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Open-world games are popping up more and more, and many franchises have even tailored themselves to be more like an open-world game to bring in more fans. As such, you can expect a lot of these titles in 2023. The real question becomes though…which ones should you get?
#19 Diablo IV
- Developer: Blizzard Entertainment, Vicarious Visions
- Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
- Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
- Release date: TBA 2023
Starting off our list we have the upcoming Diablo title. Or as fans have been stating, “The Diablo title we should’ve gotten instead of Immortal”. To which we say…dang straight.
Anyway, Diablo IV will continue the lore of the franchise in a MEANINGFUL WAY, and hopefully won’t go and ruin things like certain previous titles have done. We’re putting this a bit low on the list because while we have no doubt that Diablo IV will be expansive in its own way, the dungeon crawler doesn’t technically have full open-world aspects.
Still, we think it’ll be a good game…with as few microtransactions as possible…we hope.
#18 Crimson Desert
- Developer: Pearl Abyss
- Publisher: Pearl Abyss
- Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
- Release date: TBA
Crimson Desert is an online open-world title with various twists that might just get you try it out. You’ll be set in the world of Pywel, a land that is full of dangers and is constantly changing. The people of this land struggle to get by every single day, and it’s up to you and other mercenaries to try and make the lands safe again.
Yes, you are a mercenary in this game, and you’ll take on jobs to fight monsters and villains of all types in order to save people. But you don’t have to do these jobs alone, team up with others to ensure your victory.
Life is hard in Crimson Desert, will you be able to survive it?
#17 DokeV
- Developer: Pearl Abyss
- Publisher: Pearl Abyss
- Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S
- Release date: TBA
Funnily enough, a major “monster collecting game” that is also open-world is coming out later this year via Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. However, if you’re wanting another adventure along those lines in 2023, then the upcoming DokeV is for you.
In this game, you’ll go on an adventure with the interesting creatures known as the Dokebi, who actually get their strength from people’s dreams. So you’ll need to put the best team together in order to go on the grandest of adventures.
Though there’s no release date for this game, fans are still anticipating its release in a big way.
#16 Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown
- Developer: KT Racing
- Publisher: Nacon
- Platforms: PC, NS, PS5, X/S
- Release Date: 2023
Racing games have been embracing more open-world concepts for a while now, and Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown is going to be one to look out for in 2023 as a result. The game intends to bank on the modern advances in technology to grant you the best experiences possible.
You’ll get to play the game your way in terms of how you look, the cars you drive, and how you drive them. You can focus on the championships that are out there, or, you can go and just drive around Hong Kong Island in order to just hang loose. You can even bring your friends in and race with them.
With a bunch of cars and places to drive, you’ll definitely like this title.
#15 Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn
- Developer: A44 Games
- Publisher: Kepler Interactive
- Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
- Release date: Early 2023
What would happen if the gates to the afterlife opened and an army of the undead started to lay siege to the world? You’ll find out in Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn, because that’s exactly what happens. But not just that, you’ll find out that it was some of the Gods of your world that have opened this gate to try and retake the world.
Now, you are part of the coalition that was formed to take back the world from the gods and undead. You’ll need to use the sword, magic, and guns in order to fight them off and take back what’s yours.
#14 Smalland
- Developer: Merge Games
- Publisher: Merge Games
- Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
- Release date: TBA
We as humans have a certain perspective on the world, wouldn’t you agree? But what if that perspective got a whole lot smaller? In Smalland, you’ll take the role of a character who is quite tiny, so thus, the entire world is monstrously sized to them. But, with the “giants” now gone from the world, it’s time to go on a journey to reclaim it for your tiny-sized people.
A very unique adventure awaits you in Smalland. Not the least of which is that you’ll get to experience everything from a perspective you rarely see in games. You’ll battle creatures like ants, climb “monoliths” from humankind, and learn what happened to the world as a whole.
#13 Voidtrain
- Developer: Nearga, HypeTrain Digital
- Publisher: Nearga, HypeTrain Digital
- Platforms: PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
- Release date: TBA
Voidtrain is definitely a unique title because it’s honestly hard to define. You find yourself in a new world where the best way to get around is by a train. But to say that the tracks don’t lead to the typical places would be underselling it by a large margin.
