How long is Hogwarts Legacy?

Hogwarts Legacy was one of the most anticipated games of the last few years, so there was always going to be the question of how long is Hogwarts Legacy. Though we can all agree a short and sweet game can be a refreshing thing in a space that's chock full of releases to bounce between, having the first true open-world Harry Potter game close out the credits in a dozen hours would be a tragedy.

Like with any open-world title, the time to beat will depend on how much side content you dive into. But it's certainly worth knowing considering the costly purchase price.

For more on the Portkey Games' foray into the Wizarding World, check out our guide on the Hogwarts Legacy photo mode. We also answer the question of if you can swim in Hogwarts Legacy, plus we show you how to pick your house.

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How long is Hogwarts Legacy?

The time Hogwarts Legacy will take you to complete depends entirely on how you want to play it. Our reviewer took just over 25 hours, but it can take double that if you simply want to explore and have a chat with every NPC you come across.

A 35-hour story was first reported by VGC, which attributed the idea to a leaked Hogwarts Legacy artbook. In saying "35 hours to complete, 75 hours for 100% completion of all side quests," it isn't immediately clear whether that's 35 hours for the story and an additional 45 for the sidequest content (which would take the total to 75) or 35 for the story and 75 for the total, which would put things more in line with the 120-hour estimate German site GamePro.de mentioned in its recent preview piece.

But according to HowLongToBeat, Hogwarts Legacy takes a total of 26.5 hours to beat, but you'll need to plug at least 67.5 hours for a full completionist run. This is likely the time you'd need if you're already familiar with the game, so we'd be unsurprised if most people's playthroughs were stretching towards the triple figures.

• Check out: Is Dumbledore in Hogwarts Legacy?

If you're just enrolling in school on the Switch, then be sure to check out our Hogwarts Legacy character creator guide. And before you go too far, here's which house you should choose in Hogwarts Legacy, too. Your choice will affect your story a fair bit, so it's worth reading up on!