Development hell

Development hell, also known as development purgatory or development limbo, is media and software industry jargon for a project, concept, or idea that remains in a stage of early development for a long time because of legal, technical, or artistic challenges.^[1] A work may move between many sets of artistic leadership, crews, scripts, game engines, or studios. Many projects which end up in development hell never progress into production, and are gradually abandoned by the involved parties.

Projects in development hell generally have ambitious goals, which may or may not be underestimated in the design phase, and are delayed in an attempt to meet those goals to a high degree. Production hell or production limbo refer to when a film has entered production but remains in that state for a long time without progressing to post-production.

The term can also apply generally to any project that has languished unexpectedly in its planning or construction phases, rather than being completed in a realistic amount of time, or otherwise having diverted from its original timely expected date of completion.

^ Doyle, Barbara Freedman (2012). Make Your Movie: What You Need to Know About the Business and Politics of Filmmaking. Waltham, Massachusetts: Focal Press. p. 55. ISBN 978-0-240-82155-9. Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2023.

[Doyle_Page_55-1] Doyle, Barbara Freedman (2012). Make Your Movie: What You Need to Know About the Business and Politics of Filmmaking. Waltham, Massachusetts: Focal Press. p. 55. ISBN 978-0-240-82155-9. Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2023.

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