A commonly cited rule of thumb says that only four in ten players finish a game, but there is no universal completion rate. The figures differ by title, platform and when they are measured—and they do not explain why people stop playing.

Elden Ring illustrates how challenge can affect progress. Nearly three weeks after its March 2022 release, 17% of Steam players had reached one of the role-playing game’s endings, according to achievement data reported by Gamereactor. Around 30% had yet to defeat Margit, one of its early major bosses. These numbers offer a snapshot of players’ progress at that point, not a final completion rate.

Difficulty is also shaped by how players perceive it. In 2025, developers of The First Berserker: Khazan found that some players would rather leave the campaign than choose its Easy setting. Creative director Junho Lee said the label carried a stigma. The team responded by adding more difficulty options, including a Beginner mode.

A short campaign does not guarantee that more players will finish it. Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 takes about six to seven hours to complete, yet around two weeks after its May 2024 launch, approximately 13% of Xbox players had unlocked its completion achievement. On Steam, the figure was about 33% at the same point.

The difference may partly reflect how players accessed the game. Hellblade 2 was available on Xbox Game Pass from launch, allowing subscribers to try it without buying it individually. Some may have started out of curiosity and stopped when the experience did not appeal to them. As with Elden Ring, these figures describe progress at a particular moment, rather than definitive lifetime totals.

Difficulty and length can contribute to players dropping a game, but other factors may include repetitive progression, slow storytelling, mechanics that fail to hold attention or competition from other releases. In open-world games, players may also prefer exploring and completing side activities to finishing the main story.

Achievement statistics show how many players reached a milestone, but not why others stopped. The examples point to a range of possible reasons—and to the difficulty developers face in sustaining interest throughout a game.

Sources: Olhar Digital.