What is the average time to complete a video game?
There is no single average, but most games take about 10–20 hours to finish the main story. Short linear or indie games can take 2–8 hours, while big open-world games and RPGs often take 40–100+ hours. Doing everything — side quests, collectibles, achievements — can double or triple that time.
Typical lengths by genre
- Indie and narrative games: 2–10 hours.
- Linear action-adventure games: 10–20 hours.
- Open-world action games: 30–60 hours for the story plus major side content.
- RPGs: 40–100+ hours; large ones can go much longer.
- Multiplayer and live-service games: no real end — players often spend hundreds of hours.
What changes your playtime
- Play style: rushing the story vs. exploring every corner.
- Difficulty: harder settings mean more retries.
- Completionism: 100% runs add the most time.
- Experience: players familiar with the genre finish faster.
How to check a specific game
HowLongToBeat collects player-reported times split into Main Story, Main + Extras and Completionist, which is the easiest way to estimate how long a game will take you.
FAQ
Is 300 hours on a game a lot?
For a single-player game, yes. For multiplayer games, strategy games or big RPGs that people replay, it's common.
What are the longest games to complete?
Massive RPGs and live-service games can take hundreds or thousands of hours for full completion, but those are exceptions.
What is the shortest game ever?
Some experimental and joke games last only seconds or minutes; for commercial games, a short campaign is usually 2–4 hours.
Why do some games take so long to beat?
Open worlds, side content and grinding systems are designed to keep players engaged, which stretches total playtime.
How many hours is considered a long game?
Anything over about 40 hours for the main story is usually considered long; JRPGs and open-world RPGs often go far beyond that.