Updated at: 02-03-2023 - By: Leo Hall
Here is the definitive rundown of all the games that have ever set the record for longest playtime. Do yourself a favor and check it out if you’re looking for some mindless entertainment to pass the time.

We are seeing an increase in the size and scope of new games as developers push the boundaries of technology to create more immersive experiences.

To bridge the gap between console and PC gaming, next-gen consoles like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X will feature support for even longer role-playing games, survival sandboxes, and simulation games.

Based on user votes at HowLongToBeat, we’ve compiled a list of the video games with the longest average playtimes, from shortest to longest. Both classics and new releases, playable on a variety of systems, are included.

Games that can only be played with other people have been disqualified from this list.

These games are guaranteed to keep you occupied for countless hours, whether you prefer games with riveting narratives or compelling gameplay.

In the future, we will add more games to this list, so be sure to check back. While you’re here, you might as well check out some of the other lists and guides we’ve put together:

Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Standard Duration: Two Days

In the latest installment of Nintendo’s long-running strategy-RPG series, players embark on a lengthy adventure that sees them become a professor at a prestigious academy in the heart of Fódlan, a massive continent comprised of three rivaling nations.

After taking an oath of allegiance to one of three groups (the Black Eagles, the Blue Lions, or the Golden Deer), you will begin field training students and managing their daily schedule, giving you plenty of chances to hone their combat skills and build a formidable squad.

Amazon.com: Fire Emblem: Three Houses : Nintendo of America: Everything Else

Despite its updated visuals, Three Houses hearkens back to the series’s roots by bringing back elements like weapon durability, permadeath, and combat arts. In total, these additions can extend the game’s playtime to 48 hours or more. As a result, Three Houses is the longest installment in the series, surpassing even Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn.

Red Dead Redemption 2

Length: 48 Hours on Average

The developers of Red Dead Redemption 2 made a sincere effort to strike a good balance between the game’s engaging story and its open-world gameplay, and the game still managed to fulfill all the requirements of a typical Rockstar title. It accomplishes its goal of providing a fitting conclusion to the first game while also providing players with a captivating setting. In order to emphasize the significance of each action in Arthur Morgan’s development, lengthy animations are used.

Some may argue that the unpleasant byproducts of this, like drawn-out animal skinning scenes, are essential to the experience as a whole. It’s easy to see why Red Dead 2 requires nearly 50 hours of your time and patience, what with the game’s massive world and lengthy main story.

Monster Hunter: World

The Typical Duration Is 50 Hours

Though it seems laughable to suggest that Monster Hunter: World can be completed in 50 hours, it is possible if you are only interested in the story and not the end-game grind.

Until Capcom decided to focus on improving its notoriously complicated gameplay systems, the series only appealed to a relatively small subset of gamers. Monster Hunter: World does a fantastic job of giving the impression that you are constantly progressing, despite the fact that some aspects can still feel clumsy and confusing at times.

Whether it’s defeating a more powerful version of a monster you’ve already fought or forging new, more potent equipment, your advancement is quantifiable and represented graphically.

For the best weapons and armor, however, hundreds of hours of play time will be required. Of course, with a competent crew and some handy mods, the whole thing can be a blast. The Iceborne downloadable content introduces a brand new story arc, a slew of new monsters, and a higher Master Rank cap.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

50 hours is about the norm.

Advising someone to complete Breath of the Wild in under 100 hours is a serious crime. However, you have the option to challenge Calamity Ganon early on in the game.

Assuming you don’t stray too far from the main path and decide you’ve had enough exploration for the time being, you can return Hyrule to its former glory in about 50 hours. Although we wouldn’t advise it, you shouldn’t miss out on what has become the best-selling Nintendo game of the generation and what has helped the Switch sell more units than any other console.

Although BOTW modernizes the Zelda formula, it honors the series’ past by including references to and easter eggs from the original games. You could spend dozens or even hundreds of hours exploring Hyrule’s vast environments, but most of it is actually quite easy to avoid, so only the most inquisitive players will find the game’s greatest secrets.

