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The 10 best open-world games in 2026
Unlimited freedom: We show you the 10 best open-world games in 2026 that will keep you glued to the screen for hours.
Sometimes it's just not enough to run from point A to point B in a level. In recent years, games have given us impressive and vibrant game worlds that are bursting with details and hidden secrets. The best open-world games immerse you in a fantasy world that rewards you for your curiosity in every nook and cranny. But bigger is not always better. A boring and lifeless open world can quickly ruin the fun of the game, while a successful example can keep you glued to the screen for several hundred hours.
Video game knowledge
Nowadays, open-world games are an integral part of the gaming landscape and it feels like every game that claims to be something must also offer a freely explorable world. Here they are, the 10 best open-world games of all time!
01
The Crew Motorfest
The whole island of O'ahu is yours to explore Motorfest.
© Ubisoft
Released in September 2023, the open-world racer The Crew Motor fest lets you freely explore the picturesque island paradise of Hawaii.
The racing game not only features impressive environments, but also a gigantic fleet of 600 vehicles. These include boats and aeroplanes, making Motorfest one of the best and most varied racing games around.
- How was the game created? Our show'Levels' provides an intimate insight into the world of video game development. The Ubisoft team reveals how The Crew Motorfest was created.
15 min
Ubisoft's Crew Motorfest
See behind the scenes and dive into the making of the new game by Ubisoft Studios, The Crew Motorfest.
02
Elden Ring
Elden Ring plays fresh thanks to its open world.
© Bandai Namco
In 2022, developer FromSoftware brought a breath of fresh air to the soulslide genre with Elden Ring. On the one hand, because the normally difficult genre was made much more beginner-friendly.
On the other hand, because Elden Ring comes with a completely open game world that can be explored freely and at your own pace. Without quest markers or collectable items, hardly any other open-world game offers such an organic exploration. No wonder the title has been showered with awards.
03
Red Dead Redemption 2
The open-world game that everyone has to measure themselves against: RDR2.
© Rockstar Games
Red Dead Redemption 2revolutionised the genre of open-world games in 2018. Instead of always following the same pattern like other games and always offering the same types of missions, the western epic takes a realistic approach. The game not only conjures up a huge open world on the screen, but also manages to bring it to life.
NPCs go about their tasks, animals follow their own ecosystem. The game world is the real hero here. Compared to its legendary predecessor, the Wild West offers significantly more variety, because instead of dusty prairies (which also exist), you can explore vast snow-covered mountains, picturesque swamps and impressive cities. A new benchmark for open-world games.
- Epic soundtrack: This is the music of Red Dead Redemption 2.
56 min
The Music of Red Dead Redemption 2
Check out this reimagining of Red Dead Redemption 2's score as a live audio-visual performance.
04
Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
The atmospheric game world never fails to impress.
© Ubisoft
The Assassin's Creed series has now mutated into a genuine action role-playing game . The previous locations were already impressive, but the virtual depiction of Ancient Greece takes it to the next level.
Assassin's Creed: Valhalla impresses with a varied and realistic open game world that perfectly captures the daily life of the Viking Age. A gigantic and lively open world in which you can easily invest hundreds of hours and always discover something new.
05
Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077
© CD Projekt RED
When the dystopian sci-fi action game Cyberpunk 2077 was released in 2020, the game was in a catastrophic technical state. However, the development team reacted quite quickly and transformed the open-world game into an outstanding and gripping adventure that is both technically and playfully exciting.
Cyberpunk 2077 is an open-world action-adventure RPG set in the dystopian metropolis of Night City. Night City is a dangerous megacity obsessed with power, glamour and body modifications. Players are immersed in a world that offers impressive visuals through ray-tracing, global illumination and realistic shadows. As Mercenary V in first-person perspective, the game offers extensive character customisation with attributes such as Body, Reflexes and Cool. Choose between Life Paths (Nomad, Street Kid, Corpo) for unique dialogues and missions. The playful freedom, complex mechanics and an incredibly vivid and detailed game world make Cyberpunk 2077 one of the best open-world games of all time.
- Travelling into the unknown: Our show'Urbex' shows what Urban Explorers experience in the most incredible places in the world.
