Traditionally, open-world RPGs are some of the longest games there are, requiring real dedication from players. What’s more, in many cases the base game is just the beginning. Going for the fullest editions available to experience absolutely everything the title has to offer can easily stretch to over 200 hours, resulting in months of intense play before finally rolling the credits.
For this list, I decided to focus on the fullest editions of some of the longest open-world RPGs available that can take forever to beat, ranking them by playtime. I use the “Main+Extra” figures from HowLongToBeat for each, as this is the most reliable metric for the average time people spend with these games. Almost no one focuses exclusively on the main story path, but they also rarely strive to do absolutely everything for 100% completion.
That said, the referenced data may not align perfectly with your experience, and it may take considerably longer depending on your playstyle, so keep that in mind. In my experience, it usually takes me up to 50 hours longer to clear open-world games like the ones listed below.
150 hours sounds huge, but what does this actually mean? For reference, you can play a game daily in 5-hour sessions for a whole month, or almost two months if you can’t afford more than 3 hours a day.
1
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Complete Edition
Hours of Play on Average: 150
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Image via CD Projekt Red -
CD Projekt Red
Features:
- The Witcher 3 – 100 hours
- Hearts of Stone – 15 hours
- Blood and Wine – 30 hours
- Smaller Free DLC (including extra quests) – 3 hours
- Songs of the Past – TBA
A pretty rare case in the industry, the so-called “Complete Edition” for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt turned out incomplete years later. With the upcoming Songs of the Past expansion on the horizon, one of the longest games of its genre is about to become even bigger. CDPR has already teased that the game’s third expansion will be in line with what fans have grown to expect from the studio’s past works, like Blood and Wine or Phantom Liberty.
Nevertheless, even without Songs of the Past, which will probably add 20 to 30 hours of playtime, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Complete Edition is a colossal offering, almost unmatched in the industry to this day. What’s best, it’s also an extremely rare case where the quantity of content is matched by its quality, as both the Hearts of Stone and Blood & Wine expansions are considered some of the best additions of all time.
2
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla – Complete Edition
Hours of Play on Average: 145
Features:
- AC Valhalla – 100 hours
- Wrath of the Druids – 15 hours
- The Siege of Paris – 10 hours
- Dawn of Ragnarök – 15 hours
- Smaller Free DLC (including extra quests) – 5 hours
If there’s a game that came the closest to The Witcher 3’s grand scope, it’s Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, boasting the biggest post-launch support among Ubisoft open-world titles to date. AC Valhalla received three substantial expansions, with Dawn of Ragnarök even released outside of the Season Pass due to the game’s enormous success. If only AC Shadows got more post-launch content rather than just one Claws of Awaji DLC.
While AC Valhalla is often criticized for the base game’s bloat, featuring several explorable maps that are way too huge for their own good and a main story that suffers as a result of largely separate story arcs for each region, the expansions turned out to be a pleasant surprise. They strike just the right balance between the size of the new regions and the density of quests and activities. Wrath of the Druids is my personal favorite, with its mystical atmosphere, menacing foes, and a strong story that’s easy to stay invested in thanks to its memorable characters.
3
Elden Ring Tarnished Edition
Hours of Play on Average: 140
Features:
- Elden Ring – 100 hours
- Shadow of the Erdtree – 40 hours
Technically not available just yet, Tarnished Edition is a fancy title for a bundle that includes Elden Ring and the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, both of which have been available to fans outside of Nintendo platforms for over two years now. Easily one of the best and biggest games of this entire generation, Elden Ring stands as comparable to The Witcher 3’s achievement in the open-world genre, perfectly placing the highlights of soulslike games into one of the most interesting and beautiful seamless maps to explore.
Despite the undeniable breadth of content on offer, SOTE still has a somewhat mixed reputation. It has been criticized for its overtuned difficulty in some boss encounters, the questionable Scadutree mechanics that can slow down subsequent runs, and the lack of a proper ending that some players expected. To me though, there are no real issues here. I’d vote Shadow of the Erdtree the best and biggest story expansion ever made — yes, even better than Blood and Wine.
Scratch & Peek
Identify the cover art while scratching off as little foil as
possible.
