Skyrim Day Length
A day on in real life, on Earth, has 24 hours. But how much time would pass in Skyrim, one of the best Elder Scrolls games ever, if we played for a full day on Earth?
Many gamers have noticed that time passes at a much quicker rate in Skyrim. Whether this is true of other Elder Scrolls games or not is a topic for a different day.
But roughly speaking, Bethesda made time in Skyrim run at a 20X faster rate than in real life. Roughly put, this means that playing for 1 second in real time amounts to 20 seconds in Skyrim time. And consequently, playing for 1 minute on Earth, equates to 20 minutes of game time in Skyrim.
But what if, say, you wished to spend an hour of game time at the Sleeping Giant Inn in Riverwood? How long would you have to stay at the inn in real time, for 1 hour to pass in the world of Skyrim?
Every hour spent in Skyrim amounts to 3 minutes of Earth time, and vice-versa: in order to spend one hour in Skyrim, it will take you 3 minutes of gameplay.
So, if you want to spend an hour of Skyrim game time at the Sleeping Giant Inn, just go there and stay for 3 minutes.
But is there anything else you’d want to know about this most recent chapter of The Elder Scrolls games? I know I do!
For example, have you ever wondered as to how much time it would take to walk from one side of Skyrim to the other? Well, according to our calculations, it would take you 3 full days in Skyrim video game time. But take note, this is only valid if you set the timescale to default and manage your inventory on your console. If you mess with the code and the way time passes in Skyrim, you will get very different results.
Whether you’re a big fan of Skyrim and have spent hundreds of hours so far in it, or you’re a new player who just wants to explore the rich world of this beloved video game, like take on quests and enjoy the atmosphere by talking to NPCs, have no doubt: spending time in Skyrim can be an exciting and rewarding experience.
The Size of a Day In Skyrim Created By Bethesda Game Studios
But let’s do some more fantasy math. Let’s say that, after spending an hour of Skyrim time at your favorite inn, you suddenly felt like spending an entire day climbing The Throat of the World, the most impressive, snowy-capped, tallest mountain in Skyrim.
How long would you have to play in real time, to spend one day in Skyrim time, then?
According to our calculations, that would amount to 1.2 hours of real life playtime, or in other words, around 72 minutes.
Am I the only one who finds that oddly fitting? Spending a little more than an hour, and this equating to a full day in Skyrim time feels oddly pleasing to me!
But what if we had one super long session, and spent 24 real life hours playing the game? This has… Happened. Don’t ask me how I know! But getting yourself immersed in Skyrim will definitely make your time pass a lot more quickly, and you may forget to rest.
Let’s say you decided to spend a full Earth day, 24 hours of real life time, to explore every corner of Skyrim’s map. When you finally complete your journey, how much Skyrim time would’ve passed?
Considering the time in Skyrim runs 20 times faster than in real life, the answer would be 480 hours. Or, in order to complete your quest, it would’ve taken you 20 days in Skyrim. So there’s your answer to the question “How long is a day in Skyrim?” It’s 20 days long!
Say about that what you will, but I think it should be a lesson to be taken into consideration when deciding how much time to spend on video games like Skyrim each day. (Definitely NOT 24 hours!)
The Size of a Day In the Game
There is much speculation as to whether time in Skyrim operates the same way it does on Earth. Or to be more clear: whether the length of a single day in Skyrim is equivalent to the day length on Earth.
Of course, this could be explained by the lore, but as far as we know, it hasn’t been. However, due to the fact that time runs 20x faster in Skyrim than in real life, many fans have embarked on creating their so-called “scientific” theories as to the temporal dynamics in The Elder Scrolls universe.
According to some, in Skyrim, a day is only 8 hours long. And by this they mean Skyrim hours, not Earth hours. This can be rather complicated for newbies to the game, as it would appear that the Skyrim time/night cycle is out of sync with real-world time.
Depending on its location, a day in the real world could be a moment it takes for planet Earth to finish one complete rotation around its axis when spending a real-world day.
So, how long does it take Skyrim’s planet to rotate around its axis? A complete mystery. And the same mystery remains unanswered for all other Elder Scrolls games too.
There have been numerous explanations as to why game runs differently in Skyrim. Of all of them, there has been a notable one, mainly inspired by the day/night cycle and how it affects the set timescale in the game.