Stardew Valley

Length, on the Whole, is 50 Hours

While there is no definitive conclusion to Stardew Valley, some players believe that if you restore the Community Center and get a perfect farm rating from Grandpa, the game is over. A counterargument could be made that, even in a video game, procreating is still the pinnacle of success.

If you’re a serious player, you can probably get through all of this in 50 hours, provided this isn’t your first time at the proverbial rodeo.

It will take new players much longer to learn the game’s mechanics, establish their own routines, and become acquainted with the eccentric citizens of Stardew Valley. The way you spend your time is entirely up to you, so have fun with whatever you do.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Runtime: 52 Hours on Average

While the main storyline of The Witcher 3 can be finished in around 50 hours, most players will want to spend much more time exploring the open world of The Continent, which features bustling cities, war-ravaged swamps, dense forests, and sprawling caves.

This is due to the fact that CD Projekt Red designed environments to incentivize players to go off the beaten path by providing benefits to them when they do so.

The story follows Geralt of Rivia, a monster hunter for hire, as he sets out to find his adopted daughter and put an end to an evil force known as the Wild Hunt, complementing the game’s beautifully crafted environments and otherworldly creatures.

If role-playing games (RPGs) and expansive open worlds (like The Witcher series) are your thing, you’re in luck.

Darkest Dungeon

Length: 58 hours on average

Darkest Dungeon is a turn-based role-playing game (RPG) that combines Lovecraftian horror with dungeon crawling like few other games. Players are tasked with assembling and developing a team of heroes who must then brave a variety of perilous environments, both physical and mental.

The game’s hand-drawn, crow-quill visuals portray a disturbing world full of enough supernatural horrors to keep you occupied for a long time. There are over 16 different character classes available, each with their own unique set of strengths and weaknesses that can be combined in exciting ways to devastating effect for both party members and enemies.

Permadeath and an affliction system that gives characters psychological debuffs like paranoia, masochism, fear, and irrationality add a new layer of difficulty to the already difficult turn-based battles.

Octopath Traveler

Common Duration Is 60 Hours

Square Enix’s Octopath Traveler is a turn-based role-playing game with a striking HD-2D visual style. Characters are depicted as 2D sprites in homage to classic games, but they are set in elaborate environments with custom lighting and particle effects. An expansive 60-hour campaign featuring eight playable characters from vastly different backgrounds complements the game’s unique visual style.

The more you learn about the various heroes, the more you’ll want to explore the vast and varied continent of Orsterra, where magic and danger lurk around every corner. The turn-based battle system in Octopath Traveler is exciting, and it allows players to make use of their characters’ unique skills and abilities based on their chosen classes. Hopefully, by the end of the movie, you’ll have developed a soft spot for at least one of the adventurers whose stories serve as a part of something larger.

Divinity: Original Sin

Duration, on Average: 68 Hours

Divinity: Original Sin is the kind of traditional fantasy RPG that we look forward to losing ourselves in over the course of a long winter break or summer vacation, with its runtime just barely surpassing that of its predecessor by about 10 hours.

The game has a moderate playtime of 68 hours, and it casts you in the roles of two Source Hunters, members of an organization out to rid the world of a dangerous form of magic called Source. During what should have been a routine murder investigation, you find yourself with Rivellon’s life in your hands.

You’ll recruit an eclectic group of adventurers along the way, each of whom brings something special to the table during strategic turn-based battles. Divinity: Original Sin has a co-op mode that lets you play through the entire game with a second player, as well as hours upon hours of readable lore and fully voiced dialogue.

Xenoblade Chronicles X

Length, on Average, 70 Hours

One of the best role-playing games, Xenoblade Chronicles X can only be played on Nintendo’s Wii U. In it, you create a unique character and have them join BLADE, a group dedicated to protecting humanity after Earth has been destroyed.

You and your fellow survivors have crash landed on the alien world of Mira, where you must now find your way around the planet’s five continents while avoiding the Ganglion. The main story of Xenoblade Chronicles X spans 14 chapters, not counting the preamble and epilogue, and a plethora of optional quests can easily push the game’s recommended 70-hour length well beyond that.

Although it is technically a spin-off, veteran players of the Xenoblade series will recognize many of the familiar themes and references from the main series.