The tracks go across dimensions and float on air. You’ll start out with a simple trolley, and then everything else is up to you. You’ll need to go and solve puzzles, get supplies, and build a better train to handle what’s out there. What is out there? Beasts that are trying to take you and your stuff.
Will you be able to figure out the mystery of Voidtrain?
#12 Avowed
- Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
- Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
- Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X/S
- Release date: TBA
When it comes to epic RPGs, there are a few companies out there that you can rely on in order to get the best experiences possible, and one of them is Obsidian Entertainment. Why is that? Because they’re team behind grand RPGS like Fallout New Vegas, The Outer Worlds, and more.
So when they announced a new RPG in the form of Avowed? Yeah, people were excited, even if we don’t know too much about the game at present.
The game will be set in a fantasy world that has all sorts of monsters that are apparently born from the sins of an empire. You’ll be able to use sword and sorcery to try and fix things, and you can bet there’s a lot of quests and side quests for you to partake in.
#11 Forspoken
- Developer: Luminous Productions
- Publisher: Square Enix
- Platforms: PC, PS5
- Release: January 24, 2023
One of the first AAA games to come out in 2023 is that of Forspoken, a title that has had a bit of a troubled history in terms of development, but still has the potential to be great.
In the game, you’ll play as a woman from New York named Frey. She suddenly gets warped from her home and into the world of Athia, a land of both magic and monsters. To try and get back home, she must use new magical abilities that she finds within herself in order to fight monsters and get back home.
So if you’re up for a magical fantasy adventure, Forspoken is for you.
#10 S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl
- Developer: GSC Game World
- Publisher: GSC Game World
- Platforms: PC, X/S
- Release: 2023
The Stalker franchise is actually a bit larger than you might realize, and the only reason we haven’t gotten S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl already is due to real-world events. As a result, the hype for this game will continue to build as time ticks towards its release.
And it’s aiming to be one of the most expansive versions of the franchise yet, including remolding the exclusion zone that we’ve been in during the last few games. You’ll play as a Stalker who is once again trying to make their living by what is there, and trying to survive the other Stalkers, as well as mutant monsters, who are trying to get in your way.
#9 Ark 2
- Developer: Studio Wildcard
- Publisher: Studio Wildcard
- Platforms: PC, X/S
- Release: 2023
The original game in this franchise, Ark: Survival Evolved, brought a lot of things to the table and amazed fans with how everything was handled. Ark 2 is aiming to expand that in a major way, including by making the world even bigger than it was before.
In the game, you’ll play as someone with no true memory of who they are, and waking up to a world that is full of contradictions in terms of who and what is there. Now, you must do what you can to explore and harness this world and team up with some of its heroes to keep its people safe.
Oh, and Vin Diesel is in this game…because why not at this point?
#8 Redfall
- Developer: Arkane Studios
- Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
- Platforms: PC, X/S
- Release: 2023
There are all kinds of ways to play the open-world genre, and yes, that includes throwing vampires into the game so that people can have a horrifying open-world experience.
In Redfall, you are part of a town which has been overrun with literal vampires. They have blotted out the sun, and are attempting to remain in the human world forever. But naturally, you’re not going to let that happen, are you? You can do the fight alone or team up with friends in order to push the vampires out of your homes, and along the way, figure out why they’re here, and what true plans they have for Redfall.
need to explore…or run from as fast as possible.
Treasure, deadly battles and creatures, and adventure await you!
#7 Final Fantasy XVI
- Developer: Square Enix
- Publisher: Square Enix
- Platforms: PS5
- Release: 2023
We’ve seen a lot of Final Fantasy games over the years, and each one has their own spin on things in order to make them unique. Final Fantasy XVI is arguably going to be the darkest of all the main titles, and that makes this journey into this unique world very interesting to think about.