According to some players, the game’s engine is operating at 24 frames per second, which could mean that each second of real-world time equates to 20.4 seconds of game time, creating a timescale where one hour of real-world time is equal to half an hour in the game. The 2nd related factor is that the video game’s day/night cycle is linked to the in-game clock, which progresses at a rate of half an hour of game time per real-world hour.
Note that this speculation is different from our assessment above about time running 20X faster in Skyrim time compared to real time, which we believe is more accurate. But is it the most accurate answer? Sigh. So many questions, so few answers!
The Size of a Day in Real Life
A day in real life has 24 hours. I hope this answers your question.
The Length of a Day In Various the Game World
In The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, where the Dragonborn battles dragons and various other critters and enemies, the size of the day in the game is about 72 real time minutes. This timescale can be compared to various other video games, based on location, where the lengths of days can differ considerably from how long you would spend an hour in Skyrim.
As an example, in Red Dead Redemption 2, a game world day passes in 48 minutes of play time. Commenting on this fact, one can note that days in Skyrim pass more slowly than days in Red Dead Redemption 2, or other games.
The Length of a Day In World of Warcraft In Previous Games
Essentially, 24 hours of World of Warcraft in game time amounts to 24 hours in real-time. Meaning that the time flow in WoW is realistic. Nevertheless, there are some games that make use of a “game day” which is quicker or slower than an actual day, creating an altered timescale. For most games, one game day amounts to about 6 hours of real-time gaming and can lead to interesting conflicts between the players’ expectations and the game’s actual pacing.
The Length of a Day in The Senior Scrolls Online on Nintendo Switch
In The Elder Scrolls Online, one hour in game time is roughly 24 real-time minutes, suggesting that the timescale in the video game world is about 4 times longer than an hour in the real world. However, there are some activities that take place faster in game time than they can get carried out in real time. An example of this is the Dragonborn questline, which takes less than two hours of game time to complete, but would take much longer than that in real time.
Furthermore, spending 8 hours sleeping in the video game world only recovers about 1 hour of stamina on a much faster timescale, whereas, in the real world, 8 hours of sleep would restore all of your stamina. Sleeping is an integral part of staying healthy and fit and is one of the best ways to restore stamina in both the real and virtual worlds.
Fun Facts and Knowledge!
Skyrim, the popular role-playing video game set in the Elder Scrolls universe, has come with mod support on console platforms like the Nintendo Switch. Sure, the Nintendo Switch can’t beat playing Skyrim on the PC, but it comes with unique perks too.
And we have to say, these mods are are great add-ons, ranging from cosmetic items to adding a new quest or two. Thanks to them, you can extend your Skyrim experience even further, and spend more time enjoying the game with custom quests, new items, and more, including the dragonborn expansion pack. For those who haven’t played previous games of Skyrim on a console, they can now take advantage of these mod features with consent.
If you assume that you have enough skills to create and defeat Alduin, the dragon, in melee combat, then the Creation Club in Skyrim allows for great playing as a Dragonborn with a variety of quests available for completing involving dragons. These quests are a great way to immerse yourself into the world of Skyrim and test your skills against powerful dragons – and spend some time enjoying this special experience using available mods.
And not to mention that some mods allow you to take on the High King too, and vanquish him into Oblivion.
What an escape from the real world eh? You can truly become a legend in Skyrim, thanks to these mods on the Nintendo Switch.
Why Many People Compare Elder Scrolls V Skyrim?
When Bethesda announced the game, both ordinary people and the press couldn’t help themselves be struck with awe. The hype was super high, leading some gamers to make rather unfortunate (but maybe necessary) comparisons to other games who have had promised great things, but failed to deliver on them. Article after article, the hype would wax and wane, and comparisons would be made. In the end, the wait was totally worth it!
Conclusion
In conclusion, the answer to “How long is a day in Skyrim” or the length of time a day in Skyrim depends upon what you’re doing, exactly how you’re playing, and the set timescale in the game code. If you’re not messing with the game’s code, you can anticipate that playing for a full day takes around 20 days in Skyrim time.
Despite the timescale in which you play in Skyrim, however, something is certain – a day in Skyrim is a lot longer than a real day! With hours of exploration and adventure, as well as numerous quests to complete, you’ll be sure to get your money’s worth out of Skyrim.