Total War: Three Kingdoms

Length, on Average: 80 Hours

Since we can remember, it seems like no other PC real-time strategy series has come close to challenging the Total War series. While Creative Assembly has published some lengthy games in the past, including Total War: Rome I & II, none have been on the scale and scope of 2019’s Three Kingdoms.

Set in China during the Three Kingdoms era (220-280 AD), the player assumes control of one of eleven warring factions vying to topple the existing dynasty and become China’s new ruler.

The game’s improved user interface and enemy AI make the 80-hour campaign much more manageable than you might think. Fans of real-time strategy games will feel right at home managing troops and supplies in battle and expanding their empire.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf

Common Duration: 84 Hours

Although it is not the most recent Nintendo social sim, Animal Crossing: New Leaf still holds the record for being the longest game in the series. There is no set ending to the game, but depending on how dedicated you are, it can take anywhere from 80 hours and up to experience everything the game has to offer.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf - IGN

Achieving “Perfect Town” status, filling up the catalog, collecting all of the golden tools, and maxing out your home’s upgrades are all considered by some players to be the game’s ultimate goals. On the other hand, we prefer to leave things more open-ended and suggest that the game ends when you’ve built your town to your liking and it looks exactly how you pictured it.

Kerbal Space Program

Duration: Around 100 Hours

Although sandbox games are often criticized for lacking a definitive conclusion or clear path to “beating” the game, everyone has their own unique way of bringing things to a satisfying close.

Playing the space flight simulator Kerbal Space Program for the typical player takes about 100 hours. By that time, they will have most likely visited every planet, invented a wide range of ridiculous spacecraft, and mapped out every branch of every technology tree.

Given that each player’s imagination is unique, the goals they choose in Kerbal Space Program will look very different from one another. It could be as simple as putting down the controller when you realize you’re getting bored, or as ambitious as visiting every planet in a single launch or bringing back a surface sample from Eve.

Persona 5 Royal

The Typical Duration Is 106 Hours

A standard playthrough of Persona 5 can take up to 100 hours, and the enhanced version, Persona 5 Royal, adds a few more hours of content.

Among them is the new addition to the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, Kasumi Yoshizawa. There is a new palace to explore, more story to experience with the addition of a playable third semester, and a wide variety of extracurricular pursuits to investigate.

The end result is a role-playing game (RPG) so compelling that you won’t be able to put it down until you’ve spent at least 106 hours completing high school, clearing dungeons, and shopping for the perfect gift to give to your crush. Because of the game’s multiple conclusions, you may even want to play it again to see if you missed anything the first time around.

Minecraft

Duration, on Average, is 120 Hours

The main story of Minecraft can be completed in under five minutes if you know what you’re doing, but taking on the Ender Dragon and the Wither, the game’s final bosses, will require a lot more time and effort from the average player.

To get the best gear in the game, you’ll need to find a wide variety of crafting materials and then use those materials to open up new tool and tech trees.

You’ll face off against hostile mobs, get lost in the caves at least once, and get sidetracked as you try to construct the ideal house. You’ll probably be more than ready to enter the End dimension, watch the credits roll, and head back to your house by the time you feel like you’ve done everything in Minecraft.

ARK: Survival Evolved

Duration, on Average, is 120 Hours

Hundreds of hours can be spent in ARK’s multiplayer mode, which has made Studio Wildcard’s survival sandbox famous. If you’d rather not deal with other players, ARK: Survival Evolved also has a solo mode where you can roam the open world at your own pace.

This greatly reduces the intensity of the game, making it the ideal setting in which to read the Explorer notes that are scattered across each map and learn the backstory of ARK. It’s not easy to get all the notes because you’ll have to face dangerous dinosaurs like Carnotauruses and swarms of Raptors in many of the locations.

You can expect to spend around 120 hours exploring the majority of ARK’s content after reaching milestones like the maximum crafting tier and collecting all of the tamable creatures.

Farming Simulator 19

An Average of 190 Hours

It’s possible you’ve noticed a connection between farming and tedious video games. One of the longest games on this list, Farming Simulator 19, is a prime example of this phenomenon.

The game expands on the roster of included farming vehicles and machines based on leading real-world brands like John Deere and JCB, and it features a completely reworked graphics engine, both of which are significant changes to the long-running franchise.

