# How long it takes to make your first game with AI

> Nobody can promise a timeline for a first game made with AI. The time depends on the size of the game, the art style, how often you change your mind, and your free hours each week. A Norwegian accountant with a full-time job launched an AI-made game in less than seven months. And on Google Play, new personal accounts still go through 14 days of testing.

Summary for when you're short on time

- No serious source gives a timeline for a first game: the time depends on the size, the art, changes of mind, and your free hours.
- Norwegian accountant Jonathan Bjerk, with a full-time job, took less than seven months to launch a game made with AI.
- He spent two months stuck on bugs in the multiplayer mode, and says marketing was harder than making the game.
- Famous games made before AI took anywhere from a weekend (the first version of 2048) to four years (Stardew Valley).
- On Google Play, a new personal account needs 12 testers for 14 days in a row before it can apply to publish.
- After the test, the review of the request usually takes up to seven days, according to Google, and sometimes longer.

Your first step: Write your game in three sentences and cut everything that does not fit on one screen with one action.

By Daniel Novi. Published October 14, 2026. Updated October 14, 2026. Address: https://www.gamearchitectsai.com/en/start-here/how-long-does-it-take-to-make-a-game

## Can you know how long your first game will take?

No, and anyone who promises a timeline is guessing. The clock on a first game depends on your choices, not on the tool: the size of the game, the art style, how many times you change your mind along the way, and how many hours are left in your week.

AI changed part of the math. Today it writes the code, the set of instructions that makes the game work, from what you describe in plain English. But you are still the one who decides what the game is, tests it, and says when it is good, and that part takes as long as it takes. See [what AI does and what stays with you](/en/start-here/make-a-game-without-coding).

What you can do is look at how long real games took, understand what weighed on each one, and choose a first game that fits your life.

## How long did it take people who made a game with AI?

The best documented case is Jonathan Bjerk's. He is an accountant in Norway, was 38, and worked full time. As for programming, he knew only a little HTML and CSS, the basics for building simple web pages[1].

On May 28, 2025, he started making Curve Clash with AI, a game where each person steers a snake that leaves a trail, and whoever does not crash wins. By August, he had a test version. By mid-December, the game was out on the web, iPhone, and Android: less than seven months from start to launch, without quitting his job[1].

But the road was not straight. Bjerk chose a game for several people to play together online, and spent September and October stuck on bugs that made players' devices see different things[1]. Getting the feel of the game right, like the turning speed and the thickness of the trail, took hours of testing. And the part he calls the hardest came after the game was done: getting people to know about it[1].

That is why his advice for beginners is not to start with a multiplayer game: first, make the game good for a single player[1]. According to him, more than 1,500 people played Curve Clash. He has not disclosed how much the game earned[1].

## And how long did famous games made before AI take?

Anywhere from a weekend to four years. Three warnings before the table: none of these games was made with AI; almost all of their creators already knew how to code; and these are the cases that worked out among thousands that almost nobody played.

| Game | How long it took | Who made it | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2048 | One weekend, in February 2014 | A 19-year-old, based on a similar game, 1024 | CNBC[5] |
| Flappy Bird | A holiday weekend, in April 2013 | A programmer, alone | Rolling Stone[4] |
| Geometry Dash | About four months part time, until 2013 | One person, with basic programming skills | Cult of Mac[6] |
| Five Nights at Freddy's | About six months, until 2014 | One person, with his kids and friends testing | Wikipedia[7] |
| Vampire Survivors | About a year until the first version went on sale, in 2021 | One developer, with informal help from friends | Wikipedia[8] |
| Balatro | More than two and a half years, until 2024 | One person, who started it as a side project | Wikipedia[9] |
| Stardew Valley | Four years, until 2016 | One person, who taught himself to make the music and art | Official website[10] |

Notice what separates the two ends. 2048 is a single screen with a single rule: slide the numbers to merge matching ones. Stardew Valley is a whole farm, with animals, a town, fishing, and caves to explore, and its creator did the programming, music, and art by himself[10].

Notice, too, what the table does not say. "One weekend" is the first version of a small game, made by someone who already knew how to code. Even a game that started fast can take years to finish: Minecraft had its first public version in May 2009 and only reached version 1.0 in November 2011[11]. These stories are told in [famous games that started small](/en/stories/famous-games-that-started-small).

## What makes the time vary?

Five things, and four of them are in your hands. This list is our take, based on the cases above.

