An open world is a type of video game environment in which the player is given substantial freedom to explore a large virtual space and approach objectives in a relatively unrestricted order. Unlike games built primarily around linear sequences of levels, open-world games generally allow players to travel between locations, discover optional activities and choose when to pursue the main storyline. Open-world design can appear in many genres, including role-playing games, action-adventure games and driving games.

Early examples of open-ended game worlds appeared long before the term became common. Games such as Ultima, Elite and The Legend of Zelda allowed players significant freedom of movement and exploration during the 1980s. Improvements in computer and console hardware later made it possible to create increasingly large and detailed three-dimensional environments, with characters, vehicles, quests and other activities operating within the same continuous world.

The Grand Theft Auto series became particularly important to the popularisation of modern open-world design. Grand Theft Auto III (2001) placed the series in a fully three-dimensional Liberty City and allowed players to move freely between driving, exploration, combat, story missions and optional activities. Its commercial and critical success helped establish the open-world action game as a major form of game design, and its structure influenced numerous later titles. Subsequent entries, including Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Grand Theft Auto V, expanded the scale and variety of these environments.

Open-world design later became common in major video game productions. Games such as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Minecraft, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Red Dead Redemption 2 and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild use open worlds in different ways, ranging from largely self-directed exploration to story-driven adventures set within expansive environments. Although open worlds are often associated with player freedom, they still rely on designed boundaries, progression systems and rules that determine what the player can do and when particular areas or activities become available.

Sources

  • Patterson, Christopher B. Open World Empire: Race, Erotics, and the Global Rise of Video Games. New York: New York University Press, 2020. ISBN 978-1-4798-0204-3. Academic study of open-world video games and their place in contemporary game culture.

  • Sierra, Wendi. Todd Howard: Worldbuilding in Tamriel and Beyond. New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2020. ISBN 978-1-5013-5096-2. Study of open-world design and player agency in games developed under Todd Howard, including The Elder Scrolls series.

  • Wildfeuer, Janina, and Dušan Stamenković. “An Empirical Multimodal Approach to Open-World Video Games.” In Empirical Multimodality Research: Methods, Evaluations, Implications, edited by Jana Pflaeging, Janina Wildfeuer and John A. Bateman, pp. 259–279. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2021. ISBN 978-3-11-072491-2. DOI: 10.1515/9783110725001-011. Academic analysis of the structure and presentation of the open world in Grand Theft Auto V.

  • The Strong National Museum of Play. “Grand Theft Auto III.” Overview of the game's historical importance and its role in popularising large, freely explorable three-dimensional game worlds. The Strong National Museum of Play

  • Rockstar Games. “Grand Theft Auto III.” Official overview describing the game's Liberty City setting, freedom of exploration and open-world gameplay. Rockstar Games

  • GameSpot. “Dan Houser Opens Up About Grand Theft Auto III.” Interview with Dan Houser discussing the design philosophy of Grand Theft Auto III and its influence on modern open-world games. GameSpot