Biggest Changes in Upcoming Open-World RPGs

Open world games have experienced a massive boom in the last two decades and have come a long way technologically. It's pretty impressive to see how far we've come and all you can do. Games like Red Dead Redemption 2, Cyberpunk 2077and Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has constantly innovated and pushed forward, impressing us with these worlds that feel so real and magical.

I admit, though: I'm experiencing a bit of open-world fatigue, and I'm certainly not the only one. The genre seems to have leaned too far into “larger worlds”, and with that, leaving players mostly uninspired, we might see some big changes in the next big open world RPG to come out. Of course, there's no guarantee that these trends will come true, but with some big lessons to learn, both good and bad, I think we're in for a big change for the genre. I will use examples from pre-existing games to illustrate my points.

Identity fantasies, not power fantasies

Unique player-oriented stories

There's always been a fascination with overpowered builds in any type of video game that enables construction, and over the years we've seen many versions of this: Bleed builds in Fire Ringsnipers enter Skyrimand so on. Now, however, players are looking for identity. We don't just want to be all-powerful, or really that strong at all, but what we want is substance to our characters and to be able to define exactly what kind of main character they are. It means more features that determine their identity, and a world that responds to that identity. Choosing a specific path should have huge consequences in the game.

For example, Cyberpunk 2077 lets you choose your life path between Corpo, Street Kid and Nomad, and while the intro section is different for each three, there aren't any major differences in the main game, which is a bit of a shame. You do get a unique mission in Act 2, depending on which path you chose, but it feels like this could have been worked on a bit more to really push that identity to mean something more. For example, a street child walking around the Arasaka building might be shot by guards or attacked on sight, and nomads would more often be harassed by gangs for being seen as an outsider. They should be more than just flavor text, basically, so you can really tell your own story within the parameters of the game.

Finishing the game is not the main goal

Games want you to stay

It's not about the end, it's about the journey. For open-world RPGs, it's increasingly this way. While there are outliers, the main quest is often just an afterthought when mirrored with the game's side quests and other activities. We've reached a point where just existing in the game feels satisfying enough, with casual activities like hunting, crafting, playing cards, exploring, and even building relationships and romantic interests far more engaging than rushing to the end of the story. If open-world RPGs are starting to feel more like simulations soon, it's because we're likely getting closer and closer to that point, and past titles are already showing this.

Also previous examples like Skyrim showcase this with Hearthfire, which lets you build your own house. Fallout 4 and Starfield came with settlement building, which is side content that has no end and is highly replayable. Bethesda's glorious mission is also just that: replayability, regardless of what you think of their quality. Elsewhere, Cyberpunk 2077 introduced hangouts in your apartments with the characters you have romanced. These are also repeatable, so you can just put off meeting Hanaki at Embers indefinitely until you're tired of calling Night City your home. I'm confident that open world games will only lean more into this going forward, although I hope Radiant missions get rid of.

Whales curl through the world

Dialogue is not the only place for consequences

The choice is very important to the players; that much is certain. Nothing feels less empowering than making a choice that feels weighty and important, only to have it do absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of the world. This has been seen time and time again in several open world RPGs in the past, and while it may be optimistic of me to write this, I truly believe we're reaching a point where players are so tired of it that things will start to change. There are already examples of games that do this, thanks to the implementation of various honor and reputation systems (which look at your RDR2 and KDC2!), and it can be the first place to start when it comes to creating realistic worlds.

However, the biggest plan for it is undoubtedly The Witcher 3and the huge effects that Geralt's decisions can have further down the line, without you having any idea until the events actually unfold. Since we're talking about RPGs, I also have to mention Baldur's Gate 3although it is not an open world game. There are several decisions you can make in the game that affect whether certain areas are available to you later. For example, slaughtering Grove means you won't be welcome at the last light, and allowing Isobel to be taken means the last light succumbs to the shadows. These are the kinds of massive world changes we need, depending on the actions and dialogue choices players go for, because choices shouldn't just be taste.

More hybrid genre games

Expect flavors of immersive sims, survival crafting and more

I've already touched on this a bit in a previous post, but increasingly we'll see genres mixed with the base flavor of open-world RPGs. And again, this is something we already had ages ago: survival craft seen in Fall-out and The Elder Scrolls games, immersive sim elements in games like Cyberpunk 2077where, depending on your specialization, you can move through areas and handle quests in different ways, and so on. Survival crafting has been particularly popular over the last decade, and it's likely that more games will lean into this going forward, as it encourages staying rather than finishing a game.

I'm excited to see other genres explored as well, including strategy and management sims. An example to consider is Fallout 4's settlement management, which I know was far from everyone's cup of tea, but when done right I think it could be an interesting angle to take. Imagine Project Orion, where you have to manage resources and relationships with gangs in a cyberpunk world. It might be a niche idea, but we live in a time where I think the open world RPG format could really use some major shake-ups and innovations.

Success is measured in longevity

The launch weeks are no longer the main event

We're in an era where big open world RPG releases are taking longer and longer to come out. Grand Theft Auto 6 will be released over a decade after GTA 5and The Elder Scrolls 6 will probably be released about fifteen years after Skyrim came out All of this is to say that games are betting more on longevity now than release dates. One way they encourage this is by developing DLCs to keep the interest and hype going even years after a game's initial release, or by doing remasters and remakes (like Skyrim and all its various editions).

While some of it has been good, some of it has also been bad. DLC pricing has been a point of contention for a while now, as it's arguably true that a successful game shouldn't need DLC to be, well, successful and “complete”. On the other hand, free updates and tangible content a la Phantom Liberty that shows thought and dedication and comes with a free upgrade on the side could be a good way forward. What is not negotiable, however, is that we will see big releases for these big titles less often, especially after the disaster of Cyberpunk 2077which served as a warning. Not only that, the state of the world economy means that with the rising prices of video games, fewer people can afford to bet on a game on its release date for a staggering price. Most consumers will wait for a deep discount, for several quality of life updates, free DLCs and such to jump into a more complete experience.

That said, I have a feeling we're going to have some outliers to this, like GTA 6. That launch day and pre-orders are going to be crazy.

Larger worlds are no longer the goal

Handcrafted, tighter experiences are coming back

When the open world format first came out, it was revolutionary because it opposed the closed worlds that players were used to. Seeing a mountain in the distance meant you would probably never be able to climb it, leaving the whole process to your imagination. Well, no more. Open-world games broke that barrier, for the most part, and it's best illustrated in the words of Todd Howard: “See that mountain? You can climb it!”

However, we have moved past these huge worlds now. Bigger does not always mean better, and the case of Starfield teach us it perfectly. The procedurally generated planets were supposed to be the pinnacle of open-world technology, but they actually went completely against what made Bethesda's previous open-world environments so charming and compelling: beautiful, intriguing, hand-crafted points of interest and secrets laced with environmental narratives. There were no recurring dungeons, although assets looked familiar and were reused from one location to another. Locations were still unique, and it made them feel real, even if these worlds weren't as massive. But who would want a huge world anyway, if it's simply filled with more of the same stuff you've already seen? Starfields I hope the lesson will be one that many open world games will learn from in the next generation.