Official HowLongToBeat Integration

📋 Summary

Integrate official support for HowLongToBeat.com into LaunchBox and Big Box to provide time-to-complete data, personal tracking, and rich visuals across both interfaces. While JoeViking’s excellent plugin laid the groundwork, official support could go even further.

🎯 Feature Overview

LaunchBox should offer first-party integration with HowLongToBeat to enhance both game discovery and personal progress tracking. Core functionality could include:

• ✅ Syncing with a user’s HowLongToBeat account

• 🔄 Pulling playtime estimates (Main Story, Main+Extras, Completionist)

• 📊 Displaying this data visually within game details

• 📦 Syncing personal library data to/from the HLTB website

• 🎮 Enabling games added in LaunchBox to be reflected in a user’s online collection

• 📺 Visual integration in Big Box themes (e.g. game duration badges or time bars)

🛠 Example Use Case

• A user imports a game and automatically sees “Main Story: 8h 30m” beneath the title.

• In Big Box, a “Time to Beat” panel shows data without leaving the game wheel.

• Users can view or edit their HLTB status (e.g. Playing, Completed, Backlog) from within LaunchBox.

• Their HLTB account stays synced when they add or remove games.

📦 Benefits

• Helps users plan gaming time and manage backlogs effectively

• Enhances game discovery with more context

• Makes LaunchBox feel more connected to the broader gaming ecosystem

• Brings together the best of community plugins and official support under one roof

💡 Notes

• JoeViking’s plugin already provides excellent baseline functionality and shows strong demand.

• Official support would allow tighter integration with the LaunchBox database and UI/UX design principles.

• Big Box visual support could offer toggleable elements like time-to-beat icons, lists, or sorting.