In a recent interview with the New York Times, Rockstar North co-studio head Rob Nelson stated that his playthrough of Grand Theft Auto VI took around 80 hours, which would make it the longest game Rockstar has ever shipped.
An 80-hour scripted campaign would be a huge jump for Rockstar. An 80-hour total playtime including free roam, side missions, and random encounters would be fairly ordinary for the studio.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is the obvious comparison. Its main story already runs several dozen hours, and players who hunt, explore, and chase stranger missions routinely blow past 80 or even 100 hours. Completionists go far beyond that. GTA V‘s main story is shorter, but total playtime balloons once side activities and GTA Online enter the picture.
So if the 80 hours refers strictly to required story content, GTA VI would likely top Red Dead Redemption 2 as Rockstar’s longest central narrative. If it includes everything else, the number isn’t a record at all.
Length isn’t the same as quality
The bigger question is pacing. Red Dead Redemption 2 got plenty of praise for its slow-burn storytelling, but also plenty of complaints about the snowy opening, the Guarma detour, and the long epilogue. Stretching a crime story across 80 hours only works if the missions stay varied and the plot keeps moving.
Rockstar’s mission design is the other sticking point. The studio builds enormous sandboxes and then locks players into tightly scripted missions that fail you for stepping off the intended path. More routes, more stealth options, and fewer instant fails would matter more than raw hours.
