Andreas Hauber, a German VR enthusiast, claims to have just beat the Guinness World Record for longest VR marathon, a bar that was previously set by Australian Jack McNee last year at a grand total of 36 hours, two minutes and 16 seconds in VR painting program Tilt Brush (2016).
As reported by German VR publication MIXED, Hauber spent 42 hours playing Skyrim VR for the world record attempt.
According to MIXED, Hauber adhered “to the strictest Guinness rules,” including stipulations that he had to register the attempt over a year ago with Guinness and required enough independent witnesses to document every step of the way; Hauber’s attempt used more than 20 witnesses.
Of course, there are a few more rules than that to keep in mind. Hauber wasn’t allowed to sleep during his time spent in Skyrim VR using a HTC Vive Pro; witnesses checked up on him every five to ten minutes. No mods were allowed, and some form of controller input was required every 20 seconds—a ’90s-era rule that was fairly simple to overcome considering even the slightest movement of the VR headset or motion controllers would fulfill the requirement.
Some respite was allowed however; every successfully completed hour meant Hauber accrued a ten-minute break, which he was able to store up for bathroom breaks, food, etc.
Hauber hasn’t been crowned yet, as Guinness is still processing the attempt, no doubt going over each witness’ log entries and using the Twitch video as further proof that Hauber actually broke the record. MIXED podcaster Christian Steiner however was present, and even got a chance to sit as a witness for a four-hour period with Hauber.
While that’s not enough to call this a definitive record breaker just yet, it appears the German attempt was both well-organized and efficiently completed. We’d expect no less from our friends across the ocean.