06
Ghost of Yotei
Ghost of Yotei
© Sony Interactive Entertainment
In autumn 2025, Sucker Punch released Ghost of Yotei, a sequel to the popular samurai adventure Ghost of Tsushima. Nobody would have thought it possible that the development team would succeed in creating such an impressive milestone in open-world games.
Ghost of Yotei is set over 300 years after Ghost of Tsushima in the province of Ezo and follows the ronin Atsu, who lost her family to the masked Yotei Six as a child. Atsu hunts this group with a tough, violent style that emphasises the dark side of revenge. Unlike similar titles such as Assassin's Creed Shadows, the game focuses on the human backgrounds of the antagonists, providing a depth of gameplay that few open-world games offer.
The world around Mount Yotei is designed for spontaneous adventures, with rewards such as healing springs, cards for charms or new kimonos to encourage exploration. Passers-by provide hints for side activities like bounty hunting or bamboo challenges, but it feels too directed in places, like a theme park with repetitive dialogue and golden birds to guide the way.
07
The Witcher 3
The world in the role-playing game The Witcher 3 is at war. Bloodthirsty creatures in the countryside and cunning people in the cities demand a lot from Geralt the Witcher. The role-playing game succeeds in an inimitable way in creating a believable and enormously coherent medieval fantasy world that is unrivalled.
The visual variety in combination with the enormously high level of detail are unique and despite the fantasy setting, The Witcher 3 feels authentic at all times. Whether you're playing a round of Gwent in the tavern, helping the local farmers with a ghostly problem or simply wanting to uncover every question mark on the huge map: Geralt's third adventure casts a magical spell over you and raises the bar for future open-world games.
The same goes for the outstanding DLC "Blood and Wine", which is more extensive and better than the majority of other full-price titles. A real masterpiece.
08
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Thanks to the Ultrahand, you can build wild things in Tears of the Kingdom
© Nintendo
After Nintendo achieved a genuine revolution with The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild, the new adventure Tears of the Kingdom follows on from this.
Of course, Link, Zelda, Ganondorf and co have a whole host of fresh ideas in tow for the latest instalment: the open world is even bigger, not least thanks to flying islands. There is also a whole host of new game elements (including the option to build creative vehicles or aeroplanes with Sonau parts), the return of temples and much more.
Speedrunner David 'GrandPOOBear' Hunt shows you what to expect in the game in the following video.
09
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
Wer Skyrim nicht kennt, der hat was verpasst!
© Hersteller
With The Elder Scrolls series, the developers at Bethesda have been proving for several years that they are absolute pioneers in the creation of a coherent and believable open world.
After Morrowind and Oblivion, Skyrim, the fifth instalment in the series, is undoubtedly the best fantasy world created by the US developers. Even seven years after you set foot in the snowy world for the first time, the fascination of the adventure surrounding the "Dovahkiin" continues unabated.
The special thing about Skyrim (apart from its obvious size) is that the world does not revolve around you as the player. As you wander through the snow-covered hills and green meadows, you will witness a few bandits taking on a giant or marvel at a mighty dragon razing an idyllic village to the ground.
Skyrim is also a prime example of a living world: even if you concentrate solely on the main quest, you will come across so many exciting details, side missions and secrets that your jaw will drop. Not to mention the gloomy Dwemer ruins.
Oh... and the dragons, of course! Dragons are always a plus. Skyrim had a huge effect on players, not least thanks to its stunning map. Perhaps we can soon expect a The Elder Scrolls 6 that surpasses its grandiose predecessor in a similarly impressive way?
10
GTA V
Racing in GTA V
© Rockstar
No open-world list is complete without GTA V. Rockstar Games manages to go one step further with every new instalment. Accordingly, Los Santos offers you almost limitless gaming fun in the latest instalment, which is now five years old.
The fictional LA is the ultimate playground: Whether you want to cruise through the streets, climb Mount Chiliad, go skydiving or simply cause chaos as Trevor - it's almost impossible to list all of GTA V 's activities. In this huge and incredibly detailed open world, you can literally do whatever you want.
Let's be honest: Who has never got behind the wheel of a car in GTA and obeyed all the traffic rules? Even that's fun in Rockstar's open world! As if that wasn't enough, GTA Online also offers unique online multiplayer: exploring the open world with other players is even more fun. We take a bow to this incredible world and wonder how the developers intend to top it with GTA 6.
