Open-world games experienced a massive boom in the last two decades and have come a long way technologically. It’s pretty impressive to see how far we’ve come and all the things you can do. Games like Red Dead Redemption 2, Cyberpunk 2077, and Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild have constantly innovated and pushed further, wowing us with these worlds that feel so real and magical.
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When players get worn out by the intensity of an open-world story campaign, these relaxing side activities are there to give them a break.
I’ll admit, though: I am experiencing a bit of open-world fatigue, and I’m certainly not the only one. The genre seems to have leaned too far into “bigger worlds,” and with that, leaving players mostly uninspired, we might be seeing some big shifts in the next big open-world RPGs that are set to come out. There’s no guarantee, of course, that these trends will come true, but with some major lessons to draw from, both good and bad, I do think we’re at the cusp of big change for the genre. I’ll use examples drawn from pre-existing games to illustrate my points.
Identity Fantasies, Not Power Fantasies
Unique Player-Oriented Stories
There’s always been a fascination with overpowered builds in any type of video game that allows for buildcrafting, and throughout the years, we’ve seen many versions of this: Bleed builds in Elden Ring, stealth archers in Skyrim, and so on. Now, however, players are looking for identity. We don’t just want to be all-powerful, or really all that strong at all, but what we want is substance to our characters and being able to define exactly what kind of main character they are. That means more features that determine their identity, and a world that responds to that identity. Choosing a specific path should have massive consequences in gameplay.
For example, Cyberpunk 2077 allows you to choose your life path between Corpo, Street Kid, and Nomad, and though the intro section is different for each three, there are no major differences in the main game after which is a bit of a shame. You do get one unique quest in Act 2, depending on which path you chose, but it feels like this could have been worked on a bit more to really push that identity to mean something more. For instance, a Street Kid walking around the Arasaka building could get shooed by guards or attacked on sight, and Nomads would get harassed by gangs more often for being considered an outsider. They should be more than just flavor text, basically, so that you could truly tell your own story in the game’s parameters.
Finishing The Game Isn’t The Main Goal
Games Want You To Stay
It’s not about the end, it’s about the journey. For open-world RPGs, it’s increasingly this way. While there are outliers, the main quest is often just an afterthought when mirrored with the game’s side quests and other activities. We’re reaching a point where simply existing in the game is made to feel satisfying enough, with casual activities like hunting, crafting, playing cards, exploring, and even building up relationships and romantic interests being far more engaging than rushing to the end of the story. If open-world RPGs are starting to feel more like simulations soon, it’s because we’re likely getting closer and closer to that point, and previous titles already show this.
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The best open-world games on the PlayStation 5 push the system to its absolute limits, offering players some of the most stunning locations in gaming.
Even earlier examples like Skyrim showcase this with Hearthfire, which lets you build your own house. Fallout 4 and Starfield came with settlement building, which is side content that has no end and is highly replayable. Bethesda’s radiant quests are also just that: replayability, no matter what you think of their quality. Elsewhere, Cyberpunk 2077 introduced hangouts at your apartments with the characters you’ve romanced. These are repeatable, too, so you can just delay meeting Hanaki at Embers indefinitely until you’re tired of calling Night City your home. I strongly believe open-world games are only going to lean more into this going forward, though I hope Radiant quests are done away with.
Choices Ripple Through The World
Dialogue Isn’t The Only Place For Consequences
Choice is very important to players; that much is certain. Nothing feels less empowering than making a choice that feels heavy and important, only for it to do absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of the world. This has been seen time and time again in multiple open-world RPGs in the past, and though it might be optimistic of me to write this, I do genuinely believe we’re reaching a point where players are so sick and tired of it that things are going to start changing. There are already examples of games doing this, thanks to the implementation of various Honor and Reputation systems (looking at your RDR2 and KDC2!), and that could be the first place to start when it comes to crafting realistic worlds.
