The Long Dark (2017) - How Long to Beat, Player Count

About

The Long Dark came out on August 1, 2017 for Linux, Mac, PC and PlayStation 4, then for Nintendo Switch on September 17, 2020 and for Xbox Series X|S on June 19, 2025. On Steam, 89% of 112,488 player reviews are positive (Very Positive). It is Verified on Steam Deck. The main story takes about 22 hours, doing everything about 235 hours.

Welcome to The Long Dark, the innovative exploration-survival experience Wired magazine calls "the pinnacle of an entire genre". The game is a thoughtful, exploration-survival experience that challenges solo players to think for themselves as they explore an expansive frozen wilderness in the aftermath of a geomagnetic disaster. There are no zombies but only you, the cold, and all the threats Mother Nature can muster.

Story

Bright lights flare across the night sky. The wind rages outside the thin walls of your wooden cabin. A wolf howls in the distance. You look at the meager supplies in your pack, and wish for the days before the power mysteriously went out. How much longer will you survive?

What is happening now

The Long Dark is a survival simulator where players manage resources and navigate harsh wilderness conditions across multiple platforms. Originally released in 2017, the game concluded its story campaign, Wintermute, with a fifth and final episode earlier this year. Developer Hinterland Studio has adjusted its roadmap in response to current industry conditions. The studio is redirecting some development resources back to the original game's survival mode rather than pushing forward with its planned sequel, Blackfrost. That project has been pushed to 2027, with the studio citing shifting market conditions and the need to adapt to uncertainty as reasons for the shift. New DLC for The Long Dark is in the works as part of this renewed focus on the base game.

How long to beat The Long Dark

from 2 players

Main storyrushing through the story

22 h

Main + extrasstory plus side content

48 h

Completionisteverything the game has

235 h

From the people behind The Long Dark

shared cast and crew

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2012 · Cris Velasco and Sonic Mayhem

Prototype

2009 · Cris Velasco and Sonic Mayhem

Mass Effect 3

2012 · Sonic Mayhem

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

2008 · David Hayter

Quake III Arena

1999 · Sonic Mayhem

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

2019 · David Hayter

Darksiders

2010 · Cris Velasco

Might & Magic: Heroes VI

2011 · Cris Velasco

Games like The Long Dark

same kind of game, other series

2012 · Ubisoft Montreal

Far Cry 5

2018 · Ubisoft Montreal

Cyberpunk 2077

2020 · CD PROJEKT RED

Rise of the Tomb Raider

2015 · Crystal Dynamics

Cast and crew

6 credits

Crew

Voice cast

Media

Releases

Platform

Date

Linux

August 1, 2017

Mac

August 1, 2017

PC (Microsoft Windows)

August 1, 2017

August 1, 2017

August 1, 2017

September 17, 2020

June 19, 2025

November 11, 2025

Earliest full release on each platform; regional dates can differ.

PC and Steam Deck

Steam store page

Steam Deck: Verified works great out of the box

Minimum

Recommended

Windows 10

Processor

Dual-Core Intel i5 CPU @ 2GHz+

Intel i7 CPU @ 2.6GHz or higher

Memory

4 GB RAM

8 GB RAM

Graphics

Intel 4xxx Series w/ 512MB VRAM or better

nVidia GTX 555 w/ 1GB VRAM or better

Storage

7 GB available space

Sound Card

Any on-board chip will work.

Ideally, something with Surround capabilities.

Requirements and Deck status as listed on Steam, checked Oct 28, 2026.

The Long Dark player count

concurrent players on Steam

3,397peak today

6,79630-day peak

6,796highest we have seenNov 1, 2026

Oct 23daily peak, last 12 daystoday

Players counted on Steam every one to six hours; the daily peak is the highest count of the day.

The Long Dark achievements

87 achievements on Steam

Rarest

Something Wicked Survive 1000 days in a single Survival Mode game without Cheating Death.

0.2%

Exposure Take a photo in each Great Bear Island Region for a total of 16 (single game).

0.2%

Tough Enough Survive 25 Cougar Struggles.

0.2%

Search Party

0.2%

Finely Tuned

0.2%

Broken Body Survive long enough to receive the final Affliction in Misery Mode.

0.3%

All 87 achievements by how many players unlocked them

Too Greedily, too Deep Survive 25 consecutive days inside the Langston Mine.

0.3%

Shutterbug Take 10 photos with each film type – Colour, B&W, and Sepia (single game).

0.3%

On the Lookout Reach all 6 Vista locations in the Far Territory (single game).

0.3%

Dead Wake

0.3%

Thanks for the Memories Collect 12 Mementos – one from each Lower Great Bear Island Region (single game).

0.4%

Tasting Menu Find and Cook 9 Unique Recipes.

0.4%

Hot Shot Kill 25 Rabbits with Fire Hardened Arrows (single game).

0.5%

Goods and Services Achieve the highest Trust level with the Trader.

0.5%

Down Below Enter all 9 Prepper Cache locations (single game).

0.6%

Expert Angler Catch 4 different Rare Fish – Burbot, Goldeye, Red Irish Lord, and Rockfish (single game).

