How Long Does It Take to Beat Cyberpunk 2077 (and Phantom Liberty)?

If you’re thinking about diving into Cyberpunk 2077 – or finally tackling its Phantom Liberty expansion – one of the first questions you probably have is: How much time am I signing up for? With jobs, families, and limited free hours, it’s important to know whether the game is a quick weekend run or a months-long adventure.

The answer isn’t simple, because Cyberpunk is built to adapt to the way you play. You can speed through just the main story in a few dozen hours, or you can let yourself get lost in side gigs, romances, NCPD hustles, and hidden endings for well over 100 hours. Add in Phantom Liberty’s Dogtown storyline, and the total playtime expands even more.

Here’s a breakdown of how long Cyberpunk 2077 takes to beat, depending on your approach.

Main Story Only: 25-35 Hours

If you want to focus strictly on V’s central journey, you can finish the main story in around 25 to 35 hours. This means sticking to critical path missions, ignoring most fixers and NCPD hustles, and treating the side gigs as optional distractions.

The core storyline takes you from V’s introduction to Night City through the major arcs with characters like Johnny Silverhand, Hanako Arasaka, and the climactic choices that determine V’s fate. It’s a cinematic experience with plenty of twists, but without the extra time investment of side jobs or exploration.

This playstyle is ideal for:

• Players who want a movie-like, story-first experience.
• Gamers with limited time who still want to see Cyberpunk’s narrative payoff.
• Anyone replaying the game to chase a different ending.

While you’ll miss out on some of Night City’s richest storytelling, this streamlined approach ensures you experience the beating heart of the narrative.

Main Story + Side Content: 60-80 Hours

For most players, this is the sweet spot. Mixing in side gigs, romances, and optional missions with the main story stretches your playtime to about 60 to 80 hours.

Side content in Cyberpunk isn’t filler. Character arcs with Judy Alvarez, Panam Palmer, Kerry Eurodyne, and River Ward offer some of the most memorable moments in the game, often rivaling the main plot in emotional weight. Fixer jobs flesh out Night City’s many districts, while NCPD hustles and cyberpsycho hunts provide quick bursts of action that break up longer story beats.

This balanced approach gives you:

• The depth of the main story.
• Rich character-driven side arcs.
• A sense of Night City’s scale and variety without overwhelming you.

Many players consider this the “intended” way to play Cyberpunk – immersive, well-paced, and rewarding without becoming exhausting.

Completionist Run: 100+ Hours

If you’re the type who wants to do everything, Cyberpunk can easily consume 100 hours or more. This means chasing every side gig, clearing every NCPD job, tracking down every cyberpsycho, exploring every hidden location, and unlocking every ending.

Completionists also tend to spend time experimenting with builds – whether you’re going full netrunner, katana samurai, or gun-focused solo, there’s always another cyberware combination to try. Add in hunting for iconic weapons, customizing vehicles, and dipping into photo mode, and your playtime skyrockets.

Why it’s worth it:

• Night City is dense with secrets, from hidden quests to Easter eggs.
• Multiple endings and branching outcomes make replays rewarding.
• Collecting every weapon, implant, and car gives you bragging rights.

The danger here is burnout, since the game can become overwhelming if you’re ticking every box. But for players who thrive on immersion and want to wring every drop of content out of Night City, it’s one of the richest open-world experiences available.

Phantom Liberty Expansion: 15-25 Hours

Phantom Liberty, set in the Dogtown district, adds an entirely new storyline that sits alongside the base game. On the critical path, you’re looking at around 15 to 20 hours of content. If you add the expansion’s side jobs, gigs, and optional activities, your total playtime rises to about 25 hours.

What sets Phantom Liberty apart is its tone. The expansion is more tightly written, focused, and suspenseful than some of Cyberpunk’s broader arcs. It plays like a spy thriller, introducing new characters like Songbird, Reed, and President Myers, while giving V new powers through the Relic tree.

Key features of Phantom Liberty:

• A contained district (Dogtown) with its own style and dangers.
• Story choices that rival the base game in consequence.
• Side content that expands Dogtown’s politics and criminal underworld.

It’s meaty enough to feel like a true expansion but refined enough that it doesn’t overstay its welcome. Many players consider Phantom Liberty one of the best-written arcs in the entire game.

How Playstyle Changes the Clock

One of Cyberpunk’s strengths is that it adapts to your playstyle. How much time you spend depends on what you value most.

• Exploration: Simply wandering through Night City, admiring its details, and poking into alleys or shops can add dozens of hours.
• Difficulty Level: Higher settings slow progress as fights become tougher and require more preparation.
• Build Variety: Netrunner runs often take longer because of stealthy approaches, while combat-heavy solos can burn through missions faster.
• Distractions: Buying cars, testing cyberware, or sinking time into photo mode can easily stretch your playthrough.
• Dialogue Choices: Replaying missions with different dialogue outcomes adds replayability that stretches the total time well beyond a single run.

Cyberpunk is designed to support these different playstyles. Whether you play cautiously, aggressively, or experimentally, the game scales to your habits.

Replayability and Endings

Another factor in Cyberpunk’s total playtime is replayability. The game has multiple endings, some locked behind specific side quests or character arcs. If you want to see everything – including hidden epilogues like the secret Johnny ending – you’ll need at least two or three playthroughs.

Replayability also comes from experimenting with builds. A netrunner’s stealth-heavy approach feels dramatically different from a melee-focused build with Mantis Blades. The variety of cyberware, weapons, and skills means you can reinvent your playstyle each time, adding hours of fresh content.

Final Thoughts

So, how long does it take to beat Cyberpunk 2077? The answer depends on how deep you want to dive:

• Main story only: 25-35 hours.
• Main + side content: 60-80 hours.
• Completionist: 100+ hours.
• Phantom Liberty expansion: 15-25 hours.

The flexibility of Cyberpunk’s design is one of its strengths. If you just want the core cinematic ride, you can finish in under 40 hours. If you want to live in Night City, explore its every corner, and experience all its endings, you can spend months there.

Best of all, there’s no wrong answer. Cyberpunk 2077 adapts to the time you have, whether you’re sneaking in an hour after work or dedicating whole weekends to your build. That freedom of pace – just like the freedom of choice in the story – is what makes it one of the most compelling RPGs of its generation.