The massive Career Mode in Farming Simulator 2019 is the game’s crowning achievement, as it teaches you the ropes of farm management from the ground up. This includes doing things like fixing up your farm equipment and taking care of your livestock on a daily basis.

You’ll emerge from the experience feeling like a seasoned farmer, ready to relax and enjoy the fruits of your labor or dive deeper into the game by installing any number of user-created mods.

The Longing

Time Spent on Average: 9600 Hours

Lastly, but by no means least, is The Longing, an adventure role-playing game (RPG) that can be purchased through the Steam store.

You play the role of a Shade, the lone surviving servant of an underground king who once ruled over an entire kingdom. In recent years, however, the king’s vitality has been dwindling, and this has prompted him to enter a deep sleep lasting 400 days; upon awakening, he will have all of his former strength returned to him.

The king won’t be back for another 9600 hours, so occupying your time is of the utmost importance. After the allotted 400 days are up, you can either return or continue exploring the vast underground cave full of collectibles to decorate your living quarters.

The countdown timer in The Longing now works regardless of whether or not the game is currently open, which is a nice touch.

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (46 Hour Average)

However, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind’s staggering amount of playtime should not be overlooked because it was made available at a time when fully-fledged 3D open worlds were still somewhat of a novelty. This is in contrast to both Skyrim and Daggerfall, which are famous for their potentially endless gameplay and one of the largest open worlds to date in a video game, respectively. Even though it takes fans of Bethesda’s hit high fantasy series just under fifty hours on average to complete Morrowind, the game is still deserving of a special place in their hearts.

Tales Of Graces F (47 Hours Average)

Unsurprisingly, Tales of Graces F, released in 2012, is the first of a large number of Japanese role-playing games (JRPGs) that will appear here. In spite of its enormous success in Japan, the series has not held up as well in the West as some of the other, more exemplary titles in the same genre. Even though Tales of Graces F was initially created for the Wii, it eventually made its way to the PlayStation 3 and was met with positive reviews on both platforms. This anime-inspired RPG follows the trend of many modern JPRGs in that it has a lengthy and intricate story that players probably won’t be able to make sense of until they’ve put in around fifty hours.

Star Ocean – The Last Hope (48 Hour Average)

Star Ocean – The Last Hope, which debuted in 2009, is a prequel to the main Star Ocean franchise and features many of the same sci-fi anime elements that have made the series so popular. It has some similarities to No Man’s Sky and other space exploration games, but it came out nearly ten years before that game.

If you’re a fan of Japanese role-playing games, you should be able to complete the main story in about 48 hours, and those interested in joining in the galactic mayhem can pick up the remaster from last year on the PlayStation Store or Steam.

Dark Souls (50 Hour Average)

Dark Souls, released in 2011, brought both the series and studio fame, though Demon’s Souls was the first game to really introduce the concept of a fully-realized, immensely difficult dark fantasy RPG to the masses. It may take new players up to fifty hours to complete their first journey into Lordran, despite the game being hailed as one of the most compelling RPGs of the seventh console generation. Expert players may be able to breeze through this game in a few hours, but for the rest of us, it’s going to be a long, frustrating slog. There has never been a better time for curious players to check out how they do in this harsh world than now, with the release of a brand-new remaster of this title.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (50 Hour Average)

The Final Fantasy series is known for its lengthy games, so the sheer quantity of content in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance for the Nintendo Gameboy Advance is all the more impressive. Tactics Advance is still one of the most talked-about classic Final Fantasy games today, thanks to its in-depth story and gameplay that is reminiscent of other GBA titles like the Advance Wars series. This gem demonstrates that a player’s tactical instinct is more important than a game’s grand scale or its seven hundred square miles of play space in order to have a good time.

Disgaea: Hour of Darkness (60 Hour Average)

Among Western video games, Disgaea: Hour of Darkness may be the most quintessentially Japanese. The Disgaea series, which began as a PlayStation 2 video game and has since spawned several follow-up games, a manga, and an anime series, Makai Senki Disgaea, among other media, began as a video game and has since expanded to other platforms. This is the first installment in a series of turn-based tactical JRPGs that is highly recommended for fans of games like Square Enix’s Final Fantasy Tactics. With an average playthrough time of around sixty hours, this game adheres to the unspoken Japanese RPG tradition of being extremely lengthy.

