How long do I have to retrieve my body?

Solution 1:

While I don't have the time limit for when your corpse will actually disappear, I can confirm that the time limit is longer than two and a half hours, as that's how long I waited. Two hours and 39 minutes, to be exact. Unfortunately, I had to go somewhere, which means I had to put my PS4 into sleep mode (which may or may not affect this timer, so I'd need to start the test over if I want to try again).

During my testing, I also ran to another section of the game, then fast-traveled back to near where my corpse was. The corpse was still right where I'd died, so distance and fast-traveling don't seem to affect the corpse, either.

In general, though, the purpose of my asking this question was to gauge the sense of urgency (if it existed) to get back to my corpse in time before it disappears. Apparently when the tutorial says "an extended period of time", it damn well meant it. As such, it seems like if you have any desire to recover the chips you lost when you died, there is no chance you will run out of time to do so.

If I ever have an entire day to kill, I may attempt this again to see if I can find the exact time limit. Until then, just know that the time limit is absurdly generous.