[...] The plan was actually pretty simple… create the longest developed game in history that eventually is one of the greatest games ever made. [...] What Epic got out of this whole deal was basically this mystery project that is a constant “customer” of their engine, with people always speculating on whether it was updated to the newest one or not, etc. You would be surprised at how many licenses this has helped sell through the years.
The development (or lack thereof) DNF will make for a good chapter in some future business management book.