### The size of the game

This weighs the most. Every extra level, character, button, and screen is one more thing to make, test, and fix. One screen with one action is one project; a world to explore is dozens of projects together. Bjerk puts it his own way: everything that goes into the game needs maintenance, bug fixing, and tuning[1].

### The art

Simple art gets done sooner. AI helps make the game's art, but a detailed style takes many rounds before all the pieces match. Simple shapes shorten this part: Geometry Dash, according to its creator, started as a square that jumped and crashed[6].

### Changes of mind

This is the one nobody accounts for. Every big change redoes part of what was already finished. Changing the color of a button is quick; switching from a racing game to a fighting game halfway through is almost starting over.

### Testing

Testing means playing your game many times, looking for what is broken or boring. AI helps find bugs, but it does not know whether the game is fun. Bjerk puts it this way: AI does not tell you if the game is fun, other people do[1]. And outside players play when they can, on their own schedule.

### Your hours per week

Bjerk made his game without quitting his full-time job as an accountant[1]. Balatro started as a side project, and its creator only quit his job about a year before launch[9]. The same idea takes very different amounts of time for someone with two hours a week and someone with twenty.


## How long does it take to get the game into a store?

On Google Play, Android's store, at least two weeks after the game is done, if your publisher account is personal and new. This is the part of the timeline that depends on neither you nor the AI.

Anyone who opened a personal developer account after November 13, 2023, has to run a closed test before publishing: at least 12 people you invite, with the game installed, for at least 14 days in a row[2]. The days have to be consecutive to count[2]. A closed test means only the people you invited can play.

After the test, you apply to the store for production access and answer questions about the test, the game, and whether it is ready. According to Google, this review usually takes seven days or less, but sometimes takes longer. And if the store thinks there was not enough testing, it can ask you to keep testing[2].

| Google Play step | Time | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Closed test, new personal account | At least 14 days in a row, with at least 12 testers | Google Play[2] |
| Review of the publishing request | Usually seven days or less, sometimes longer | Google Play[2] |
| Review of the game, for some accounts | Up to seven days, or longer in exceptional cases | Google Play[3] |

Added up, that is two weeks of testing plus the review time (our math). In our view, the best way not to lose time here is to invite the 12 testers while the game is still being made. The full walkthrough is in [how to publish a game on Google Play](/en/publishing/how-to-publish-a-game-on-google-play).

## What size of game fits your time?

The smallest one you still want to finish. There is no official table saying "a small game takes so many months," and making one up would be guessing. What you can do is compare game sizes with known cases and with what weighed most in each one.


| Size of game | What it is like | What weighs most | A sourced example |
|---|---|---|---|
| One screen, one action | The player does just one thing, like tapping or swiping, and a round is short | Getting the difficulty right | 2048 and Flappy Bird: first version in days, made by programmers[5][4] |
| Several levels, one action | The same way of playing, in levels that keep getting harder | Making and testing each level | Geometry Dash: about four months part time[6] |
| Rules that combine | Several things happening together that need to stay balanced | Balancing the rules | Five Nights at Freddy's: about six months[7]; Balatro: more than two and a half years[9] |
| A world to explore | Many places, characters, and things to do | The volume of content | Stardew Valley: four years[10] |
| Several people online | Players on different devices, at the same time | Getting the devices to agree | Curve Clash: less than seven months, with AI, and two of them stuck on this[1] |

In our view, a first game does well in the first two rows. The kinds of games that fit there are explained in [what your first game should be](/en/start-here/what-should-your-first-game-be).

## Does AI make everything faster?

It speeds up writing the code, which was exactly where people who do not code used to get stuck. The rest still takes human time.

Bjerk described the split well. In the interview, his words were "AI was my engineering team, not my creative director"[1]. He was the one who decided the game, tested the feel of every turn, and chased down players.

Some parts of the timeline AI does not shorten:

- **Deciding.** What goes in, what stays out, and when it is good.
- **Testing with people.** People play when they can.
- **The store's test.** Google Play's 14 days in a row are 14 days for everyone[2].
- **Getting the game found.** Bjerk says it was the hardest part of all[1].

**The other side.** None of the cases on this page works as a timeline for your game. Bjerk already knew some HTML, chose a specific game, and had the hours he had. The famous games in the table were made before AI, almost all by people who already coded, and they are exceptions among thousands that almost nobody played. And finishing is not selling: getting into a store is one step, and getting people to find the game is another, which can take longer than making it.

