Ghost of Tsushima takes about 25 hours if you stick to the main story, about 46.5 hours if you add a good share of side content, and about 62.5 hours to finish everything, according to HowLongToBeat's player data in November 2026. The Iki Island expansion in the Director's Cut adds roughly 5 more hours of story, or about 13 hours to complete fully, and the Platinum trophy usually lands somewhere between 40 and 60 hours.
We pulled these figures from HowLongToBeat's pages for the base game and the Iki Island expansion, and cross-checked the trophy estimates against PowerPyx's roadmap and the Fandom wiki's collectible and trophy pages, in November 2026.
The Headline Numbers
HowLongToBeat collects completion times submitted by players, so the averages shift slightly over time. As of November 12, 2026, its Ghost of Tsushima page reads as follows.
- Main story: 25 hours, from about 1,100 submitted runs.
- Main story plus sides: 46.5 hours, from about 2,800 runs.
- Completionist: 62.5 hours, from about 2,700 runs.
- All play styles combined: 50.5 hours, from about 6,600 runs.
The detailed table underneath is more useful than the headline, because it shows the spread. For the main story alone, the median is 25 hours, players who rushed finished in about 16 hours, and players who took their time logged about 34.5 hours. For completionists the median is 60 hours, with rushed runs near 46 hours and leisurely ones above 124 hours. In other words, how you play matters far more than which platform you use.
At the extreme end, HowLongToBeat's small speedrun sample shows Any% runs with a median of about 7 hours and 12 minutes, which gives a sense of how much of the game's length is travel, exploration and optional fights rather than mandatory story.
Adding Iki Island and Legends
If you own the Director's Cut, which is the only version on PC and the standard version on PS5, the Iki Island expansion sits on top of those numbers. HowLongToBeat lists it separately:
- Iki Island main story: about 5 hours.
- Main story plus sides: about 9.5 hours.
- Completionist: about 13 hours.
Combined, a story-focused run of the full Director's Cut comes to roughly 30 hours, and a full completion of both islands lands around 75 hours. Iki unlocks in Act 2 and holds you there until its main story is done, so plan for a solid block of time when you sail; our Iki Island guide explains the timing.
Legends, the online co-op mode, is harder to measure because it has no fixed end. HowLongToBeat's small co-op sample of 39 players averages 29.5 hours, with a median of 10 hours, and the gap between those two figures reflects how differently people engage with it. Clearing the story arcs takes a handful of sessions; chasing Ki 120 gear through weekly Nightmare challenges can go on indefinitely. Our Legends guide covers what each mode involves.
Does Your Platform Change the Length?
Barely. HowLongToBeat breaks its submissions down by platform, and the three versions land within an hour of each other for the main story.
| Platform | Main story | Main plus sides | Completionist |
|---|---|---|---|
| PC | 25h | 48h 36m | 69h 33m |
| PlayStation 4 | 25h 49m | 47h 26m | 64h 47m |
| PlayStation 5 | 25h 6m | 47h 4m | 63h 54m |
The small differences that do show up have practical explanations. The PS5 Director's Cut has much faster loading than the PS4 version, which trims time from every fast travel and death. The PC completionist average is about five hours higher than the console figures, and HowLongToBeat does not break down why, so treat it as a rough guide rather than proof that the PC version is longer. The PC sample is also the smallest of the three, at about 1,200 submissions against roughly 2,600 for PS4 and 2,800 for PS5.
What Fills the Completionist Hours
The gap between 25 and 62.5 hours is mostly made up of optional tales and the island's long list of collectibles and activities. Knowing what is on that list helps you decide how far to go.
- Tales: the character questlines for Norio, Masako, Ishikawa and Yuna, plus the Mythic Tales that award armor and techniques, and the many shorter Tales of Tsushima. There are trophies for finishing each character's tales and all of the Mythic Tales.
- Inari Shrines: 49 in total, 22 in Izuhara, 17 in Toyotama and 10 in Kamiagata. They unlock charm slots and two upgradable charms, and visiting all of them earns the Wolf of Tsushima mask.
- Exploration activities: hot springs, haiku spots, bamboo strikes, lighthouses, Shinto shrines, Pillars of Honor and hidden altars, several of which are tied to trophies such as Body, Mind, and Spirit and Favor of the Kami.
- Liberation: clearing every Mongol-occupied area across Izuhara, Toyotama and Kamiagata, which awards Master Liberator.
