Final Fantasy XVtook around 10 years to make.The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrimtook around 6 years to make. BothThe Witcher 3: Wild HuntandCyberpunk 2077took around three-four years to develop. It’s a well-known fact that RPGs take a long time to make, and that’s understandable considering their complex narratives, large worlds, andinnovative gameplay. However, there have been some amazing RPGs to come out that have been developed in even less than two years.
In fact, some of the very best RPGs to have graced player’s screens have actually had quite short development cycles, ranging from anywhere between a year to just over 2 years. It truly goes to show the amount of hard work and dedication that some studios and developers pour into their games. Any form ofvideo game development is a long and complicated procedure, so it’s all the more impressive when critically acclaimed titles are released after only being worked on for a couple of years — especially in the RPG genre! This list will consider games with development times less than 3 years that resulted in incredible RPGs, ranking them by their narrative, gameplay, and mechanical qualities.
Development on the secondDragon Questtitle began in April 1986, which was a month before the original game even came out. There were actually plans to release the follow-up later in the same year, but after a few delays,Dragon Quest 2: Luminaries of the Legendary Linearrived in January 1987 — only 9 months after development started.
Of course, games were slightly more limited in their scope back in 1986-1987, but it’s still an impressive feat to release a whole new RPG in a matter of months. This sequel introduced the innovative mechanic of controlling more than one character, making it one of the first RPGs to do so. There were also new weapons, spells, and attacks, as well as the introduction of the ship, which made the world more explorable and open. The secondDragon Questgame was released to critical acclaimand is still a gem of a title to revisit today, albeit somewhat challenging.
After the firstFinal Fantasyreleased on the July 27, 2025, development began nearly straight away on a follow-up title. There weren’t any direct ideas for a sequel at first, butstrong sales from the first titleinspired the team to get started onFinal Fantasy 2within a matter of weeks. Ultimately,Final Fantasy 2’sdevelopment was completed in less than a year, releasing to unanimous acclaim once again.
The sequel featured none of the same characters from the preceding title and placed the franchise in a new direction with a greater focus on narrative. A new leveling system was also created where characters gained XP based on their skill usage — in an attempt to make the leveling feel more realistic. The narrative was so well-regarded that it actually featured an official novelization in Japan!
Dark Cloud 2, otherwise known asDark Chronicle,was officially announced in May 2002 and released in Japan in November of that same year. It was made in around 18 months, releasing to unanimously positive reviews. The sequel’s invention system offered a new way to experience exclusive gameplay, and players could spend hundreds of hours on this mode alone.
The biggest change from its predecessor was theintroduction of cel-shaded visuals, which gaveDark Cloud 2a more distinct, dreamlike feel. Level 5 also greatly worked on smoothing the transition between gameplay and passive story events, creating a more immersive experience. Ultimately, this sequel was a great success and proved that Level 5 was highly capable of delivering a great RPG with a short development time.
Most gamers know the success story ofUndertaleby now, but if not, then players should absolutely seek out this incredible title before reading anything about it — it works the best when going in completely blind. What makes this entry the most impressive though is the fact that it was made almostentirely by a single developer, Toby Fox.
Sure, 32 months might seem a little longer than other entries on this list, but most other games are developed by full teams or AAA studios. This was abreakout indie RPGthat shook the industry with its innovative story, mechanics, and gameplay. Players loved it, critics loved it, and it blew everyone’s mind when the development time was revealed.Undertalewill always be a fantastic success story and a masterpiece of a game.
Players were somewhat skeptical when development of theKnights of the Old Republicsequel got handed over to Obsidian instead of Bioware. However, their worries ultimately proved unjustified, asKnights of the Old Republic 2was released to critical acclaim, even if it wasn’t quite as good as its predecessor.
Still,Obsidian did a great jobin faithfully continuing the franchise, adding a valuable entry thatStar Warsfans continue to return to. What’s even more impressive is that they achieved this feat in just over a single year. This game is not small, and it is filled with so many branching pathways and storylines. Players know these types of games are complex and expect development to take far longer. This makes Obsidian’s achievement here truly stand out.
The idea behindFallout: New Vegashad been brewing for a long time, and at some points was even supposed to come out beforeFallout 3. However, things never quite took off and eventually,Fallout 3was released as we know it today, andFallout: New Vegasnow only exists because ofFallout 3’ssuccess. This was the firstFallouttitle developed by Obsidian Entertainment, who are now synonymous with the franchise.
Las Vegas was, of course, the major inspiration fueling the game, filled with layers of greed, lavishness, and excessive displays, and from there, the development steamrolled forward and was completed in 18 months. TheFalloutfranchise is well known for its large worlds, branching paths, and deep RPG mechanics, so such a short development time was a serious feat. To this day,Fallout: New Vegasremains a fan-favorite entryin the franchise. Not bad for 18 months' work!
At the time of release,Chrono Triggerwas one of the longest, most intricate, and most detailed RPGs to exist. Even now, it’s often heralded as one of the best games ever made, and that’s for very good reason. What makes this particularly amazing is the fact that thismasterpiece of an RPGwas developed in just over 2 years. Of course, RPGs were not quite as difficult to make in the early 1990s, but that’s not to say they were easy.
Chrono Triggerwas actually pitched asFinal FantasymeetsDragon Quest, as it included two of the creators from the main RPG franchises at the time. Square Enix dubbed them, alongside Akira Toriyama (that’s right — the creator ofDragon Ball) the “Dream Team.” Let’s just say the dream team worked wonders becauseChrono Triggerremains an absolute masterpiece and will go down in history as one of the best RPGs ever made, only boosted by the fact it was made in such a short amount of time.
