I’m going to name some upcoming games, tell me what they have in common- Horizon: Zero Dawn. The Division. Fallout 4. Just Cause 3. The Legend of Zelda. Far Cry Primal. Xenoblade Chronicles X. Persona 5. Final Fantasy 15. Crackdown 3.
Do you give up? It’s that they are all open world. More and more, this generation has seen a movement away from the kinds of linear, focused cinematic experiences that defined last generation, and has given us a shift towards open world games. Some of the biggest titles of this generation – GTA5, Shadow of Mordor, The Witcher 3, Batman: Arkham Knight, and Metal Gear Solid 5 – are all already open world, and that doesn’t seem to be stopping any time soon. According to Final Fantasy 15 director Hajime Tabata, it will continue because the technology to make a fully realized open world is finally here.
“I think in some ways, everyone is heading in the same direction at the moment,” he said to OPM. “Guerrilla Games’ Horizon is going a very similar way as well. The idea of having an open-world, seamless travel between areas, having to hunt and fight… I think the technology is now at a place where people can try and achieve these things properly.”
Personally, as long as my open world is more Witcher or Phantom Pain, and less Arkham Knight or Assassin’s Creed, I’m all for it. So yeah, guys, go for it. Open world games give players agency, and that is always awesome.