The most delayed games ever

2014 has been the year of game delays, with big titles like Watch Dogs, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Batman: Arkham Knight, Evolve, and Battlefield Hardline all having their release dates changed.

While a few months of waiting may be frustrating, let’s look at the bright side: you won’t have to wait as long as fans of the games listed below.

These are the most delayed games ever.

Spore

Started development – 2000
Released – 2008

What was revealed as SimEverything in 2000 was later released as Spore – and when we say later, we mean it.

Will Wright’s vision did not see the full light of day until 2008, and when it did finally hit the shelves it was only half the game everyone expected it to be.

Team Fortress 2

Started development – 1998
Released – 2007

The 90s were not a great time to create overly-ambitious titles, and Team Fortress 2 was a game that fell victim to being ahead of its time.

With Valve’s development team focusing on Half-Life 2, the second edition of Team Fortress was shoved onto the shelf and forgotten about for a few years.

Thanks to The Orange Box, and it now being free-to-play, Team Fortress 2 is the most popular shooter on Steam.

Prey

Started development- 1995
Released – 2006

Yet another title that fell victim to the “too much too early” trap was Prey. The game went through three different versions of gameplay during its life cycle, one of which was based around a multitude of alien species living on a spaceship.

Some have said the title may have even been cursed.

Even though the game seemed like it would never release, 3D Realms refused to give up on its jewel of a title – finally releasing the final game in 2006. By the looks of things, Prey 2 will suffer the same fate.

Duke Nukem Forever

Started development- 1997
Released – 2011

The most memorable game delay (or infamous, if you prefer) has to be Duke Nukem Forever. It is one of the gaming industry’s biggest jokes, and took over a decade to come to a conclusion.

In 2009, 3D Realms was ready to finish the Duke Nukem title, but the studio downsized and the development team was disbanded. 2K believed they could get things right, but they were sorely mistaken – releasing arguably the worst game in the history of the world (or at least in 2011).

Super Mario Sunshine

Started development- 1995
Released – 2002

Nintendo fans lived in a world where they believed a Super Mario 64 sequel would launch on the Nintendo 64. This, unfortunately, was not to be.

Due to the game’s popularity and expected short development timeframe, fans wanted it and they wanted it as soon as possible. It was only when the GameCube launched that gamers got to play Super Mario 64 2 – renamed Super Mario Sunshine.