Firewatch will take around six hours to complete, dev explains

Firewatch

Firewatch finally releases on February 9, and judging by recent gameplay footage and Wes's observations, it's a game I'll definitely be checking out. I look forward to taking my sweet time in the game's 1980s version of the Wyoming wilderness, but if you're eager to burn through the story elements, it'll probably take around six hours.

That's according to Campo Santo designer and programmer Nels Anderson, speaking to WCCF Tech. "It’s pretty hard to say since there’s actually quite a lot of 'off the beaten path' areas in the game that players won’t have to visit," Anderson said in response to queries about the game's length.

"On average, I’d say maybe 5-6 hours … ? When I play it, it feels comparable to the length of a trilogy of movies or a TV mini-series."

Anderson also ruled out VR support in the immediate future, citing the difficulty of adapting a game developed for monitors to a headset. Still, it's likely modders will beat them to it, if Firewatch proves to be as compelling as it looks.

Shaun Prescott

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.