The biggest blueprint for it, though, is without a doubt The Witcher 3, and the huge effects that Geralt’s decisions can have down the line, without you having any idea of it until events actually play out. Since we’re talking about RPGs, I also need to mention Baldur’s Gate 3, although it’s not an open-world game. There are several decisions you can make in the game that affect whether certain areas are accessible to you later on. For example, slaughtering the Grove means you won’t be welcome at the Last Light, and allowing Isobel to be taken means the Last Light succumbs to the shadows. These are the types of massive world changes we need, depending on what actions and dialogue choices players go for, because choices should not just be flavor.
More Hybrid Genre Games
Expect Flavors Of Immersive Sims, Survival Crafts, And More
I already touched up on this a bit in a previous entry, but increasingly, we’re going to see genres mixed in with the base flavor of open-world RPGs. And again, this is something we’ve already had ages ago: survival crafting seen in Fallout and The Elder Scrolls games, immersive sim elements in games like Cyberpunk 2077, where, depending on your specialization, you can move through areas and handle quests differently, and so on. Survival crafts have been especially popular in the last decade, and it’s likely that more games will lean into this going forward, as it encourages staying rather than finishing a game.
I’m excited to see other genres explored as well, including strategy and management sims. One example to think of is Fallout 4’s settlement management, which I know was far from being everyone’s cup of tea, but when done right, I think it could be an interesting angle to take. Imagine Project Orion, where you have to manage resources and relationships with gangs in a cyberpunk world. Maybe that’s a niche idea, but we live in a time where I think the open-world RPG format could really use some major shakeups and innovations.
Success Is Measured By Longevity
Launch Weeks Aren’t The Main Event Anymore
We’re in an era where major open-world RPG releases are taking longer and longer to come out. Grand Theft Auto 6 is set to release over a decade after GTA 5, and The Elder Scrolls 6 is probably going to release well over fifteen years after Skyrim came out. All this is to say is that games are banking more on longevity now than on release dates. One way they’re encouraging this is by developing DLCs to keep interest and hype going even years after a game’s initial release, or by doing remasters and new versions (like Skyrim and all of its different releases).
While some of it has been good, some of it has also been bad. DLC prices have been a point of contention for a while now, as it’s arguably true that a successful game should not need DLC to be, well, successful and “complete.” On the other hand, free updates and tangible content a la Phantom Liberty that shows thought and dedication and comes with a free upgrade on the side could be a good way forward. What’s non-negotiable, however, is that we’ll be seeing major releases for these big titles less often, especially after the disaster of Cyberpunk 2077, which served as a word of warning. Not just that, the state of the world economy means that with the rising prices of video games, fewer people can afford to commit to a game on its release date for a staggering price. Most consumers will wait for a deep discount, for multiple quality of life updates, free DLCs, and such to jump into a more complete experience.
That said, I have a feeling we’ll have a few outliers to this, like GTA 6. That launch day and the pre-orders will be crazy.
Bigger Worlds Aren’t The Goal Anymore
Hand-Crafted, Tighter Experiences Are Returning
When the open-world format first came out, it was revolutionary because it opposed the closed-off worlds players were used to. Seeing a mountain in the distance meant that you could probably never climb it, leaving that whole process up to your imagination. Well, no more. Open-world games broke that barrier, for the most part, and it’s best illustrated in the words of Todd Howard: “See that mountain? You can climb it!”
We’ve moved past these vast worlds now, though. Bigger doesn’t always mean better, and the case of Starfield teaches us that perfectly. The procedurally generated planets were supposed to be the pinnacle of open-world technology, but they actually went entirely against what made Bethesda’s previous open-world environments so charming and compelling: beautiful, intriguing, hand-crafted points of interest and secrets laced with environmental storytelling. There were no repeat dungeons, even if assets looked familiar and were reused from one place to another. Places were still unique, and that made them feel real, even if those worlds weren’t as massive. But who would want a massive world anyway, if it’s simply filled with more of the same stuff you’ve already seen? Starfield’s lesson is going to be one that many open-world games will learn from in the next generation, I hope.
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The FPS and open-world genres are two of gaming’s most popular. Put them together, and you’ve got a serious recipe for success.
