Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy will be significantly shorter than Rogue Trader, and Owlcat Games believes this is the key to helping more players actually reach the end. The studio has learned from past experience and is now treating players’ time as a core design pillar.
It’s not just that, as we get older, we have less time to play due to work, family, or studies. The issue is systemic: with an overwhelming number of releases every year, committing hundreds of hours to a single game has become increasingly unrealistic. In 2023, I personally spent over 300 hours on only two games – both single-player, campaign-driven experiences: Baldur’s Gate 3 and what is arguably the best Warhammer 40,000 RPG to date, Rogue Trader.
Despite its quality, Rogue Trader never achieved the same media reach as a D&D-based RPG, which led Owlcat to make a deliberate decision for the sequel, Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy: reduce the overall length while preserving ambition.
Shorter Games That Stay With Players Longer
Rogue Trader wasn’t just “long” in theory. Community feedback suggests a first playthrough often required between 80 and 120 hours, depending on skipped content. That kind of commitment can stretch across months.
While the exact length of Dark Heresy remains unknown, Owlcat insists the goal is balance, not reduction. According to brand manager Anton Emelyanov, “despite its smaller scale, Dark Heresy offers a more varied narrative”.
“Some players struggle to even finish character creation”
This naturally raises the question: why does playtime matter when massive RPGs like Baldur’s Gate 3 or Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 exist? Because length and quality are not the same thing. Some games are padded, others leave you wanting more.
MIDiA Research’s report “The Case for the Most Digestible Games” shows that two-thirds of PC and console players spend less than ten hours per week gaming, with 36% playing under five hours. For many, a 100-hour RPG is simply unrealistic.
Basic math makes this clear: at ten hours per week, a 100-hour RPG takes ten weeks to finish. A 30-hour campaign like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 can be completed in under a month.
This is why Expedition 33 became a reference point. Sandfall Interactive openly stated from the start that the main story would last around 30 hours, with optional content for completionists. Owlcat is now applying the same philosophy within the Warhammer 40,000 universe.
Dark Heresy doesn’t feel like a step backward, but an adaptation. The depth and identity remain, only delivered in a more focused, finishable format – one that aligns better with how people actually play today.
Source: 3djuegos
