Open-world games remain one of the most popular genres, largely thanks to their expansive and immersive worlds that players can explore for hours on end. Over the years, these virtual landscapes have grown increasingly vast as developers strive to create larger, more impressive worlds to outshine the competition and create a strong selling point. As the genre evolves, these maps aren't just getting bigger — they're also becoming more intricate and detailed, offering dynamic sandbox environments.
Many modern open-world games are so massive that players can easily spend over 100 hours uncovering their entire maps. But it's not only modern titles; some older games also feature enormous worlds, thanks to their simpler visuals or procedural generation. Space games take this even further, featuring multi-planetary maps so enormous that full exploration could take longer than a lifetime. With that in mind, here are some of the games with the largest maps for players to explore.
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Estimating the size of open-world maps is always a tricky process due to varying methods and the difficulty of converting everything to a single metric (in our case, square miles). Such data is rarely official or entirely accurate, and many fan estimates include not only playable areas but also the overall in-game map layout, where a large portion of the territory might be inaccessible.
The sizes listed below are based on various sources and unofficial estimates that may use different methods, so they may not be 100% accurate. If there's an error in our calculations, feel free to point it out in the comments — we'll recheck the figures to keep the list as accurate as possible for the biggest maps featured in the open-world genre so far.
Updated on May 17, 2026, by Vlad Mazanko: The list has been updated to feature the newest open-world games from 2025–2026 that fit the topic, leveraging next-gen hardware to give us some of the biggest and densest open-world maps we've ever seen. Furthermore, some existing entries have been corrected to match up-to-date information, such as adjusted map sizes and additions added through DLC.
50 Burnout Paradise
Arcade-Style Racing In A Giant Game World
- Around 30 Square Miles; Over 218 Miles of Road
The Burnout series is known for fast-paced racing action coupled with less-than-accurate, arcade-style physics. It's loved by players for standing apart from the usual racing game; near misses and causing huge crashes are encouraged, rather than being something to avoid.
Something the series is less well known for is having large maps. Burnout Paradise gives the player a 30-square-mile map to explore at their leisure. Races are simple to start, and one great aspect is that there's no set course during a race. Players are free to pick their own route to the finish line.
49 Elden Ring
Dark Souls, But Bigger And Better
- 31 Square Miles
Perhaps the most well-known game on this list, Elden Ring is the latest offering from FromSoftware, the developers of the Dark Souls series. The map in Elden Ring is big, but not as expansive as many open-world games. That being said, the map in this game is still big enough that players will spend dozens of hours exploring it.
The difficulty curve of Elden Ring inflates the time it takes to fully explore the game world. As such, it seems larger than it is in terms of square miles due to the slower pace that players, especially players new to the game, are forced to take.
48 Crimson Desert
The Seamless Continent Of Pywel Features Stunning Vistas And Draw Distances
- Around 40 Square Miles
One of the newest additions to the open-world genre, Crimson Desert has been a hot topic for over a month, attracting just as many followers who downright adore the game as skeptics who quickly bounced off of it. One thing that impresses almost everyone, though, is the multi-region, seamless Pywel continent brought to life in stunning detail.
What's great about Crimson Desert's world is how vast it feels in-game, with constantly stunning vistas that players witness from high ground or down in the Abyss, layered landscapes with plenty of verticality, and an overall feel of 1:1 scale when looking at towering mountains or grand castles in the distance.
47 The Lord Of The Rings Online
Walk In The Footsteps Of The Fellowship
- Over 40 Square Miles
Back in 2007, this game started with a small map. The length of the map could be walked in a relatively brief time. However, by 2023, The Lord of the Rings Online's map had been expanded to enormous proportions. In its current version, this game allows players to experience walking across Middle-earth in all its glory.
It really is impressive how much the developers have added to this game over the years. The problem is that there isn't a clearly defined size of the map. The best estimates put the size of the game world at approximately 40 square miles, but its exact size is unknown.
46 Forza Horizon 5
The Vast And Vibrant Map Of Mexico
- 42 Square Miles; Over 400 Miles of Road
Released on PS5, Forza Horizon 5 marked a pivotal point for Xbox's acclaimed open-world arcade racing series. Set in Mexico, Forza Horizon 5 features the biggest and most detailed map in the series to date, with the traditional change of seasons for a sense of an ever-evolving, living environment.
