In today’s gaming landscape, there are times when you yearn to immerse yourself deeply in a game. You want to explore expansive worlds, uncover hidden secrets, and make impactful choices that influence your journey. However, there are also moments when you seek a game that challenges your skill and perseverance—where mastering muscle memory and memorizing strategies is key to success. Alternatively, you might prefer a game that allows for casual, gradual progress, perfect for those days when you wish to unwind while watching your numbers climb.
If any of these gaming desires resonate with you, you’ve arrived at the right place. Below, we present a curated list of nine games that demand 1, 000 hours or more for completion. With such extensive content, these titles are sure to keep you engaged for the long haul—don’t worry, this article won’t require nearly as much time to get through!
For ease of understanding, we’ve ranked the games based on their approximate duration to achieve 100% completion. Unless noted otherwise, completion times are sourced from How Long To Beat.
9 Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
Gotta Catch ‘Em All
As the latest mainline entries in the beloved Pokémon franchise, completing the core story of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet typically takes around 32 hours. However, achieving a full 100% requires building a complete Living Pokédex, which necessitates capturing every Pokémon from the entire series—and this includes every version of their evolutions.
This ambitious goal demands significant investment of time and effort, often requiring players to own multiple Pokémon titles on Nintendo Switch as well as Pokémon Go. Moreover, certain Pokémon have yet to appear on the Switch, making the quest even more challenging. For an additional layer of dedication, consider grinding each Pokémon to level 100 with optimal Individual Values (IVs) and Effort Values (EVs), a task that would require countless hours.
8 Clicker Heroes
Clicks For Days
Clicker Heroes stands as one of the most well-known idle games, inviting players to defeat enemies and progress through various zones while expanding their roster of heroes. The game begins with rapid advancements, continuously introducing fresh abilities and mechanics with each round.
As you progress, enemy difficulty escalates dramatically, with foes boasting health in the quadrillions. To handle this challenge, players must ‘ascend’ frequently, restarting the game while retaining powerful artifacts called Hero Souls to bolster their heroes’ strength. The game has a technical endpoint at zone 4725 due to its unique mechanics, with an estimated completion time of around 1, 111 hours, so prepare for an extensive clicking journey!
7 Candy Crush Saga
Match-3 Again And Again And Again
Candy Crush Saga is a match-3 tile game where players match colored candies on a grid to create chain reactions of matches. As players progress, they encounter a variety of obstacles—like chocolate that obstructs matches—and gain the ability to create special candies through strategic moves.
With over 18, 845 levels available (and new ones added weekly), completing the entire game might require playing for thousands of hours or, alternatively, opening your wallet to progress faster in this sugary universe.
6 Hearts Of Iron IV
Need A Heart Of Steel For This One
Hearts of Iron IV is a grand strategy game that immerses players in the tumultuous times of WWII, allowing them to control nations and forge alternative histories through military conquests and defenses. Starting with seven major countries, players can witness the evolution of minor nations into significant powers, with over 233 countries available to command.
This deeply strategic game offers substantial replayability, especially with its 12 expansions and an active modding community. According to How Long To Beat, the time needed for full completion stands at around 1, 187 hours.
5 Path Of Exile
On The Path To Completion
Path of Exile is an action role-playing game (ARPG) reminiscent of Diablo and Torchlight II. Players develop their characters from weak exiles to powerful entities through a complex skill tree, akin to Final Fantasy X’s Sphere Grid.
With a staggering 35 expansions currently available, all offered at no cost, the game is packed with content. Developers Grinding Gear Games are simultaneously creating the sequel while continually adding new features to the original. Estimates from The Gamer indicate that achieving 100% completion could take anywhere from 824 to 1, 494 hours, considering ongoing updates that further extend gameplay time. The main story can be completed in approximately 29 hours.
4 Warframe
Fast-Paced Combat And Slow Grinding
Warframe is a third-person looter shooter that has cultivated a loyal player base for over a decade. This game is my personal favorite on Steam, having spent more than 300 hours shooting through missions, customizing loadouts, and eagerly waiting for new updates.
While Warframe seems open-ended, achieving complete mastery—unlocking all Warframes and successfully finishing all missions—will take over 1, 507 hours. Although technically free-to-play, players should brace themselves for a long commitment, especially as regular updates continue to add new content.
3 Sea Of Thieves
Might Steal More Of Your Time Than You Think
Sea of Thieves is an action-adventure game crafted by Rare, placing players in the captain’s seat of a pirate ship that adapts in size based on crew size. Players can engage in diverse activities from treasure hunts and battle objectives to leisurely pursuits like fishing and cooking.
The game is consistently updated, offering countless hours of entertainment. As highlighted by a Guinness World Record achievement, the first player to complete all achievements did so with over 2, 000 hours clocked in.
2 EVE Online
Create Epic Stories And Epic Spreadsheets
EVE Online is an MMORPG renowned for its intricate systems and the necessity of tracking data with extensive spreadsheets. This game isn’t for the faint-hearted. However, joining a supportive faction can transform your experience as you organize massive faction takeovers, participate in colossal space battles costing real-world dollars, and build ships that rival the height of the Empire State Building.
According to How Long To Beat, full completion could take around 3, 333 hours, but the reality is that the expansive nature of the game allows for time investment well beyond that, tailored to player’s interests and goals.
1 World Of Warcraft
An Adventure That’ll Keep You Busy For A Lifetime
When most gamers think of titles that can consume thousands of hours, World of Warcraft often tops the list. As one of the pioneers of the MMORPG genre, WoW has released 10 expansions and offers over 4, 500 achievements, from completing intense raids on Mythic difficulty to triumphing in 5, 000 PvP matches.
A Guinness World Record was set for the first player to complete all achievements in World of Warcraft: Legion, taking nearly 900 days of playtime—equivalent to around 21, 600 hours—while new content continues to expand the game further.
While titles like Warframe and World of Warcraft are undoubtedly enjoyable and foster fantastic community engagement, enter with the understanding that achieving 100% completion may be a distant dream. Instead, focus on relishing your gaming journey as you explore and accomplish what brings you joy.
