Not very long ago, the first open world games were considered redundant by critics and fans alike. Fast forward a few years, many prominent video games are of the open-world genre or are pretty close. This inclusion signals a wide acceptance and adoption of gaming in an open world by a growing base.

As open-world games evolve, their maps have become not just larger but hybridised, packed with quests, dynamic environs, mini-games, etc. Over this piece, we’ll be highlighting some of the biggest open world games, some of which aren’t very popular. 

Biggest Open World Games Based on Their Map size

Todd Howard, Game Director at Bethesda Softworks – “The biggest challenge with the open world is to fill it with enough content that players don’t feel like they’re just wasting their time.”

As hinted, we’ll be exploring our open-world games by sheer map sizes, which mostly determine the detailing. Read on. 

Final Fantasy 15 

Being one of the largest RPGs ever made, Final Fantasy’s enormous map size and detailing come as no surprise. Totalling over 750 square miles, Square Einx’s Final Fantasy 15 is the largest world to explore in the FF series. Of its many worlds, the Eos is particularly diverse, with various ecosystems like forests, deserts, and even cities. 

Also, the awe of this game goes beyond the detailed maps. Players experience dynamic weather systems, mini-game elements like hunting, fishing and even a night-day cycle. On the downside, most areas here are sparsely populated and some areas are detached with impassable structures. 

Fallout 4 

Fallout 4 is still considered the most populated and detailed game in the Fallout series. This is why the game is making our list despite not being the largest game by map size in the series. Coming through with 9,743 square miles, Fallout 4 offers many zones of post-apocalyptic worlds. The Commonwealth alone measures over 4 square miles and is populated by NPCs with several faction quests. 

And Fallout New Vegas has a place that references the Wild West (much like the town of Akila in Starfield) – Freeside. What can you do there? Complete interesting tasks, visit bars, play in a slot casino, and make money. Interestingly, the in-game casino was praised by players for its realistic atmosphere, even inspiring some to explore gambling in real life through online platforms. With the rise of pay-by-phone services, igaming has become incredibly accessible, offering simple and flexible payment options. For those intrigued by the seamless integration of technology and gaming, exploring a list of pay by phone casinos reveals just how innovative online gambling has become. Likewise, diving into the biggest open-world video game ever shows how expansive virtual experiences can inspire real-world connections.

Atlas 

Jade Raymond, Former head of Ubisoft, Toronto – “Open-world games are not just about big maps. They’re about crafting a world that feels alive, where players can get lost in the experience, not just the geography.”

Atlas, a 2018 MMO by Grapeshot Games, is the first ocean-themed open-world game on our list. In other words, much of the map size consists of water bodies, which doesn’t seem fair to the rest. Nevertheless, the survival game is pretty engaging, as players get to sail the seas in quests of adventure, treasure and resources. 

Offshore, there are also many islands to explore. Not the typical realistic small islands, but rather vast ones which would take several hours to explore each one. 

The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall 

Sequel to Arena, Elder Scrolls’ Daggerfall has a map size of 63,000 square miles, almost equivalent to the size of England. The game is also the second largest in the series behind Arena, with over 6 million square miles. While the game’s graphics are somewhat outdated, it is one detailed RPG to explore for the adventurous folks. 

Players here can dive into the vast cities of Daggerfall and Wayrest, which are filled with numerous quests and loot. Bethesda Softworks also made sure to include a Fast Travel feature, so players can traverse between locations. Compared to today’s standards, certain areas in Daggerfall still seem a little empty. On the bright side, there’s enough content in the engaging areas of the game. 

Fun Fact: Daggerfall was one of the first open-world games to use procedural generation to create its vast map. This method allowed the game to generate landscapes, cities, and quests that would have been impossible to create by hand, given the game’s sheer size.

The Elder Scrolls: Arena 

Essentially the largest game in the series, still way above sequels like Morrowind and Oblivion, Arena has a map covering the entire Tamriel. The game accounts for all of Tamriel’s provinces in 6 million square miles, with terrains that loop infinitely if players travel on foot. 

However, since most of Arena’s map is procedurally generated, there’s bound to be some repetitive and empty terrain. Regrettably, large stretches such as these reduce the appeal of adventure and even make the whole sojourn less engaging. 

In addition, having covered two Elder Scrolls games on our list, we’ve named the rest of the series, alongside their map sizes.

• The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (6.2 square miles) 
• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (16 square miles) 
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (14.3 square miles) 

Minecraft 

Being a nightmare to completionists, Minecraft is the only technically infinite open-world game on our list. Emphasis on technically infinite because the actual size of a Minecraft world depends on your gadget’s hardware. The game is programmed to set a limit based on what your system can handle. 

This way, the map sizes can be as big as possible without crashing the game or slowing down your computer. In a manner of speaking, Minecraft’s maps are infinite, as infinite as your computer can go.

Fun Fact: The infamous Minecraft Creeper was actually a mistake. It was originally intended to be a pig, but a coding error caused it to have an elongated body. The developers thought the result was funny and decided to keep it in the game as a hostile mob.

Conclusion

In summary, as global gaming technologies improve, developers are redefining what it means for video games to be an “open world”. Most experts say it is only going to get better, we believe them at this point. Whether it is in sheer geographic size or narrative density, we have covered some of the biggest and most advanced open-world games to hit the markets.