The development of Wolfenstein 3D took four months
In the Deep Dive podcast on the YouTube channel of Nightdive Games, John Romero shared insights about the working conditions at id Software in the early '90s.
Founded in 1991, the iconic studio released a game every two months for the first year and a half. At that time, dedicating more resources was a luxury.
The platformer series Commander Keen was the studio's biggest revenue generator. By the end of 1991, the id Software team had released seven episodes about the adventures of Billy Blaze.
However, things were different with Wolfenstein 3D. According to Romero, they realized early on that they were creating something special.
"So we told ourselves that it would be the first game to take as much time as needed for development," said Romero.
From the start of development to its release as a shareware game, it took four months. Its sales quickly surpassed the combined sales of Commander Keen.