How long does it take to make a game?

A jam game takes a weekend. A small first game often takes a few months of evenings. A mid-size game can take years. See the full guide for ranges.

Why does experience change the result?

First-time developers spend more time on setup, debugging and learning, so we multiply the estimate.

Can I make this faster?

Cut scope, reuse finished systems and assets, and finish a vertical slice before building more.

How Long Will It Take to Make My Game? Time Estimator

Pick a scope, your experience and the features you want, then enter the hours you can work per week. You get an honest range in hours, weeks and months.

Game scopeYour experienceHours you can work per weekSafety bufferProjects overrun. 1.5 means plan for half again as much.

540 hours

54 weeks≈ 12.4 months

A planning heuristic from our own rules of thumb, not measured data. Use it to start a conversation with yourself, then replace the numbers with your own once you have a prototype.

How to read the result

The numbers are rules of thumb we use for planning, not measured data. Solo developers tend to underestimate, which is why a buffer is built in.

Cut scope when the answer is longer than your patience. Several features here, such as save and load and inventory, can be bought as finished systems, which turns weeks into days.