Ever since God of War was announced at E3 2016 and shown to be a more narrative-focused game than previous entries, many fans have been worried about its game length. However, God of War game director Cory Barlog laid those worries to rest when he revealed to fans at the PlayStation Experience that the game will take somewhere between 25 and 35 hours to complete.

Barlog's numbers are based on recent internal playtests of God of War at Sony Santa Monica Studio. According to Barlog, the team was expecting the game to top out somewhere between 10-20 hours, so it is potentially twice as long as originally anticipated, and stands as the longest God of War game to date.

However, it's unclear if this 25 to 35 hours consists of only the main narrative, or if it also includes side content. Barlog made it clear that God of War will have a world full of side areas for players to explore, with new gameplay footage shown at the PlayStation Experience apparently an example of one of the game's side areas.

Regardless of how much time God of War's side content tacks on to the total playtime, it would still be the longest game in the series to date. According to playtime aggregate website How Long to Beat, most God of War games take less than 15 hours for players to earn 100% completion, so 2018's God of War should keep completionists busier than usual.

While many fans may be satisfied to learn that God of War will be the longest God of War game to date, others were hoping for a release date to be announced at the PlayStation Experience as well. A recent PlayStation Store leak suggested that God of War is due for a March 22nd release date, but Barlog's unwillingness to reveal a date suggests that it hasn't actually be nailed down quite yet. However, fans should rest assured knowing that God of War is nearing the end of its development cycle, and the game is on track to meet its Q1 2018 release window.

God of War will launch in early 2018, exclusively for PlayStation 4.