How Long Is
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
For most players, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is much longer than its critical path suggests. A focused run usually lands around 50 hours, a fuller run with shrines and side content is closer to 102 hours, and a completionist run can approach roughly 190 hours.
Main story
50hours
Main + side content
102hours
Completionist
190hours
- First release
- Mar 3, 2017
- Developer
- Nintendo EPD
- Publisher
- Nintendo
- Genres
- Action-adventure · Open-world · Adventure
Commitment
Long commitment
Breath of the Wild is flexible enough for busy schedules, but its exploration loop is so strong that most players end up turning a manageable adventure into a very long one.
Session Fit
Works well in short sessions, but only if you accept slow total progress.
More backlog-friendly than some giant RPGs because it is easy to enjoy in small bursts, but it still becomes a huge project if you start chasing shrines, armor upgrades, and world completion.
Playtime Breakdown
How long it takes to beat The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Main story
50hoursA focused route toward the Divine Beasts and final objective with limited shrine hunting and minimal optional cleanup.
Main + side content
102hoursA broader first playthrough with more shrines, side quests, map exploration, gear upgrades, and general wandering.
Completionist
190hoursA deep run with large-scale shrine completion, armor work, collectible hunting, broad exploration, and heavy endgame cleanup.
Reality Check
Typical vs stretched playtime
Main story
38h to 65h
The low end assumes unusual self-control. Most players drift upward once shrines, towers, and exploration loops start feeling more important than the main quest.
Main + side content
85h to 130h
This is the realistic zone for a first playthrough where you really engage with Hyrule instead of rushing to the credits.
Completionist
160h to 250h
Shrine cleanup, upgrades, collectibles, and broad map completion create a much bigger project than the critical path suggests.
Bars share one scale from 0 to 250 hours. The white marker is the typical run.
Backlog Signals
What kind of commitment this really is
5h/week reality
2 to 10 months
Story-focused play is manageable, but broad exploration or completionist goals can stretch this into a many-month adventure.
Variance level
Very high
Breath of the Wild gives players so much freedom that 'main story' means very different things in practice.
Best backlog role
Flexible anchor
It works better than most long games in short sessions, but it is still best treated as the main adventure in your current rotation.
Overflow risk
Severe
Shrines, towers, upgrades, and pure curiosity can double your planned runtime with almost no friction.
Session Fit
How well it works in real play sessions
30 to 45 minutes
GreatOne of the best long games for short sessions because even a shrine, tower unlock, or short exploration detour feels rewarding.
60 to 90 minutes
GreatThis is enough time for meaningful map progress, shrine hunting, or a focused story push without the game feeling cut off.
2+ hours
BestLonger sessions are ideal when you want to chain exploration, quests, traversal, and experimentation together into a larger Hyrule loop.
Backlog Planning
How many weeks does The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild take?
| Hours per week | Main story | Main + side content | Completionist |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5h / week | 10 weeks | 21 weeks | 38 weeks |
| 10h / week | 5 weeks | 11 weeks | 19 weeks |
| 15h / week | 4 weeks | 7 weeks | 13 weeks |
Why It Varies
Why The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild playtime swings so much
Breath of the Wild has an unusually wide spread because the game gives you freedom to push the main goal early or ignore it for dozens of hours.
Shrine hunting is the biggest time multiplier for most players. Once you start chasing stamina, health, and travel utility, the runtime rises fast.
Exploration has very weak stopping points. The game constantly rewards curiosity, so quick sessions often turn into much longer detours than planned.
Completion goals are especially punishing here because 100% means far more than just beating the final boss. Korok seeds, armor upgrades, and map cleanup massively expand the project.
Editorial Notes
Context that matters before you commit
Breath of the Wild is one of the easiest long games to recommend to busy players because each session can still feel satisfying even when you barely move the main story forward.
For backlog planning, the danger is not difficulty or grind. The danger is that the game is exceptionally good at making aimless exploration feel productive.
If your goal is simply to see the credits, this is manageable. If your goal is to 'really experience Hyrule,' assume a much bigger commitment than the main-story number suggests.
Alternatives
Similar games if your backlog is tighter
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
A longer and denser alternative if you want the same open-ended Hyrule structure with even more systems and side content.
Often around 45 to 200 hours depending on completion goals.
Immortals Fenyx Rising
A shorter alternative if you want puzzle shrines, traversal, and open-world exploration in a more compact package.
Usually around 25 to 60 hours depending on side content.
Elden Ring
A longer open-world alternative if what you want most is discovery, build variety, and map-scale adventure rather than Zelda-style puzzle solving.
Often around 58 to 133 hours depending on how much optional content you do.
FAQ
Common The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild time questions
How long is The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild if I only do the main story?
A focused main-story run is around 50 hours for most players, though the game's freedom means many people spend much longer before they feel ready to finish.
How long does it take to 100% The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild?
A completionist run is roughly 190 hours on average and can go well beyond that if you commit to Korok seeds, armor upgrades, and broad map cleanup.
Is The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild worth starting if I only play 5 hours a week?
Yes. It is one of the better long games for low weekly playtime because small sessions still feel rewarding, but a fuller run can still take many months.
Plan the rest of the backlog
If this helped you decide whether to start The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Video Game Tracker can help you manage the rest of your backlog with progress history, focused lists, and clean weekly planning.
