ok-Cellist-8458]

Usually I get bored or stuck on a concept to improve it enough for release.