The Legend Of Heroes: Trails Of Cold Steel (63 Hours)

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel combines elements from both tactical turn-based RPGs like Valkyria Chronicles and Japanese high school student-centric anime. Given that Trails of Cold Steel follows a group of students who are determined to overthrow an oppressive regime, it’s safe to assume that it wasn’t made with JRPG novices in mind. However, this book, along with the rest of the series of which it is a part, has received widespread acclaim and is jam-packed with material. However, it has been labeled as the kind of game that “only gets good around the 20 hour mark,” so impatient players should be wary.

Heroes Of Might And Magic III: The Restoration Of Erathia (64 Hour Average)

Heroes of Might and Magic III is a turn-based strategy role-playing game that served as a cornerstone in the massive Heroes of Might and Magic series and remains an influential classic to this day. In Heroes III, players take command of a squad of heroic protagonists who serve as generals in a campaign to achieve one of several predetermined objectives. Against a backdrop of fantastical high fantasy, players can spend dozens of hours waging fantastic campaigns of conquest and resource acquisition. The average playtime is over sixty hours, but this is the kind of niche game that players who enjoy it will likely keep playing even after the main story is finished.

Dragon Quest VIII: Journey Of The Cursed King (66 Hour Average)

In contrast to the 2D and isometric pseudo-3D techniques used in previous titles, Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King was the first in the longrunning Dragon Quest series to feature fully 3D environments and character models. Another Japanese role-playing game, this Dragon Quest installment features a fantastical quest to reverse a spell that has transformed the royal family of the Kingdom of Troidan into trolls, horses, and plants.

That’s just scratching the surface, though; serious players can expect to sink at least sixty hours into this game. Many people are excited about the release of Dragon Quest XI because of the success of previous entries in the series, but those who have never played a game in the series before may want to start with this one.

Forza Motorsport 5 (69 Hour Average)

Forza Motorsport 5, released for the Xbox One console, features some of the most in-depth gameplay of any racing simulator. With nearly seventy hours of next-gen racing bliss and over two hundred vehicles to race, customize, and drool over, Motorsport 5 is sure to please even the most devoted series fans. However, compared to the previous installment in the series, Forza Motorsport 4, which featured a staggering 500-odd vehicles, Forza Motorsport 5 was a significant step down. However, there is still plenty of meat for the average fan to chew on in this Xbox One exclusive.

Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition (70 Hour Average)

Baldur’s Gate II, a classic role-playing game from the 1990s, was remastered in 2013 with a few new quality-of-life features and general upgrades to what was becoming an antiquated piece of computing history. However, Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition is remarkably complex and a Dungeons and Dragons-esque romp designed for players comfortable with titles of that ilk, so it fits in well with the RPGs of the era. With extensive character creation and customization options that put Bethesda’s Skyrim to shame, players can expect to sink at least seventy hours into completing all of the content from Baldur’s Gate II, the Throne of Bhaal expansion, and the remaster’s new additions.

Fallout 4: GOTY Edition (78 Hour Average)

Despite the main Fallout game’s fantastic visual upgrade in 2015, it still managed to dissatisfy many of the series’ diehard fans. Since Bethesda Softworks started making franchise entries in the Fallout series in 2008, the series has shifted focus from its isometric RPG roots toward a focus on its shooting mechanics. That doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty to do in Fallout 4, though. The Game of the Year Edition of Bethesda Softworks’s second in-house developed Fallout title can keep players busy for an average of 78 hours, what with its sizable chunk of New England and a few DLC locations to investigate.

PainstakingRick's Performout - ALL Game Textures Resized at Fallout 4 Nexus - Mods and community

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (80 Hour Average)

Fans of the series generally considered Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, released in 2004, to be the best example of the open-world mayhem sandbox formula before Grand Theft Auto V updated the series and included the beloved yet often criticized Grand Theft Auto Online. San Andreas still has the newer title beat in terms of sheer gameplay possibilities, despite the 2013 version offering a visual upgrade. Even 14 years after its release, some die-hard fans have yet to finish the game, which can easily be played by casual players for 80 hours before they call it quits.

