Ever-improving technological capabilities have led to ever-expanding possibilities in game development, and over the past two decades especially, studios have harnessed those technologies to make their games look better, play smoother, and for the most part, run longer.
Game length has become a critical selling point given consumers’ limited time and money, and their seemingly unlimited options for entertainment. So, with the help of IGN sister site HowLongtoBeat, we set out to discover the longest video game campaigns ever made.
The list is based on the average time it takes to ‘mainline’ a game’s campaign (i.e., to play straight through the story without exploring much or any side content). We decided to highlight story length rather than overall length as the overall list is dominated by idle games and neverending simulations. HowLongtoBeat estimates are based on user-reported playtimes.
11. My Time at Portia
My Time at Portia, a cozy town simulator from 2019, squeezes onto our list with a 70.5-hour campaign — half an hour longer than Crusader Kings 3.
My Time at Portia offers nearly as much content outside of the main story, as completionists can expect to spend around 135 hours with the sim.
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC, Mobile IGN’s My Time at Portia Review
10. Persona 4
This list is dominated by two franchises: Monster Hunter and Persona. The latter’s first entry on this list is the PS2 game Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4, which rolls credits around 72.5 hours.
Persona 4 Golden, now available on modern platforms, is described as an “expanded” version of P4, though according to HLTB, it has a shorter average completion time of 68 hours. However, Golden has a longer estimated time for completionists at 139 hours.
Platforms: Xbox Series X