The firstopen-world video gamesemerged in the late ’80s and were infinitely smaller than the ones released today. Modern open-world games immerse players in a fully explorable virtual world and are non-linear by nature. In some cases, open-worlds are infinitely explorable, meaning that there is no invisible wall or end to their mass.
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While it’s certainly true that bigger isn’t always better, an open-world video game can definitely be too small. Finding the right balance can therefore be incredibly difficult for developers, particularly when their games involve exploring entire planets or blasting through outer space.
Updated July 27, 2025 by Tom Bowen:Crafting an open-world video game requires a deftness of touch that not all modern developers possess. If the game’s world is too small, it can be very difficult to cram everything in and provide players with the feelings of freedom that many of them so desperately crave. If it’s too large, on the other hand, things can easily get lost in a void of seemingly endless nothingness; and, along with them, the players' enthusiasm for the game itself. Striking the right balance between big and small is therefore incredibly important, but remains something that many developers still struggle with at times.
14Minecraft (Too Big)
A lot of people praiseMinecraftfor its simplicity, but there’s actually a lot more going on underneath the hood than many players realize. For one thing, the world in which players must mine and craft isseemingly infinite in scale, with no invisible walls anywhere in sight.
Though certainly impressive, there’s arguably no real benefit toMinecraft’s world beingas large as it is. Granted, there are more resources to mine as a direct result of its massiveness, but the main side effect of this increased size is seemingly an increase in the probability of players getting pointlessly lost.
13Dying Light (Too Small)
Dying Lightis anexcellent survival horror gamewith great combat mechanics and wonderful controls. One of the only things holding it back is the relatively small size of its open world, though the developers did manage to mitigate the effects of this somewhat through clever game design.
By incorporating verticality into the game’s word and programming in parkour, Techland was able to make the game’s world feel much larger than it actually is; a true testament to the skill of the original development team.The game’s sequelseems to be promising more of the same, though it would be a little surprising if the game’s world isn’t a little bigger this time around.
12Far Cry Primal (Too Big)
Following the unprecedented success ofGrand Theft Auto 3in the early two-thousands, just about every developer under the sun was rushing to bring their very ownGTAclonesto market. Some were a lot more original than others, withFar Crybeing one of a handful that managed to steer clear of most of theclassicGTAtropes.
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Unfortunately, however, Ubisoft, like many other developers during that era, was under the impression that bigger meant better. Each new open-world game, therefore, boasted a larger map than the one before it, though this increased scale usually came at a cost. Empty maps were the most common side effect, andFar Cry Primalis a great example of this; showing exactly what happens when developers sacrifice substance for size.
11Yakuza (Too Small)
There’s something comforting about returning to the bright lights of Kamurocho time and time again. The area isinspired by Tokyo’s Kabukicho districtand has appeared in just about everyYakuzagame to date. With seven mainline entries andcountless spinoffshaving now been released though, it’s starting to feel just a little worn out.
Though players are able to visit other parts of Japan from time to time, the small size of Kamurocho and its ever-present nature can make exploring it a little dull for long-time fans of the series. There’s certainly room for expansion should RGG Studio ever opt to go down that route, but, for now, at least, it doesn’t look like Kamurocho will be changing anytime soon.
10No Man’s Sky (Too Big)
People were intrigued by a game that had an unfathomably massive universe to explore.No Man’s Skytook the open-world concept and applied that to a seemingly infinite amount of space. Although many would argue thatNo Man’s Sky’s appeal is its scale, it could be argued that size is in fact its failure.
Traversing the worlds' landscapes, players become lost in its vast emptiness. Sure, they can build a colony and mine minerals, but exploration itself becomes stale pretty quickly. Many years from now,No Man’s Skymay well be an inspiration for open-world game designers, but the games of today just shouldn’t be this enormous.
9Grand Theft Auto III (Too Small)
When it comes to scale,Grand Theft Auto IV’s version of Liberty City is much closer to the real New York City thanGrand Theft Auto III’s. Where the former focuses on the various boroughs and landmarks of the city,Grand Theft Auto IIIis but a small microcosm due to the limited RAM capacity of the PS2.
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Grand Theft Auto IIIwas a huge open-world game when it was released way back in 2001. However, the game just doesn’t measure up to modern-day behemoths likeGrand Theft Auto 4and5. Perhaps this is something that Rockstar will address in the rumored remasters of the original 3D trilogy though.
8Just Cause 3 (Too Big)
Whether from an objective or subjective point of view,Just Cause 3is a technical achievement because of its map’s scale. There really is a lot to admire, yet it’s a game that would arguably benefit from a much smaller map.
While most areas appear polished and beautiful, some of the others are a lot less detailed and feel a little unfinished by comparison.Just Cause 3has one of the biggest open-worlds in the history of video games, but, at 400 square miles, the map is just far too big.
7Assassin’s Creed (Too Small)
At 0.4 square miles, the area explored in the originalAssassin’s Creedis far too small. The map doesn’t need to be as massive asAssassin’s Creed Odyssey’s, but it should at least be large enough to provide gameplay variation.
Due to the size of the map, players will quickly realize thatAssassin’s Creedis incredibly repetitive. Fetch quests and trailing missions become painstaking. Thankfully, Ubisoft learned from its mistakes with the game’s sequel, which many consider to be a vastly superior game.
6Test Drive Unlimited 2 (Too Big)
Blazing a trail on the road at over 200 miles per hour, players begin to realize that massive open-worlds can work very well with racing games. The sense of not having enough time to explore everything really adds to a game’s immersive experience.
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While open-world racers likeForza Horizonare beautiful and have polished gameplay mechanics though,Test Drive Unlimited 2does not measure up. It’s frustrating to explore the game’s sizeable open-world when more detail and refinement could have been put into a smaller playable area.
5Assassin’s Creed Unity (Too Small)
Assassin’s Creed Unitywas the franchise’s online co-op game. With an emphasis ononline play,surely the map would need to be larger, right? Unfortunately, at 1.06 square miles,Assassin’s Creed Unityis one of the smallest maps inAssassin’s Creedhistory. To make matters even worse, the game was a buggy mess.
On the other hand,Assassin’s Creed Syndicate’s 1.4 square mile map proves that small open-worlds can work. WhatSyndicatelacks in size, it more than makes up for in detail; demonstrating that a highly polished, smaller open-world can also work just fine.
