The game will be shorter than Witcher 3, but the quests will be much more complex.

https://www.tweaktown.com/news/68981/cyberpunk-2077-shorter-witcher-3-more-complexly-layered/index.html

I don't mind it being a LITTLE shorter, especially with the high quality and length of The Witcher 3's expansions, but I definitely don't like shelling out $60 for a game that doesn't have a very high amount of content. I just hope it's only a little shorter and that the expansions go on for a while longer than W3's.

I'm not sure whether they mean the main quest will be shorter or the overall game will be shorter.

I hope it's still huge, that was part of witcher 3's appeal, there was so much to get immersed into, so much to explore and enjoy. But it seems cdproject is going for depth rather than breadth this time, less explorable spaces and more intricate quest lines and characters. That's fine by me. I'm sure it will still be a great game.

Looking at how anticipated this game has been and the company's hype around the world there are some that have built entirely new systems for the game so I'd imagine CDPR would add enough to it to make players feel it was all justified.

I quite liked how the Witcher 3 expansions (and to some extent various uncompleted sidequests) gave players something more to look forward to after the ending since regardless of how one felt about the game's base length it is nice to be able to continue to explore the world and experience new things rather than it feel entirely at an end.

coming from the witcher games, if it's 20 or less hours i won't buy and wait for a 10-15€ sale.
for me, not knowing how long it will be, is the reason i haven't pre-ordered the game yet.

I really, really doubt the game will be 20 hours. It's very likely to be in the 80-100 hours range, bit shorter than The Witcher 3.

We will see what Nightcity Wire will bring us on the 25th. Right now, several Journalists are allowed to play the game with story restrictions and the embargo is lifted on the 25th.

https://twitter.com/Jackjakeaa/status/1273946199809196034

then complain that the hours of the game shouldn't go along with the price? how many of you are there?

I don't think I've ever wanted a game to be shorter. I remember quite a few people, years ago now, talking about Skyrim being too long, how they didn't have the time for it, and I just didn't understand. I have a life and responsibilities and work and I had time for it. I didn't play it hours a day, every day, but that one purchase, plus the DLCs, lasted me years of off and on play, bits and pieces at a time. Maybe I just play games differently than some people? I don't know, but Skyrim was just an example here - it's not the only game I've heard people, especially games journalists, talk about in that, "too long, I don't have the time" manner.

I suppose it's possible they don't, which is fine, but I am still going to have to disagree with that want - from my own perspective. I don't mean to shame anyone for preferring shorter games here, you do you, I'm not saying that's an invalid view, just that I have different wants.

All that said . . .

However long the game needs to be, to achieve what CDPR want, is basically what I want, long or short. I want to play the experience they wanted to create - whatever that may be, that's what I'm here for.

I think I've heard the 80-100 hour range somewhere. But I'm also pretty sure that CDPR have confirmed that you can keep playing after you complete the main story. And of course there's going to be DLCs at some point.

I don't think there's any doubt that the game at launch will be shorter than Witcher 3 with DLC, but I would not be surprised if the ultimate form of the game, once all DLC is completed, ends up being very big. There's a lot of area to work with, after all, and there's really nothing to limit what CDPR can do with it all.

There's an entire city, which in raw area is very large, but then there's also the vertical aspect to work with. That's a lot of high-rise real estate, and obviously there's also the other direction. Frankly I wouldn't put it past CDPR to get inspired by Warhammer 40k underhives and eventually exploring deep down into the concrete underbelly of sewer systems and abandoned metro lines and whatnot.

And after that there's the outskirts and the wilderness beyond. And there are online shenanigans that could be invoked. Johnny proves that consciousness can be stored digitally, so technically that same thing could happen to V, temporarily.

Another thing to consider is mods. Some games don't attract a huge modding community, but if the tools and support are there 2077 is exactly the sort of game I can see people wanting to add more on to. I suppose that'll come down to how easy it is to mod for, and if they provide tools/support for modders. They obviously don't have to, but it'd be a really neat thing for them to reveal down the road.

Edit: Your note on exploring down beneath the city is right up my alley. That just filled my head with all sorts of fun visions.

with advancements in ai, I can see the next level of gaming have worlds that are unique to each and every play. The game structure will be in place, but the world really is impacted by you and could be designed without human interaction. the world could be a randomized string of variables where series of things happen instead of quests. the world literally could be the world. You regionally select the type of environment you wish to start in, and your portion of the world starts there.

Limiting the size really has little to do with fixed or completed content. Requesting limited size only restricts imagination and brilliant/intuitive programming.

Already imagining people doing Ghost in the Shell (adapting corpo stories/settings), Trigun (adapting nomad stories/settings), and Psychopass (adapting cyberpsychosis stories).

And for the truly ambitious modders: Shadowrun. I love Shadowrun Returns. a solid adaptation for a great rpg. but i can't help want more from that game engine and its good but limited mechanics. but a "Shadowrun 2077" mod? <whew>

I want it to be as long as possible. If it's too short I feel like I won't get my money's worth.