How Long Is Cyberpunk 2077? Completion Time - Game Scout
How long Cyberpunk 2077 takes to beat
| Goal | Time | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Rush the main story | ~33 hours | V and Johnny's critical path, skipping most side jobs |
| A normal first run | ~72 hours | The main story plus the side jobs, gigs and NCPD hustles most players stop for |
| Clear everything | ~129 hours | Every gig, side job, collectible and ending Game-Scout tracks, before the expansion |
What the story run actually looks like
The critical path is the short number. Push toward the required missions, skip the optional work, and V's story wraps in the low 30s of hours, which lines up with IGN clocking a focused run at 25 to 30 hours and HowLongToBeat's main-story figure near 26. Almost nobody plays it that way on a first run, and the reason is the side content, not padding bolted on to stretch the clock.
The gap between a 33-hour rush and a 72-hour normal run is entirely how much of Night City you stop for. The side jobs, the gigs, and the NCPD hustles are tracked systems with real payoffs: a side job like the ones built around Panam or Judy hands back story, a vehicle, or a build option, not just a map tick. That is the line I use to separate genuine extra content from busywork, and Game-Scout's player reviews land on the same side of it, singling out the side quests and character work as a high point. The one caveat the reviews keep raising is that the main story itself reads as dialogue-heavy to some players, so the hours you enjoy most are usually the optional ones.
How Phantom Liberty and the 2.0 update changed the answer
The launch-era length figures are out of date, and that is the part most raw-hours pages skip. Two changes moved the number:
- Phantom Liberty is a separate paid expansion, gated behind reaching a point in Act 2, that adds the Dogtown district and a new story branch. HowLongToBeat puts its main path around 13 hours, and the Ultimate Edition that folds it in runs closer to 40 hours for a focused main-story run rather than the base 26.
- The free 2.0 update reworked the skill trees, perks, and police system. It did not add main-story length, but it re-paced how a full run plays, which is why completion times reported after 2.0 do not match the ones from launch.
So the honest completion math depends on which version you own. Base game only, a full clear sits near 129 hours on Game-Scout's tracking. Add Phantom Liberty and the tracked total climbs past that, since the expansion brings its own side jobs and gigs into the count rather than a single linear add-on.
Cyberpunk 2077 versus The Witcher 3 length
The useful comparison is CD Projekt Red's other long single-player RPG. Game-Scout tracks The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt at about 37 hours to rush, 72 for a normal run, and 161 to clear fully, which makes it the longer game at the top end: a complete Witcher 3 runs roughly 30 hours past a complete base Cyberpunk. Most of that extra time is the two paid expansions, Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine, and Witcher 3 players credit the side quests as the reason those hours hold up instead of dragging.
The trade the reviews describe is consistent. Cyberpunk's side jobs are the draw and its main story the weaker stretch; Witcher 3's side quests are the most-praised part of the game while its combat is the recurring complaint. Both are single-player only, so nothing here is padded out with multiplayer grind. If you want the longer full clear, Witcher 3 is the bigger commitment; if you want the shorter one that still rewards the side content, Cyberpunk 2077 is it.
Is the 100 percent worth the time
For a completion run, yes, with one honest asterisk. The full clear is worth the extra hours because the side jobs and gigs are built as real content rather than collectible filler, and that is exactly the bar that decides whether a 129-hour total is time well spent or a padded slog. Game-Scout players rate Cyberpunk 2077 4.53 from 207,997 votes, and the reviews back the side content as the strongest reason to keep playing past the credits.
The asterisk is the main story. If the dialogue-heavy stretches the reviews flag are the part you came for, the rush at 33 hours may be enough. If the side jobs and Night City itself are the draw, the normal 72-hour run is the sweet spot and the full 129-hour clear is a straightforward recommendation. Couldn't ask for a cleaner split between the hours that pull their weight and the ones that do not.
Featured How long is cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077 is CD Projekt Red's single-player open-world RPG set in Night City, and its length lives almost entirely in the side content. The reviews I read tally the same way: the side jobs and character arcs are genuine extra content, not padding, which is why a normal run stretches past 70 hours while the main story alone wraps near 33. Rated ESRB Mature and included on PS Plus Extra.
Key Features
- ~33 hours to rush the main story, ~72 for a normal first run, ~129 to clear everything Game-Scout tracks
- Side jobs, gigs and NCPD hustles are tracked systems with real payoffs, not map-filler busywork
- The free 2.0 update reworked skill trees and perks, re-pacing how a full run plays
- Phantom Liberty adds a paid expansion gated behind Act 2, pushing a complete run higher
- Single-player only, so nothing pads the clock with multiplayer grind
Gameplay Video
Cyberpunk 2077 2.0 - PS5 4K HDR Gameplay
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the natural length comparison, CD Projekt Red's other single-player RPG and the longer one. Game-Scout tracks it at about 37 hours to rush, 72 for a normal run and 161 to clear fully, and the reviews credit the side quests as the reason those hours hold up rather than drag. Rated ESRB Mature.
Key Features
- ~37h rush, ~72h normal, ~161h full clear, longer than Cyberpunk 2077 at the top end
- Two paid expansions, Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine, add most of the extra hours
- Side quests are the most-praised part of the game in player reviews
- Combat is the recurring complaint, called clunky by players
- Single-player only, rated ESRB Mature
Gameplay Video
The Witcher 3 NEXT-GEN - Before You Buy
Frequently Asked Questions
- How long does Cyberpunk 2077 take to beat?
- Cyberpunk 2077 takes about 33 hours to rush the main story and around 72 hours for a normal first run that stops for the side jobs and gigs. That matches HowLongToBeat's main-story figure near 26 hours and IGN's focused run of 25 to 30 hours. How long it takes comes down almost entirely to how much of the optional side content you take on.
- How long is Cyberpunk 2077 to 100 percent?
- A full clear runs close to 129 hours on Game-Scout's tracking, in line with HowLongToBeat's completionist figure of about 109 hours for the base game. The total holds up because the side jobs, gigs and NCPD hustles are tracked content with real payoffs rather than collectible filler, so the extra hours are genuine extra content, not padding.
- How long is Cyberpunk 2077 with Phantom Liberty?
- Phantom Liberty adds roughly 13 hours to the main path by HowLongToBeat's tracking, and the Ultimate Edition that includes it runs closer to 40 hours for a focused main-story run rather than the base game's 26. The expansion is paid and gated behind reaching a point in Act 2, and it brings its own side jobs, so a complete run with Phantom Liberty climbs past the base game's 129-hour full clear.
- Did the 2.0 update change how long Cyberpunk 2077 takes?
- Yes. The free 2.0 update reworked the skill trees, perks and police system, which re-paced how a full run plays even though it did not add main-story length. That is why completion times reported after 2.0 do not match the ones from launch, and why older length guides can read as out of date.
- Is Cyberpunk 2077 shorter than The Witcher 3?
- At a full clear, yes. Game-Scout tracks The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt at about 161 hours to complete versus roughly 129 for a base Cyberpunk 2077, so Witcher 3 is the longer game at the top end, mostly because of its two paid expansions. A rushed main story is closer, about 37 hours for Witcher 3 against 33 for Cyberpunk 2077.
- Is the full clear worth the time?
- For most players who like the side content, yes. Game-Scout players rate Cyberpunk 2077 4.53 from 207,997 votes, and the reviews single out the side jobs and character arcs as the strongest reason to keep playing past the credits. The honest caveat is the main story, which some players find dialogue-heavy, so a 33-hour rush is enough if the missions are all you want.