8 Open-World Games Officially Bigger Than Red Dead Redemption 2

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Red Dead Redemption 2 is famous for being a massive, incredibly detailed open-world game. Rockstar Games dedicated about six years to building its world, which spans roughly 30 square miles – a bit larger than their previous hit, Grand Theft Auto 5.

Even though Red Dead Redemption 2 remains popular seven years after it came out, some players might be looking for a fresh experience. Luckily, there are plenty of other fantastic open-world games with massive maps—some even larger than Red Dead Redemption 2—and here are some of the best.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

52 Square Miles

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the critically acclaimed game that launched CD Projekt Red and the Witcher universe to fame, and is now widely considered a top-tier open-world RPG. It boasts many excellent qualities – a compelling story, memorable characters, and engaging gameplay – but its expansive world is particularly noteworthy.

Okay, so The Witcher 3 has a seriously massive map – around 52 square miles! What’s really mind-blowing is that it came out three years before Red Dead Redemption 2. Honestly, exploring that world is amazing. There are so many cool places to discover, characters you won’t forget, and just tons of side quests to keep you busy.

The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom

54 Square Miles

Released in 2017, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild dramatically changed open-world games. It offered players a huge, free-to-explore version of Hyrule, allowing them to go anywhere and play however they liked. With a map roughly 30 square miles in size, Nintendo aimed even higher with its sequel, Tears of the Kingdom.

The world in this game is huge – about 54 square miles, nearly twice as big as the previous one! The developers made it larger by expanding not just outwards, but also upwards and downwards. Players can freely explore three massive, connected areas: Hyrule’s surface, the Sky Islands above, and the mysterious Depths below, each packed with treasures, monsters, and shrines.

Cyberpunk 2077

85 Square Miles

Following the huge popularity of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, there was a lot of anticipation for CD Projekt Red’s next game, Cyberpunk 2077, which was first revealed in 2012. Although it had a rocky start on consoles after a lengthy development process, Cyberpunk 2077 ultimately became a very successful and widely-played open-world RPG.

Players often say the true star of this game isn’t a character like V or Johnny Silverhand, but the city of Night City itself. It’s a massive place – around 85 square miles – much larger than the maps in games like The Witcher 3 and Red Dead Redemption 2. What really sets Cyberpunk 2077 apart from other open-world games is how immersive and personal it is; your choices genuinely impact the story and the characters around you.

Final Fantasy 15

Size: 700 Square Miles

Since the 1990s, the Final Fantasy series has been known for its expansive fantasy worlds, so it wasn’t surprising when a recent installment embraced the open-world style of gameplay. Final Fantasy 15 marked a significant evolution for the series, blending fast-paced action—similar to Kingdom Hearts—with a large, open world for players to discover alongside the main characters.

The world of Final Fantasy 15 is massive, covering around 700 square miles. While the game prioritizes story and battles over endless exploration, the world of Eos is beautiful and enjoyable to traverse with Noctis and his companions. Many players felt the game lost some of its appeal in the second half, as it shifted away from the open world and focused on more traditional, linear levels.

The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall

63,000 Square Miles

The Elder Scrolls games are known for their huge, explorable worlds and lots of activities. Surprisingly, while The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is popular, it’s not actually the largest game in the series. That title belongs to The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall, released in 1996.

Although Skyrim has a map covering about 15 square miles, Daggerfall‘s map is a massive 63,000 square miles. This huge difference is because Daggerfall doesn’t rely on pre-designed areas. Instead, its landscapes, quests, and dungeons are all created automatically by a computer program. Later, with Morrowind, the Elder Scrolls series moved away from this approach, opting for a completely custom-built world.

Starfield

1 Million Square Miles (Over 1000 Planets)

It’s been over a decade since Bethesda released a new Elder Scrolls game – the last was Skyrim in 2011. However, in 2023, they returned to the large, open-world RPG genre with Starfield. This new game boasts a massive map, covering approximately 1,000,000 square miles, making it their largest to date.

Bethesda created the massive world of Starfield by revisiting classic game design techniques and using technology to automatically build and expand its planetary environments. Instead of one huge map, the game features over a thousand unique planets for players to explore.

Minecraft

Approximately 1.5 Billion Square Miles

Minecraft’s success is largely due to its unique, ever-changing worlds that are created as you play. While games like Red Dead Redemption 2 and Grand Theft Auto 5 offer a lot to do, Minecraft provides a virtually limitless gameplay experience.

It’s difficult to say exactly how big the world of Minecraft is, but estimates put it around 1.5 billion square miles. That’s incredibly vast for a game that’s been around for over sixteen years! It also makes Minecraft a fantastic, open-ended space where creative players can build anything they imagine using the resources they discover.

No Man’s Sky

18.6 Quintillion Planets

Before everyone was hyped for Starfield, I was actually exploring the universe in No Man’s Sky! It had all these procedurally-generated planets, which was super cool, but the launch was…rough, to say the least. I almost gave up on it, but the developers at Hello Games really turned things around. They kept working on it, releasing tons of free updates and expansions, and honestly, they won me – and a lot of other people – back. It’s a totally different game now!

Today, No Man’s Sky is a massive game, offering an incredible 18.6 quintillion planets to discover. Each planet is uniquely created with its own landscapes, plants, animals, and alien life. While this offers almost limitless replayability, the game’s random nature might not appeal to players who enjoy more focused and detailed experiences like Red Dead Redemption 2.

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2025-10-24 10:35