- Records and artifacts: trophies ask for 20 records and 20 Mongol artifacts rather than all of them.
The trick to finishing faster is to collect as you go. The Traveler's Attire tracks Artifacts with the Guiding Wind, clears extra fog of war as you ride and vibrates the controller near collectibles, so wearing it while traveling between objectives saves a long cleanup at the end.
How Long the Platinum Takes
The Platinum is one of the more relaxed ones on PlayStation. PowerPyx's trophy roadmap estimates 40 to 60 hours, about 50 for most players, and rates the difficulty 3 out of 10. Its key points:
- 52 trophies in the base list: 1 Platinum, 2 gold, 9 silver and 40 bronze.
- No difficulty-related trophies, so you can play on Easy.
- Nothing missable, since everything can be finished in free roam after the story.
- One playthrough is enough.
Legends, New Game+ and Iki Island trophies sit in separate lists and are not required for the Platinum, so you can ignore them if you only want the main trophy. If you do plan a second run for the other ending or the extra trophies, our New Game+ guide explains what carries over, and our ending guide explains what the final choice changes.
How to Set Your Own Pace
Most of the variation in those numbers comes down to a few choices you control.
- Difficulty: it can be changed at almost any time. Lethal, added in patch 1.05, makes enemies deadlier, more aggressive and quicker to detect you, with tighter parry and dodge windows, so fights take longer. Easy and the Lower Intensity Combat option shorten them.
- Stealth versus open combat: clearing camps quietly is often slower than a Standoff and a sword fight, but it is also safer, which saves time on retries.
- Fast travel: you can travel to any discovered location, and the PS5 and PC versions load quickly, so riding everywhere is a choice, not a requirement.
- Side tales: the character tales are the best optional content and are worth doing, while the shorter Tales of Tsushima can be cleared as they appear on your route.
A realistic plan for most players is about 35 to 45 hours: the main story, every character questline and Mythic Tale, and whatever exploration happens naturally on the way.
Turning the Hours Into a Schedule
Hour totals are easier to plan around when you convert them into days. HowLongToBeat itself estimates that the game takes about five weeks if you play an hour and a half a day while doing some extra content, which lines up with the main-plus-sides average of 46.5 hours.
Here is how the main averages translate at a few common play rates, using simple division on HowLongToBeat's figures:
- One hour a day: about 25 days for the story, roughly seven weeks for main plus sides, and about two months for a full completion.
- Ninety minutes a day: a little over two weeks for the story and four to five weeks with side content.
- Weekend sessions of about six hours: roughly four weekends for the story, eight for main plus sides, and ten or eleven to finish everything.
The story's structure helps with pacing. It is a prologue followed by three acts, each built from separate tales, so there are natural stopping points throughout. Act 1 centers on rescuing Lord Shimura, Act 2 on retaking Castle Shimura, and Act 3 on killing the Khan. Act 2 is also where the open world widens with the Toyotama region and where Iki Island becomes available, so it is the act most likely to stretch if you are easily distracted by side content.
If you only have a few hours a week, prioritize the main tales and the character questlines, which carry most of the story's weight, and leave map clearing for later. Nothing is missable, so there is no penalty for finishing the ending first and coming back to the collectibles afterward.
Saving Hours on the Grind
A fair share of the completionist time goes into gathering supplies and cloth for armor, sword and bow upgrades. If that is the part you would rather skip, the store's post-tutorial modded save starts right after the tutorial with max rank, all stances unlocked, and max cloths, goods, metals and wood, so the time you spend goes to tales and exploration rather than farming.
It is for PS4 and PS5 only, applied to your own profile, and you must already own the game. The store's other services are listed on the Ghost of Tsushima page.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many hours is the main story?
About 25 hours on average, according to HowLongToBeat in November 2026, with rushed runs near 16 hours.
How long does it take to 100 percent?
About 62.5 hours for the base game, plus around 13 hours if you also complete Iki Island.
How long is Iki Island?
About 5 hours for the story and 13 hours to complete everything on the island.
How long is the Platinum?
PowerPyx estimates 40 to 60 hours, about 50 for most players, with nothing missable.
Is the Director's Cut longer than the original?
Yes, because it adds Iki Island: about 5 more hours of story, or around 13 more if you complete the expansion.
Does difficulty change the Platinum?
No. There are no difficulty trophies, so you can play on Easy and still earn every trophy.