Prey 2 average play through 15 hours

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 20 April, 2011

"More games should focus on single-player."

2012 shooter Prey 2 will on average take 15 hours to play through, developer Human Head has revealed.

But it will take substantially longer to complete the Bethesda-published first-person shooter, which does not feature multiplayer, if you explore the open world and complete side quests.

"We're focused on making it a strong, powerful single-player experience," project lead Chris Reinhart said.

"And we're tied with Bethesda, which has proven they are the masters of making awesome single-player experiences."

He added: "It's an interesting challenge. It makes us change some of the other things we do. The single-player game has to be larger. There's more player choice. There's more to do.

"We're targeting, for the average player, at least around 15 hours to play through. But because there are so many open world activities you can do when you explore around and find different things, it's hard to put an upper cap on it.

"I guess if someone were to haul ass, they might be able to get through it under that. But I could haul ass through many open world games and get through them in a handful of hours."

Human Head's decision to ditch multiplayer for the shooter was a matter of focus, Reinhart said.

And he suggested more developers do the same – rather than compete with the gargantuan online experience offered by the likes of Call of Duty.

"It would be great if more people focused on single-player," Reinhart said.

"I love playing multiplayer. My big thing with that, if you're not going to be able to beat or exceed Call of Duty, don't do that kind of multiplayer, to be perfectly honest.

"If you're going to do multiplayer, do something else that fits with your style of game, and something that's going to be really fun, that's going to get people to play together in this game.

"The other thing is, I would want to make sure developers put their focus in the right place and area. Taking and watering down both single-player and multiplayer is not good for the developer. It's not good for the publisher. It's not good for the game player.

"It's better to focus your energy on one or the other. If there's a focus issue and you need to be able to focus on one, do that."

Eurogamer travelled to Utah to see the game in action. Check out our Prey 2 preview for more.

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (19) Latest comment 1 year ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • LHH #1 1 year ago

    and I wish they did but alas I have my Mass Effects and Fallouts for a decent sized game these days.

  • Robinsonhtid #2 1 year ago

    Can't wait

  • dsmx #3 1 year ago

    15 hours so that's about 9 then for anyone who has any ability.

  • Softie2k #4 1 year ago

    Portal 2 was supposed to be 10-12.

  • Darren #5 1 year ago

    Good that some developers are still committed to single player games as those are the only ones that interest me anyway. Competitive multiplayer has never interested me, much prefer plot-driven games myself. Funny though how developers big up 15 hour long games as something special; it wasn't that long ago that such games were the norm not the exception!!!

  • dsmx #6 1 year ago

    if your doing a single player only game then 15 hours should be the minimum if your charging full price.

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #7 1 year ago

    I remember a day when games didn't boast about their length unless that number was over 40.

  • menage #8 1 year ago

    @dsmx

    So you blasted through COD BLOPS in 1.5 hours then did you?

    I like to take my time playing a game, not run through it an evening.

    And open world? My interest is peeked. This and Rage could be quite interesting.

  • Darren #9 1 year ago

    2011 is looking like a strong year for single player games what with Dragon Age 2 and Dead Space 2 already and Mass Effect 3, Rage, L.A. Noire, Duke Nukem Forever, Uncharted 3 and Skyrim to come (among others). I personally couldn't be happier.

  • metallicorphan #10 1 year ago

    not even sure why they need to come out and say this,with it being open world i am expecting a lot longer because of sidequests like they say...like Oblivion and Fallout 3 the main quests can be completed in 15hrs(lot less probably) also,but with all the side quests etc,both games i spent 100+hrs each on...so hopefully this can be the same,and the same goes for RAGE as well which their devs have just said that their single player campaign lasts for about 15hrs also

  • Pac-man-ate-my-wife #11 1 year ago

    I don't give a fuck about how long, just how good it is.

    I don't care how long a movie is, I don't care how long a CD is, I don't care how long a book is, I don't care how long a TV series.

    As long as the cost is appropriate to the enjoyment I get out of it I don't feel cheated. I'd have paid twice what I did for Portal and Limbo as they are my favourite games of this generation, whereas Halo and Gears were 'expensive' in that I found them both tedious.

    Putting a cost on length is a ludicrous concept.

  • Haunted_Tree #12 1 year ago

    First they need to apologise for Prey ... don't talk up a game you can't deliver.

  • drhickman1983 #13 1 year ago

    Multiplayer games are great, but personally I find single player games more engrossing, when done well. Even co-op campaign modes alter the story telling, not necessarily for better or worse, but alter it none the less.

    There's space in the market for single player and multiplayer games, just hope Prey 2 is actually good, and if it is I hope it sells well, just to prove to the money men that single player can be profitable.

    as for it's length... the length of single player games doesn't hugely bother me (well, to a point). Quality over quantity any day. And depending on the genre, longer isn't alway better. Really frenetic games can't maintain their pace for long without it becoming tiring and drawn out. Over games need space to breath. 15 hours is a decent length for a game.

  • AgentCool #14 1 year ago

    He's right, more focus should be put on single player games. I find titles that are primarily multiplayer get old pretty quickly. I also think 15-20 hours is the perfect length for a game. I'd rather have something short and sweet that's worth replaying than something lasting 50+ hours which, however accomplished, almost always outstays its welcome in the end.

  • Lee_Morris #15 1 year ago

    Headline differs from actual text in the news story. Eurogamer misquoting people for a bold headline, how surprising!

    "WE'RE TARGETING, for the average player, at least around 15 hours to play through."

  • gav082 #16 1 year ago

    I hate the idea that I cant play an engrossing story with my friends. I want the depth and choice a single player game has to offer, but I want to be able to play with my friends. I remember when Final Fantasy Crystal chronicles was first announced for the game cube, didn't turn out to be the game I imagined it to be.

  • Snufkin #17 1 year ago

    Well said that man. I'm glad to see a return to focus on singleplayer gaming. For me multiplayer is an added bonus, but often I wish they just spent more time on the singleplayer to be honest.

    There is a feature about Prey 2 in this month's Edge, sounds promising. You play a human bounty hunter on an alien planet, the world is open but not vast, big enough to get around on foot. Traversal is like a cross of Brink and Mirror's Edge. The missions sound varied and there are multiple ways to complete them. But, as ever, let's wait and see.

  • ronuds #18 1 year ago

    The return of beefy SPs? Hooray!!!

  • Sevens #19 1 year ago

    I tend to like that focus. Unless it means that there'll be a storm of single player DLC.