How Long Is FF7 Rebirth — Playtime, Completion, and Tips
Introduction
If you’ve been asking “how long is FF7 Rebirth,” you’re not alone. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has drawn attention for its sprawling world, deep narrative, and generous side content. Whether you’re a series veteran or a newcomer curious about playtime, this article breaks down average hours to beat the game, what influences playtime, and practical tips for managing your time. We’ll cover main story length, main + side quests, completionist playthroughs, and replayability like New Game Plus and exploration-driven hours.
Why playtime for FF7 Rebirth varies so much
Before diving into numbers, it helps to understand why playtime can vary widely. Final Fantasy games, especially modern entries, offer a mix of linear storytelling and open-world or semi-open areas that encourage exploration. Factors that affect how long FF7 Rebirth takes include:
- Playstyle: Are you a focused player rushing the main story, or someone who explores every nook for side quests and collectibles?
- Difficulty: Playing on harder settings may extend time due to tougher boss fights and required grinding.
- Side content: Optional missions, mini-games, and puzzles add hours for completionists.
- Exploration: Open areas, hidden chests, and environmental storytelling encourage slow-paced play.
- Skill level and familiarity: New players might take longer to learn systems like combat, materia, or party management.
Because of these variables, projections usually offer several benchmarks: main story, main + extras, and completionist times.
Average playtime: main story, main + side quests, and completionist runs
Here are practical, evidence-based estimates for how long is FF7 Rebirth across different types of playthroughs. These ranges come from community reports, typical JRPG pacing, and how previous Final Fantasy remakes have scaled.
- Main story: Expect roughly 30–45 hours if you focus primarily on the main narrative and skip most optional content. This assumes purposeful progression and minimal backtracking.
- Main story + side quests: A more relaxed pace that includes many side missions and exploration typically lands between 50–80 hours. This is the most common experience for players who want a fuller taste of the world without aiming for 100% completion.
- Completionist / 100%: For players pursuing every side quest, collectibles, and post-game content, times can reach 80–120+ hours. Completionists often engage with endgame bosses, hidden dungeons, and optional systems that significantly extend playtime.
These numbers are meant to be a practical guide. If you enjoy taking your time, savouring the story, experimenting with builds, or tackling every challenge, plan for the higher end of the scale.
Breaking down the playtime: what eats hours in FF7 Rebirth?
To better answer “how long is FF7 Rebirth” for your situation, consider the main time sinks:
- Story chapters: Major plot beats and cutscenes can be long. Cinematics and dialogue-heavy scenes slow the pace but are central to the narrative experience.
- Side quests and side content: These often require travel, combat, and problem solving. Many side quests unlock useful rewards, cosmetics, or extra story beats.
- Exploration and open areas: Wandering large maps to find secrets, treasure chests, and environmental lore can add significant hours.
- Boss fights and grinding: Difficulty spikes or optional bosses may require higher levels or better gear, leading to grinding sessions.
- Mini-games and activities: Fishing, crafting, mini-games, or photography challenges are optional but tempting for completionists.
Example: A mid-game dungeon might take 1–3 hours depending on how thoroughly you explore, solve puzzles, and farm rare drops. Multiply several such areas across the game and playtime accumulates quickly.
Tips to manage your playtime and set expectations
If you want a clearer estimate for yourself, try these practical strategies and tips:
- Decide your goal: Choose whether you’re aiming for the main story, a thorough experience, or 100% completion. This immediately narrows a time projection.
- Use difficulty settings wisely: Playing on an easier mode reduces grind and keeps pacing tight; higher difficulty extends hours but rewards challenge.
- Track hours with in-game timer: Most modern RPGs include a playtime counter—use it to gauge progress milestones.
- Skip or streamline cutscenes: If you’re replaying or focusing on speed, most cutscenes can be fast-forwarded or skipped (with exceptions for mandatory story choices).
- Balance exploration with focus: Set rules for yourself, like “spend 30 minutes exploring each new area” to avoid getting lost in side content for hours.
Tip: If you have limited gaming time, try breaking the experience into digestible sessions—complete a quest or a boss per session to stay motivated without burning out.
How game design choices affect length: combat, exploration, and systems
FF7 Rebirth’s systems also shape how long it feels. Some design elements that impact overall hours:
- Combat complexity: Deeper combat systems with customization (materia, gates, classes, or new mechanics) reward experimentation and can extend playtime as you test builds.
- Optional bosses and events: Hidden bosses or secret dungeons typically add significant hours to a completionist run.
- Collectible-driven objectives: If progression or powerful gear depends on collecting items scattered across the map, players will spend more time exploring.
- New Game Plus and replay incentives: NG+ often offers fresh challenges, stronger enemies, and carryover progression that encourage multiple playthroughs.
Understanding these systems helps tailor your expectations: if you’re a completionist who loves experimenting with combat and builds, your personal answer to “how long is FF7 Rebirth” will naturally fall on the higher end.
Examples and playstyle scenarios
To make the estimates more concrete, here are a few player archetypes and expected hours:
- The Speed-Focused Player: Plays main story only, avoids most side quests, roughly 30–40 hours. Skips many exploration detours.
- The Story-First Explorer: Completes some side quests and explores moderately, roughly 45–70 hours. Enjoys world-building and extra scenes.
- The Completionist: Wants every reward and secret, plans for 80–120+ hours. Engages with endgame bosses and all optional systems.
- The Replayer: Plays multiple times to test different choices and builds, adds 20–60+ hours for each additional full playthrough depending on NG+ features.
Example scenario: If you average 1–2 hours per evening, a main story playthrough might take a month, while a completionist run could stretch over several months.
FAQ
Q1: How long will it take to finish the main story of FF7 Rebirth?
A1: Expect about 30–45 hours for a focused main-story playthrough. This varies by how often you explore and how comfortable you are with the game’s combat and systems.
Q2: How many hours for a 100% completion run?
A2: A completionist run that finishes side quests, collectibles, and optional bosses can range from 80 to 120+ hours depending on how thorough you are and whether you pursue all post-game content.
Q3: Does New Game Plus change the playtime?
A3: Yes. New Game Plus adds replay value and often introduces stronger enemies, alternate builds, or new rewards. This can add 20–60+ hours depending on how much you commit to replaying.
Q4: Will difficulty affect how long the game takes?
A4: Absolutely. Higher difficulty can require grinding and more strategic play, which increases overall hours. Easier difficulty reduces grind and shortens the time to complete the main story.
Q5: Any tips for reducing playtime without missing the story?
A5: Focus on main objectives, skip optional encounters that don’t interest you, use fast-travel and shortcuts, and consider an easier difficulty if you want to breeze through narrative beats faster.
Conclusion
So, how long is FF7 Rebirth? The short answer: it depends on your goals. For most players, expect a main story length of roughly 30–45 hours, a fuller main + side quest experience of 50–80 hours, and a completionist run from 80 up to 120+ hours. Factors like difficulty, exploration, side content, and replayability all influence the final number. Decide your priorities—story, exploration, or completion—and use the strategies above to tailor the experience to your available time. Whichever path you choose, FF7 Rebirth offers a rich world worth savoring at your own pace.
Happy adventuring — may your playtime match your expectations and leave room for discovery.