The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited (80 Hour Average)

Players have dreamed of a fully 3D, updated Tamriel experience ever since The Elder Scrolls I: Arena was released by Bethesda Softworks in 1994. TESO was supposed to be a classic because it let players travel to all nine of Tamriel’s regions. The game was not well received because of launch issues and a lack of initial content. Opinions have evolved over time, however, and veteran MMORPG players may want to revisit the world of Tamriel Unlimited.

Dragon Age: Inquisition (84 Hour Average)

Dragon Age Inquisition was a critically acclaimed and superbly organized fantasy role-playing game that sold well despite its publisher’s many missteps, despite the fact that Electronic Arts has recently abandoned the series. Despite the series’ ups and downs, Inquisition was a compelling game that had players putting in an average of 84 hours to complete. The only real drawback of Inquisition is that PC players need an EA Origin account to get their hands on it, despite the game’s beautiful visuals and, to some, parity with titles like The Witcher 3.

Record Of Agarest War (87 Hour Average)

As one might guess from the title, Record of Agarest War (or Agarest: Generations of War in Europe) is a uniquely Japanese turn-based tactics role-playing game (RPG) with some visual novel elements thrown in for good measure.

Released in 2007 on the relatively new PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, the game is an attempt to recreate the feel of certain classic 16-bit role-playing games while also incorporating some more up-to-date features. On the other hand, players of Record of Agarest War will need to be committed if they want to complete the game in the average time of 87 hours.

Monster Hunter World (92 Hour Average)

It’s easy to see why Monster Hunter has endured as a popular series over the years: the game has a straightforward premise that’s been expertly realized. Players can expect to be entertained for a long time due to the abundance of monsters to kill and the ever-changing nature of the setting. Players are invited to return and enjoy the hunt from a cooperative vantage point. Most people will probably put in 92 hours, but you can certainly put in a lot more if you want to.

Rainbow Moon (93 Hour Average)

Rainbow Moon is a low-key PlayStation exclusive that, at first glance, visually resembles a lot of the terrible freemium RPGs and tower defense games that are abundant on the Google Play store. When compared to those shallow mobile games supported by in-app purchases, Rainbow Moon’s depth becomes immediately apparent. Cartoonishly reimagining the conventions of the role-playing game genre, Final Fantasy XV has an estimated 90-hour playtime. Furthermore, Rainbow Moon was released for the PS4 in 2016 for RPG fans who just can’t get enough of their epic storylines.

Final Fantasy XII (120 Hour Average)

When the PlayStation 2 was still in its prime, Final Fantasy XII was widely regarded as one of the best role-playing games ever made for the system. Since it was released in 2006, when interest in the sixth-generation consoles was waning, XII may not have lived up to the promise of its forebears.

However, Final Fantasy XII (and its re-master of sorts for modern hardware) brought the game to the forefront of gamer’s attention, if only for a short time. The average playtime of Final Fantasy XII is 120 hours, which is a testament to the developer’s skill and makes it one of the most ambitious and innovative games in a series full of classics.

Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 (133 Hour Average)

In Roller Coaster Tycoon 2’s sandbox mode, players were given free reign to create whatever kind of theme park they wanted. Like the original, it was a watershed moment in the history of the management and simulation genres, letting grownup gamers realize their ambitions to create their own roller coasters from scratch. There was a lot of content to explore, but players who took on the game’s scenario campaigns were in for a challenge. Those who spent the extra money on the game’s two DLC packs could have finished it in a fraction of the standard 133 hours.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons (422 Hour Average, All Playstyles)

Animal Crossing: New Leaf held the crown for the longest games to complete, but when the year 2020 rolled around and Nintendo released the highly anticipated sequel to the series, New Horizons, the title was passed on as well. The gameplay of New Horizons is similar to that of previous Animal Crossing games, though the game introduces innovative features like terraforming. This is the kind of game that can easily consume hundreds of hours, as the player builds their village and participates to seasonal events, and as a result, the player is encouraged to log on to their village on a daily basis.