The team behind the game have noted that this title will be M-rated and feature some very mature storytelling, including a main character that is quite literally out for revenge on the ones who took a member of his family from him. Plus, he’s trying to free his world from the grip of powerful crystals that people have been relying on for far too long.
#6 The Day Before
- Developer: FNTASTIC
- Publisher: MYTONA
- Platforms: PS5, X/S, PC
- Release: March 1, 2023
If you’re looking for a game that kind of feels like it hits close to home, then The Day Before might just be for you. Because in this game, the world was devastated by a pandemic (see what we meant by “close to home” now?), and as a result, people are fighting for survival in places like New York City.
Oh, and the pandemic caused a bunch of people to basically become zombies, so there’s that!
As one of the non-infected, you’ll need to travel around New York and scavenge for supplies and gear to make it to the next day. Then, find some of the survivor colonies and help them as much as you can so that humanity doesn’t get wiped out.
#5 Suicide Squad Kill The Justice League
- Developer: Rocksteady Studios
- Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
- Platforms: PC, PS5, X/S
- Release: 2023
From the team that made the Arkham Trilogy (sorry Arkham Origins) comes the next great superhero classic…starring supervillains this time around!
In Suicide Squad Kill The Justice League, you’ll play as either Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, or King Shark. Their mission is simple, take out the members of the Justice League who have been brain controlled by the evil entity known as Starro.
You’ll go through sprawling cityscapes within the DC Comics universe in order to take them down, if you can take them down at all.
Given this studio’s desire to create incredible adventures, you’re definitely going to want to try this one out when it arrives.
#4 Avatar Frontiers of Pandora
- Developer: Massive Entertainment
- Publisher: Ubisoft
- Platforms: PC, PS5, X/S
- Release: 2022/2023
Say what you will about the Avatar movie and the franchise that is FINALLY growing from it (and trust us, we know some of you have a lot to say), but you can’t deny that James Cameron “did it again” by making a world and creation that had a lot of imagination put into it.
Avatar Frontiers of Pandora is going to be an extension of that and the movie in the best of ways. Because in the game you’ll be playing as your own Na’Vi, and explore the western continent of Pandora, a place we’ve never seen yet. You’ll be tasked with various things on your adventure, so be sure to “see” all you can in the game.
#3 Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
- Developer: Square Enix
- Publisher: Square Enix
- Platforms: PlayStation 5
- Release date: Winter 2023
While it may not have been a traditional open-world game, Final Fantasy VII Remake did make things open-world like via how much larger Midgard was in this game versus what it was like in the OG title. That’s why there were so many sidequests and events that you could do.
But with the upcoming Final Fantasy Rebirth, we’re leaving Midgard behind and going to the rest of the world to continue the adventures of Cloud Strife and his friends, and that means more areas to go to, more characters to meet, and more battles to fight. So if the first game was a little “restrictive” in its open-world qualities, Rebirth should fix that.
#2 Starfield
- Developer: Bethesda Game Studios
- Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
- Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X/S
- Release date: Q1/Q2 2023
Boy, Bethesda loves to string us along and then drop something masterful on us, don’t they? They’ve been teasing Starfield for literal years, and even when we thought we were going to get new information on the game…we didn’t. Then they delayed the game to 2023 and now we have to wait even LONGER for information.
The good news is that we do know that Bethesda is putting all they have into Starfield to make it a true space open-world game that everyone can enjoy. We still don’t know all we can do in it, but they’ve been teasing a revolutionary adventure, and that means something coming from them.
Let’s just hope it doesn’t turn out like Fallout 76, right?
#1 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Sequel
- Developer: Nintendo
- Publisher: Nintendo
- Platforms: Nintendo Switch
- Release date: Spring 2023
It’s almost ironic that the game we still know very little about is the one that tops this list. And that’s honestly because The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was a revelation when it came out. LOZ games had never been this open before. Sure, they had a lot of areas in games like Twilight Princess and Ocarina of Time, but it guided, not open-world.
Plus, with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Sequel, you’re going to see an improvement on what is in the open-world and that likely means more content.
We’ve seen a few clips and teases of the title so far, but hopefully we’ll get a true name and release date for 2023 soon.