## How do you avoid giving up halfway?

By choosing a game that ends. These suggestions are our take:

- **Start with the smallest game that still excites you.** Your dream game does not go in the trash; it goes on the top shelf, for when you have finished one or two small ones.
- **Write down what stays out.** A "later" list holds back the urge to add one more thing to the game.
- **Decide in advance what "done" means.** Without that line, the game never ends.
- **Show it early.** One person playing reveals in minutes what you did not see in weeks.
- **Recruit testers before you need them.** Google Play's 12 need 14 days in a row, and that clock only starts once everyone is in.

The first step fits on a sheet of paper: [write your game idea in three sentences](/en/start-here/how-to-start-making-a-game), before opening any program.

## Your action plan

- [ ] Write your game in three sentences: what the player does, how they win, and why they would play again.
- [ ] Cut the idea down until it fits on one screen with one action, and keep the rest on a "later" list.
- [ ] Write down how many hours a week you really have for the game.
- [ ] Define, before you start, what needs to be working for the first version to count as done.
- [ ] List 12 people with Android phones who would agree to test your game for 14 days in a row.
- [ ] Read the official Google Play page about the closed test for new personal accounts.
- [ ] Choose the type of your first game by reading [what your first game should be](/en/start-here/what-should-your-first-game-be).

## Related questions

### How long does it take to make a simple game?

Nobody can promise. One-screen, one-rule games like 2048 and Flappy Bird had their first version made in days, but by people who already coded, and without AI. Your time depends on the size of the game and the hours you have.

### Can you make a game in one day with AI?

We have not found, in any reliable source, someone who had never coded and published an AI-made game in a store in one day. On Google Play, a new personal account still needs 14 consecutive days of testing before publishing.

### How long does the Google Play closed test take?

At least 14 days in a row, with at least 12 testers, for personal accounts created after November 13, 2023. After that, the review of the publishing request usually takes seven days or less, according to Google.

### Can you make a game while holding a job?

Yes, it just takes longer. Jonathan Bjerk made Curve Clash with AI while working full time as an accountant. Balatro started as a side project, and its creator only quit his job about a year before launch.

### Why do first games usually run late?

In our view, because of changes of mind along the way and because of testing, which depends on other people. Every big change redoes part of what was already finished.

### How long did Stardew Valley take?

Four years, according to the game's official website. Eric Barone did everything alone and learned to make the music and art along the way. The game came out in February 2016, without AI.

### Does AI know if my game is fun?

No. It writes the code and helps with the art, but the people who play are the ones who say whether the game is fun. Jonathan Bjerk advises getting other people to test early.

## Sources

1. AI Gamechangers, interview with Jonathan Bjerk (April 6, 2026): https://aigamechangers.substack.com/p/ai-was-my-engineering-team-not-my (accessed October 14, 2026)
2. Play Console Help, testing requirement for new personal accounts: https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/14151465?hl=en (accessed October 14, 2026)
3. Play Console Help, "Publish your app" (review times): https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/9859751?hl=en (accessed October 14, 2026)
4. Rolling Stone, "The Flight of the Birdman: Flappy Bird Creator Dong Nguyen Speaks Out" (March 11, 2014, Internet Archive copy): https://web.archive.org/web/20150101112504/http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/the-flight-of-the-birdman-flappy-bird-creator-dong-nguyen-speaks-out-20140311 (accessed October 14, 2026)
5. CNBC, "19-year-old makes viral game hit in a weekend" (March 26, 2014, Internet Archive copy): https://web.archive.org/web/20150929225056/http://www.cnbc.com/2014/03/26/19-year-old-makes-viral-game-hit-in-a-weekend.html (accessed October 14, 2026)
6. Cult of Mac, interview with Robert Topala about Geometry Dash (June 27, 2014, Internet Archive copy): https://web.archive.org/web/20250719143527/https://www.cultofmac.com/news/geometry-dash-robert-topala (accessed October 14, 2026)
7. Wikipedia, "Five Nights at Freddy's (video game)": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Nights_at_Freddy%27s_(video_game) (accessed October 14, 2026)
8. Wikipedia, "Vampire Survivors": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire_Survivors (accessed October 14, 2026)
9. Wikipedia, "Balatro": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balatro (accessed October 14, 2026)
10. Stardew Valley, official press page: https://www.stardewvalley.net/press/ (accessed October 14, 2026)
11. Wikipedia, "Minecraft": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minecraft (accessed October 14, 2026)