The Xbox app will now tell you how long it takes to beat a game

If you were hoping for Xbox to become more intuitive, Microsoft has just made your wish come true with HowLongToBeat integration. Essentially, if you’re a stickler for time management and planning – even while gaming – you’ll now be able to see how long a game is expected to take to beat on the Xbox app. 

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Essentially, if you head to the Xbox app on your Microsoft PC, you’ll see a new section called HowLongToBeat. This section contains a list of popular Xbox games and tells you how long each will take to complete successfully. Of course, if you’re the type to hunt through each level for lore or secrets, it’ll take you a little longer to get through a game than Xbox estimates. 

This new function is far more intuitive and advanced than just estimating playthrough durations, though. It is powered by user data, which means it takes actual statistics from various user playthroughs to calculate average durations for games.

Even more impressive, the utility breaks games down into main plotlines, sidequests, and extra content and then gives you estimated durations for each. This is helpful if you only have a little time to play. Now you’ll be able to see that you’ll be able to complete villager number 2’s quest for his missing dragon eggs but not quite enough time to find out who killed the pivotal character around whose death the entire main plot of this hypothetical game is centered.

Even more sophisticated than that, the utility will give you three different durations upon which to base your decisions. You’ll see the speedrun/ rushed gameplay duration, the average player’s duration, and the leisurely duration for each game on the list. 

This is a game-changer for the gaming industry, especially for people who are conscious about how long they like to game or how much time they can realistically set aside for gaming. Gaming is an incredibly important way to relax and unwind in the modern world, and thus, it’s integral that we are able to plan for it properly. With the help of the HowLongToBeat utility, now we can. 

If you’d like a rundown of the other new features for the Xbox app, we’ve got an article that sets them all out nicely.