I've lost count of how many times someone has asked me in 2026, 'Is Phantom Liberty worth the time, and just how long is it?' It's a fair question because Dogtown—Kurt Hansen's heavily militarized combat zone—can feel like a whole second game bolted onto Night City. Having gone through the expansion myself, I'd say it offers a chunky slice of content without demanding the same marathon as a full completionist run of the base game. Let me break down the runtime so you can plan your next few evenings.
Main Story: 10 to 15 Hours
If you just want to push through Phantom Liberty's central narrative once, you're looking at roughly 10 to 15 hours. That's the estimate most players should expect for a focused playthrough where you follow the DLC-specific questline without too much wandering. The story pulls you into Dogtown's political web, introduces new allies and enemies, and delivers some of Cyberpunk 2077's best writing.
But here's the catch I always warn people about: you cannot see every main mission in a single playthrough. The expansion branches based on choices you make, so certain story beats and missions only appear under specific conditions. If you want to experience every main quest the expansion has to offer, you'll need either multiple full playthroughs or a set of strategic manual saves placed before major decision points. That will add a good chunk of extra time, but it's worth doing if you care about seeing all the narrative outcomes.
Side Jobs and Gigs: Another 5 to 10 Hours
Dogtown's optional jobs and gigs are not just filler. There are more than 20 side jobs and gigs in Phantom Liberty, and they can add 5 to 10 hours to your run if you complete them once. I love these because many of them feel like mini moral puzzles. For example, a gig like Balls to the Wall can push you into deciding whether to frame someone or walk away, and those choices often lead to different endings.
That's the thing about the side content here: the vast majority of these missions have multiple endings. If you're a completionist at heart or just enjoy testing alternate outcomes, you can replay many of these jobs to chase every possible conclusion. That replay value quietly extends the expansion's total playtime, even if a single pass through all side content is fairly manageable.
Open-World Activities in Dogtown
Beyond story missions and gigs, Dogtown has its own living, breathing optional tasks. I always tell players not to skip these, even if they're short. You can:
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Delve into areas of increased criminal activity and clear them out.
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Chase airdrops that fall across the district.
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Visit terminals that grant Relic Points, which let you upgrade your new Relic skills.
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Steal vehicles for El Capitan, which fits the whole smuggler vibe of the zone.
None of these activities will eat up dozens of hours on their own—expect maybe a few extra hours altogether—but they add a lot of texture to Hansen's playground. They also give you useful rewards, like Relic Points for new abilities and extra eddies, so they feel worthwhile even if you're not aiming for 100 percent.
Completionist Run: Around 25 to 30 Hours
If your goal is 100 percent completion of Phantom Liberty, I'd budget 25 to 30 hours. That assumes you use those strategic manual saves to efficiently access all the main missions without replaying the entire expansion from scratch multiple times. It also assumes you clear every side job, gig, and open-world activity at least once.
For context, that's less than a full completionist run of the base Cyberpunk 2077 campaign, which can easily push past 60 or 70 hours when you include all gigs, NCPD scanner hustles, and endings. So Phantom Liberty feels like a substantial expansion without overstaying its welcome.
Here's a quick summary table I use when friends ask:
| Content Type | Estimated Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Main story, one playthrough | 10–15 hours | Misses some branching main missions |
| All main missions via saves/replays | More than one run | Strategic manual saves help |
| Side jobs and gigs | 5–10 hours | 20+ missions, many with multiple endings |
| Open-world activities | A few hours | Airdrops, Relic Point terminals, vehicle theft |
| Full 100% completion | 25–30 hours | Less than base game completionist run |
As of 2026, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty remains available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, and the expansion is still the best reason to return to Night City if you bounced off the original release. So if you're wondering whether it respects your time, my answer is yes: it delivers a dense, choice-heavy campaign with plenty of optional distractions, but it won't demand hundreds of hours unless you want to squeeze out every ending and hidden outcome.