0.7%

To the Teeth Collect 7 Expansion Firearm variants (single game).

0.8%

Rüdiger’s Dream Complete all 3 Tales (single game).

0.8%

Something Warm to Drink Collect 7 Insulated Flask Variants (single game).

0.8%

Wild At Heart

0.8%

Tackle Box Craft a full set of 3 Fishing Lures (single game).

0.9%

Ends of the Earth Travel from Desolation Point to Sundered Pass (single game).

0.9%

The Will to Live Survive 500 days in a single Survival Mode game.

1.1%

Faithful Cartographer Map all named locations in Survival Mode.

1.1%

Quick Draw Kill 10 Ptarmigans with Arrows (single game).

1.1%

Challenge Mastery Complete every Challenge.

1.5%

Cache Mastery

1.6%

Skilled Survivor Get all skills to level 5 in a single Survival Mode game.

1.7%

The New World

1.7%

Bending The Rail

1.8%

The Last Light

1.8%

Hard Times

1.9%

Song of the Earth

1.9%

Exploration Game Visit every interior location in both Mystery Lake and Coastal Highway (single game).

The Hard Sciences

Deep Forest Keep a campfire burning for 3 days.

2.1%

Adrift

2.1%

To The Bone

2.2%

Living Off the Land Survive 25 consecutive full days only consuming calories harvested from wild plants and animals (single game).

2.3%

Every Last One

2.3%

Quarantine

2.5%

Silent Hunter Survive the first 50 days without firing any firearms (single game).

2.6%

Pacifist Survive the first 25 days without killing anything (single game).

2.6%

Black Black Heart

2.7%

Wrapped in Furs Sleep in a Bearskin Bedroll while wearing a Wolfskin Coat, Deerskin Boots, and Rabbitskin Mittens.

2.9%

Resolute Outfitter Fill all clothing slots with 100% condition gear.

3.2%

Tall Tales

3.3%

Penitent Scholar Complete all Research books.

3.9%

Graduation Day

3.9%

Happy Harvester Harvest 25 of each kind of plant (single game).

Centurion Survive 100 days in a single Survival Mode game.

No Half-Measures

4.1%

Face the Impossible Survive one day on Interloper difficulty.

4.6%

Waste Not, Want Not Harvest 10 Complete Deer Carcasses (single game).

4.7%

Desolation Point Craft a full set of improvised Tools.

4.8%

Timberwolf Mountain Climb to the top of Timberwolf Mountain.

4.9%

Leap of Faith

4.9%

Enemy For Life

Something Stinks

5.1%

Too Big to Fail

5.3%

Sounds Like Some Kind of Indie Band

5.5%

Just Like New

5.5%

Welcome to the Sh#tshow

5.9%

The Crossroads Elegy

6.8%

He Lives

Stone-Age Sniper Stun a rabbit with a rock from over 25 meters (80 feet) away.

7.1%

Hippocratic Oath

7.1%

Ready for when the SHTF! Survive 50 days in a single Survival Mode game.

7.4%

Save Our Souls

8.6%

Natural Healer Heal yourself using all types of natural medicines (single game).

9.1%

Community Service

9.1%

It was THIS Big! Catch a fish weighing over 5kg (11 lbs).

9.2%

Beneath a Starry Sky Survive 3 consecutive Nights outside (single game).

9.6%

You'll Be With Her Soon

9.7%

Freight-Train of Hate & Hunger

10.6%

There Will Be Blood Defeat your first Timberwolf pack.

11.9%

Don't Starve Keep calorie store above zero for 10 days.

14.6%

Lights in the Sky

15.1%

The Old Trapper

17.7%

Losing a Child is Like...

18.3%

You Made It! Survive 10 days in a single Survival Mode game.

19.8%

Leaving the Old World Behind

20.2%

The Long Winter

27.3%

Night Walker Survive an entire Night outside (single game).

28.7%

Paradise Lost

37.7%

Your Journey Begins

46.2%

The First of Many Survive 1 day in a single Survival Mode game.

49.7%

Share of Steam players who unlocked each achievement.

In the news

5 stories

The Long Dark is ready to take the train to Iron Road in the new Early Access expansion

1 outlet · Oct 27, 2026

GeoGuessr For The Long Dark, Yes

1 outlet · Oct 7, 2026

Hinterland Delays Blackfrost to 2027 to Double Down on The Long Dark

1 outlet · Sep 1, 2026

The Long Dark sequel Blackfrost hasn't been cancelled, but developer Hinterland are shifting a bit more focus onto the original's survival mode

1 outlet · Aug 29, 2026

The Long Dark will get new DLC again as studio shifts devs away from the sequel to survive an 'uncertain' industry: 'We have to adapt to this'

1 outlet · Aug 29, 2026

The Long Dark 2017

About

Story

What is happening now

How long to beat The Long Dark

From the people behind The Long Dark

Games like The Long Dark

Cast and crew

Crew

Voice cast

Media

Releases

PC and Steam Deck

Will it run on my PC?

The Long Dark player count

The Long Dark achievements

Rarest

In the news