In Blade Runner, how long are replicants said to live?

In Blade Runner, replicants are said to have a four-year lifespan.

The limitation is especially important for the Nexus-6 replicants who drive the film’s story. Roy Batty and the other escaped replicants have returned to Earth seeking a way to extend their lives. Their programmed lifespan makes their search urgent and gives the film its central emotional tension: beings created as artificial laborers are fighting for more time and recognition.

The four-year limit is discussed as a built-in safeguard against replicants developing beyond their intended design. The film complicates that idea by showing that the replicants possess memories, loyalty, fear, and a strong instinct for survival. Their behavior challenges the distinction between manufactured beings and humans.

Blade Runner is sometimes remembered as saying that all replicants have exactly the same lifespan, but the story specifically emphasizes the four-year limit for the advanced Nexus-6 generation. The number is also why Roy, Leon, Zhora, and Pris are racing against time when they reach Los Angeles in 2019.