How long does it take to beat Minecraft?

Minecraft is a different game for different players, but for those who may be wondering how long beating the game takes, the answer technically depends on what they consider "beating" the game. Multiple aspects of the game technically meet these criteria. However, all things considered, Mojang's sandbox game can be beaten in as little as a few minutes or over dozens of hours.

From defeating the Ender Dragon to completing all advancements or achievements, there are a few ways to look at how a player actually "beats" Minecraft, and the required time for different methods varies. With that in mind, it doesn't hurt to examine how long it can take to beat Mojang's beloved sandbox title.

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How much time is required to "beat" Minecraft?

Most players consider defeating the Ender Dragon the way to "beat" Minecraft (Image via Mojang)

When players ask themselves how long it takes to beat Minecraft, they're usually asking how long it will take them to progress through Survival Mode and defeat the Ender Dragon in the End, therefore triggering the game credits before players return to the game. This process is dependent on how long a player takes to craft Eyes of Ender from the Nether, therefore unlocking access to the Ender Dragon.

Thanks to the speedrunning community, players have been able to accomplish this task and beat the game in blindingly fast times, including in as little as seven minutes. However, since most players aren't avid speedrunners, the actual completion time can be less than ten hours if players are sticking to their progression and aren't making random builds.

Moreover, if players are spending time completing miscellaneous tasks or making builds, or are engaged in other activities, the progression time to the End can fluctuate to multiple days. It all depends on what a player prioritizes and how quickly they can complete the core Survival Mode sequence. However, the clear time changes if defeating the Ender Dragon isn't a player's goal.

For example, if collecting every advancement or achievement is considered a Minecraft player's bar for "beating" the game, then their completion time can take anywhere from 30 to 85 hours or more, depending on how efficiently a player is completing achievements/advancements. However, this approach is considered much less common compared to the Ender Dragon method.

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How do you beat Minecraft?

An end portal is often considered imperative to beating Minecraft (Image via Mojang)

Since Minecraft is an open sandbox game, Mojang doesn't necessarily define a way to "beat" it. Instead, it simply asks players to create their own objectives and enjoy completing them however they see fit. That said, the game's community typically considers proceeding to the End and killing the Ender Dragon as the standard way to beat the game since it evokes the end credits.

This process involves the following tasks, though how a player accomplishes them falls to their own decision-making:

1. Survive the Overworld long enough to collect enough obsidian to assemble/repair a Nether portal and ignite it, heading into the Nether.
2. Defeating blaze mobs to collect their blaze rods and collecting ender pearls from the likes of endermen or piglin bartering to craft Eyes of Ender.
3. Returning to the Overworld to find a stronghold where the Eyes of Ender can be used to complete an End portal frame.
4. Entering the End and defeating the Ender Dragon, then exiting the End through the defined exit portal.

The alternative, according to some players since the game resumes after the Ender Dragon is beaten, is to collect every advancement in Minecraft Java or achievement in Bedrock Edition. There's no one progression to complete this series of tasks, so finishing them comes down to how proficient players are in their approach.

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Conclusion

All in all, unless players are hoping to speedrun to defeat the Ender Dragon, the approximate time to "beat" the game depends on what players' goals are and how they prioritize the steps to reach them. The game can be beaten in just a few minutes or it can be left unbeaten indefinitely all depending on how a player chooses to exercise their freedoms within Mojang's sandbox.