10 Video Games Stuck In Development The Longest

2002's Metroid Fusion was a stellar side-scroller for the GameBoy Advance, winning Handheld Game of the Year at the 2002 Interactive Achievement Awards on the back of slick controls, visuals and music.

With the game making a splash in the handheld market, Yoshio Sakamoto began working on a sequel for the Nintendo DS. Between 2004 and 2008, there were at least two different attempts by Sakamoto to get the game out of development, but hardware restraints meant that the project bounced from delay to delay.

For Sakamoto, the game needed to be jam-packed and full of tension to accompany the plotline of Samus being stuck on an unexplored alien planet; a requirement that he felt the DS and its successor the 3DS couldn't provide.

The legendary status of Fusion and this 'fear-based gameplay' premise certainly kept hype for the game alive however, and fans would eventually get their hands on Metroid Dread a hefty 16 years in the making.

But, Sakamoto's vision would prove to be worth the wait following Metroid Dread's release in October 2021. Selling three million copies to date, it's become the highest-selling Metroid game, and won Nintendo Game of the Year at the 2021 Golden Joystick Awards.