Initially titled "Rainy Woods", development of the game began in 2004. Shortly after its debut trailer in 2007 promoting it as a multi-platform game for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360, it was canceled due to technological difficulties between the consoles' hardware, including memory allocation and lighting. It was rebooted and renamed "Deadly Premonition" in 2008, and development recommenced in 2009. The game faced four more cancellations before being completed and released in 2010.
Deadly Premonition holds the record for "Most Critically Polarizing Survival Horror Game" in the Guinness World Records 2012 Gamer's Edition.
Agent Francis York Morgan was originally named David Young Henning and had a different face and more cynical personality during the first few years of the game's development.