Hours of Play on Average: 140
Features:
- Skyrim – 110 hours
- Dawnguard – 10 hours
- Hearthfire – 5 hours
- Dragonborn – 15 hours
Actually the oldest game among these, The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim still stands strong over the years, firmly remaining among the longest and most-played open-world titles of all time. Still considered Bethesda’s magnum opus, Skyrim has been re-released countless times on almost every platform imaginable since 2011. While the company recently reaffirmed active development of The Elder Scrolls 6, it sounds like the game is still pretty far away — meaning it’s time for yet another Skyrim playthrough.
Skyrim has enjoyed the pretty standard post-launch support expected of its kind, offering two sizable story expansions with new regions such as Solstheim, and a smaller one, Hearthfire, mostly focused on the game’s leisure side, like acquiring land and building houses. Given how often Bethesda has updated the title, it would definitely be interesting to see more story content added over the years, like CDPR is doing now with The Witcher 3. As it stands, mods remain the only real source of new quests and fresh content for the game’s long-term fans.
5
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey – Ultimate Edition
Hours of Play on Average: 130
Features:
- AC Odyssey – 85 hours
- Legacy of the First Blade – 10 hours
- The Fate of Atlantis – 25 hours
- The Lost Tales of Greece (free extra quests) – 10 hours
Before AC Valhalla took the helm as the biggest and longest game in the series, that title belonged to Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, which also received admirable post-launch support. Years after its release, playing the game in all its glory is even more fun — not just due to Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey movie event of the year that might inspire some to give it a go, but also thanks to all the expansions now being available as a complete package. Back in the day, their episodic launch nature was something I personally wasn’t a fan of.
As a whole, AC Odyssey is often hailed as the best RPG offering in the series. It features over 50 hours of extra content and several new explorable worlds added through its expansions and free updates, including small quests and the game’s ending chapter that ties Kassandra’s (or Alexios’) legacy into the overarching Assassin’s Creed franchise lore. AC Odyssey is best enjoyed in shorter sessions to prevent burnout, yet its gorgeous world and lighthearted mood can easily win you over for a mostly uninterrupted epic journey through every corner of Ancient Greece.
6
Fallout 4: Game of the Year Edition
Hours of Play on Average: 130
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Image via Bethesda Game Studios -
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Features:
- Fallout 4 – 85 hours
- Automatron – 5 hours
- Far Harbor – 15 hours
- Nuka-World – 15 hours
- Workshops DLC (Vault-Tec, Contraptions, Wasteland) – 10 hours
After Skyrim, Fallout 4 is probably Bethesda’s biggest accomplishment in terms of raw size and the wealth of post-launch DLC. With a map substantially smaller than Fallout 76’s, F4 offers much greater density, featuring vast urban regions of Boston and Cambridge built on layered exploration, countless dungeons, and multi-story buildings. It’ll be interesting to see how Fallout 5 will differ from the previous games. The sequel is already technically announced but is probably still years away, coming after TES 6.
When compared to Skyrim, Fallout 4 offers less story-driven content for true adventurers and much more sandbox-style play. Its robust building and crafting mechanics let you put nearly every piece of junk you find in the Wasteland to good use. Some of the game’s DLC are entirely workshop-focused, adding new enhancements to the already in-depth construction system and allowing fans to sink dozens more hours into the game if they choose. Note that there’s also the newer (and usually more expensive) Fallout 4 – Anniversary Edition, with the only real difference being the addition of over 150 Creation Club items.
7
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Royal Edition
Hours of Play on Average: 130
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Image via Warhorse Studios -
Image via Warhorse Studios -
Features:
- KCD 2 – 100 hours
- Brushes with Death – 7 hours
- Legacy of the Forge – 15 hours
- Mysteria Ecclesiae – 7 hours
After the original KCD that took quite some time and work to reach iconic status, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is an instant hit. There’s virtually no competition for such an immersive medieval open-world experience, so stepping into the shoes of Henry of Skalitz feels quite literally like starting another life. KCD2 is often hailed as The Witcher 3 or Skyrim of the current generation, standing as a true must-play for any RPG lover out there who values story, characters, and plausibility of the world above all else.
Matching its AAA ambition, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is a truly massive experience. The base game is already comparable to Elden Ring or AC Valhalla in scope, packed with things to do, plot twists, and major events. As for the game’s DLC, included as part of its Royal Edition, they aren’t as substantial as some would hope, adding roughly 30 hours of extra story content combined, with Legacy of the Forge being a real fan-favorite due to its most generous content value.
