How long does it take to beat Skyrim? I mean, how long is a piece of string? Skyrim is a near-infinite game. It’s a giant RPG full of places to explore, quests to complete and items to find. It received three official expansions, and if that weren’t enough it is maybe the most modded game of all time. They introduced the Creation Club, which not only made mods more accessible (though sometimes had to be purchased) but also brought modding to consoles for the first time.
With ten years of re-releases and updates, Skyrim is an even more massive game than it was when it launched. If you’re a new player or a lapsed Dragonborn trying to catch up, here is a general gist for how much time you’re going to need to get through Skyrim.
How long does it take to beat skyrim? The Main Quest
The main story of Skyrim revolves around you as the Dragonborn. Living up to your destiny and ridding the land of dragons. Bethesda did not cut corners when it came to the main story quest. Following it will have you travelling the length and breadth of Skyrim, meeting some of the most important individuals in the province and becoming a hero for the ages. All in all, pulling this off will set you back over thirty hours. It’s so easy to be distracted by side content or seeking out better equipment, you’d be doing well to come in under forty hours here.
Extra Content
Even a casual playthrough of Skyrim involves more than just breezing through the main story. For one thing, you have three expansions to contend with. These bring new campaigns, new quests, new loot, and plenty more hours on the clock. Before you even get to those, alongside the main quest you have dozens of important side quests. The Dark Brotherhood, The Companions, the Mages and Thieves Guilds. Each town and city has its own stories and quests. It’s hard to say Skyrim is a game that can be beaten in under one hundred hours.
For The Completionist
Skyrim is huge. Collecting every quest, every weapon, every spell, every piece of content in the game. You might want to book some time off work. According to howlongtobeat.com, the average completionist playthrough is over two hundred and thirty hours. Exploration and experimentation can easily shatter that number.
Players have so many options with Skyrim, there are things to find everywhere you look. There’s almost no reason to stop exploring, and thanks to mods that is factually accurate. There is an almost un-ending sea of extra content out there to be installed and experienced. If you wanted one game to play forever, Skyrim might be your best choice.
That’s pretty much your lot on how long Skyrim is! If you found this helpful why not check out some of our other guides on starting up in Skyrim. We have guides on how to build the ideal warrior, mage or thief. Then how to grab yourself some decent weapons, or how to level up quickly!
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Featured Image Credit: Bethesda