PlayStation Games Where Walking Takes Up More Time Than Playing, Study
Summarize this post
Who says gaming is a sedentary hobby? In the past three months, PlayStation’s biggest hits have had players’ avatars marching, trekking, and questing their way through worlds that rival real-life marathons.
We measured the kilometers, hours, and calories behind those journeys – and the results could put your fitness tracker to shame. Using a mix of playtime statistics, quest lengths, and typical walking speeds, we converted in-game travel into real-world equivalents of steps, hours, and calories. Note: These distances reflect the journeys needed to complete each game, from start to finish.
The Scoreboard:
- 🥇 Death Stranding 2: On the Beach: Players trek a staggering 106 miles – equivalent of nearly 4 marathons – spending about 29.5 hours walking and (virtually) burning 8,500 calories
- 🥈 Assassin’s Creed Shadows: Gamers log about 81 miles on foot, totaling 18.4 hours of walking and over 6,500 (virtual) calories burned
- 🥉 WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers: Though shorter, players still cover 50 miles in 14.8 hours, which would equal close to 4,000 calories burned in real life
- ☠ ️Mortal Kombat 11: At the bottom of the list, players only walk about 0.4 miles, not enough to break a sweat
Press X to Cardio: The top 5 games that make you walk the most
In Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, Sam Porter Bridges isn’t just delivering packages – he’s delivering serious step count goals. Players spend a whopping 86.7% of their playtime walking, racking up about 106 miles across 38 quests. With an average walking speed of 3.6 mi/h and roughly 2.8 miles per quest, that’s nearly 30 hours of digital cardio – or roughly four marathons – all without leaving the couch. If those steps were real, they’d add up to 8,500 calories burned!
Sneaking through feudal Japan comes with a serious side of cardio. In Assassin’s Creed Shadows, players spend more than half their total playtime – 52.5% – simply walking. Across 87 quests, that adds up to about 81 miles traveled and roughly 18.4 hours on foot. With an average speed of 4.4 mi/h and about 1 mile per quest, it’s no wonder this game feels like a true stealth marathon. In real-world terms, that’s like walking from Los Angeles to San Diego – a trek that would burn around 6,500 calories if those steps were real.
In Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, the gothic action RPG proves that even dark fantasy comes with plenty of legwork. Players spend about 47% of their playtime walking, traveling roughly 50 miles across 20 quests. With an average speed of 3.3 mi/h and about 2.5 miles per quest, that’s close to 15 hours of walking – the equivalent of two marathons. If real, those steps would burn nearly 4,000 calories.
In The Last of Us Part II, Ellie’s journey isn’t just emotionally heavy – it’s physically demanding, too. Ranking #4 for most walking distance, players spend 47.6% of their playtime walking, covering about 43 miles across 46 quests. With an average speed of 3.9 mi/h and about 1 mile per quest, that adds up to 11 hours of walking – the equivalent of one and a half marathons. If it were real, the trek would burn close to 3,450 calories.
Sure, Grand Theft Auto V is famous for fast cars, but players still clock some serious steps when they’re not behind the wheel. Players spend about 35% of their playtime walking, covering 43 miles across 69 quests. With an average walking speed of 3.7 mi/h and about 0.4 miles per quest, that’s roughly 11.3 hours of walking. If real, those steps would burn around 3,450 calories.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, some of PlayStation’s most downloaded titles aren’t just about action, story, or combat – they’re secretly about logging miles. From marathon treks in Death Stranding 2 to stealthy strolls in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, these games prove that sometimes you spend more time walking than actually playing.
Methodology
To estimate how much time players spend walking in PlayStation’s most downloaded games (in the past three months), we combined multiple data sources and applied consistent calculations:
- Baseline Game Data
- Average completion times and quest/mission counts were gathered from player databases, community wikis, and speedrun records.
- Movement Metrics
- Average walking speeds and typical distance per quest were estimated from a mix of published guides, player forums, and other specialized sources.
- Calculations
- Total walking distance was calculated by multiplying quest counts by average distance per quest.
- Walking time was derived by dividing total distance by average walking speed.
- Walking share (%) was calculated by comparing walking time against average total completion time.
- Calories Estimate
- To translate distances into real-world equivalents, we used an average burn rate of ~50 kcal per kilometer walked (then converted to miles). This reflects potential calories – not actual calories burned by players on their couch.
- Adjustments
- In games with alternative travel methods (e.g. vehicles, horses, fast travel), walking time estimates were adjusted downward to reflect that not all travel is done on foot.
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