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While not as huge as some other open-world racing titles, the map of Mexico in Forza Horizon 5 has everything that racing fans could wish for: from dense rainforests and hot deserts to long highways, sky-high volcanoes, and several bustling cities. Moreover, players craving even more territories should get the Rally Adventure expansion that features several unique biomes for an off-road paradise.
45 The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom
The Largest Zelda Game Yet
- 46 Square Miles
When the first The Legend of Zelda game was released for the NES, it blew people's minds. It had a large game world that the player could freely explore, which was relatively new at the time. Some other games had large game worlds, like those in the Might and Magic and Ultima series, but The Legend of Zelda's world felt much more interactive.
Fast-forward 37 years to Nintendo's latest offering in the Zelda franchise, Tears of the Kingdom. This game uses (basically) the same map as Breath of the Wild, but expands on it with floating islands and a vast underground area as large as the surface world, more than doubling the size of the overall map from the first game.
44 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Get Completely Lost In A Dark Fantasy Game World
- 52 Square Miles
Gamers who were impressed with the size of Skyrim's map might want to give The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt a try. Why? The map in The Witcher 3 is over twice as large as Skyrim's. Not only that, but there are more varied terrain types as well — more than just mountains, grasslands, and endless tundra.
The game world in The Witcher 3 is also quite a bit more colorful. Skyrim faced more than a little criticism for the drab colors used in the game world; this game has a much more vibrant world to explore. It's like Skyrim, but with the color palette of Oblivion and more diversity in terms of biomes.
43 Assassin's Creed Shadows
Gorgeous World Of Feudal Japan, Coupled With Yearly Seasons
- 55 Square Miles
The latest entry in Ubisoft's long-running franchise, known for its detailed historical recreations, Assassin's Creed Shadows features a rather expansive map of Feudal Japan. While not the largest in the series to date, the map in Shadows consists mostly of landmass, with very few explorable water areas. Players are free to roam and explore the full map from the start, although some regions feature higher-level enemies that under-leveled players will struggle to defeat.
The world map in Assassin's Creed Shadows is undoubtedly the most detailed in the franchise to date, with stunning visuals, dense vegetation, and a dynamic four-season progression throughout the year. However, exploration in the game may feel somewhat restrictive, as players will find it nearly impossible to traverse outside of roads in Japan, with unclimbable terrain and very dense forests.
42 Forza Horizon 6
The Biggest And Most Diverse Map In The Series Yet
- 56 Square Miles, Over 600 Miles of Road (Estimated)
The brand-new Forza Horizon 6 has just arrived, standing among the most anticipated open-world titles of the year. It promises not only to raise the bar for technical fidelity in the open-world driving genre, but also to shake up some of the series' own established foundations. For starters, Forza Horizon 6 opens the door to Japan, offering the biggest and most diverse open-world map in the franchise, with returning seasons, bigger urban regions, and more.
Some early in-game estimations of Forza Horizon 6 revealed that its map is roughly 56 square miles — about 33% bigger than its predecessor — while also offering much greater road density. From mountainous serpentines perfect for drifting to bustling city streets, high-speed roadways, and various surfaces for off-roading, racing fans have plenty of pavement to conquer in the coming months.
41 Assassin's Creed Valhalla
Vast Regions And Mythical Realms To Explore
- Over 80 Square Miles (All Realms and Maps)
While Ubisoft initially claimed that Assassin's Creed Valhalla would be more focused and less sprawling than Assassin's Creed Odyssey, the reality is that Valhalla's maps are even bigger. The game's world is vast, and unlike Odyssey, much of it consists of land rather than open seas. This makes Valhalla's playable areas feel larger and more filled with content.
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The game offers distinct regions, from the snowy mountains of Norway to the rolling hills of England, and even mythical realms like Asgard. Each area feels unique and engaging at first, but with so much ground to cover and a high number of collectible objectives, players may eventually feel overwhelmed. Taking the game in smaller sessions can help manage the vastness of this epic journey.