Summary
- Yakuza 0 offers a mind-boggling amount of side content, ensuring players stay engaged for hours.
- Cyberpunk 2077, with DLC, provides numerous ways for players to extend playtime in its beautiful world.
- Fallout: New Vegas, with expansions, offers a long, captivating gameplay experience, making it easy to invest hundreds of hours.
Open-world gaming is all the rage in modern times, with many titles striving to give players a reason to keep playing their titles for hundreds of hours. This is easier said than done, given the sheer number of games in the genre, but some sandbox titles manage to do just enough to stand out.
Best Open-World Games That Gradually Open Up, Ranked
In these games, the player's world slowly expands as they progress the story and build their character.
Players are swayed into investing these hours with unique content, fun side quests, entertaining minigames, and plenty of layered mechanics to find new and exciting things to do. If an open-world game clicks with players, then they can comfortably spend hours trying to master the game, even after the main story draws to a close.
1 Yakuza 0
The Sheer Amount Of Side Content In This Game Is Mind-Boggling
Yakuza 0
- Released
- January 24, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio
- Publisher(s)
- Sega
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Yakuza 0 is perhaps the most loaded game in the series in terms of pure content, which is no mean feat. Both Kiryu and Majima have a dedicated side activity to explore along with their main stories, coupled with a ton of substories and minigames that are wildly entertaining in their own way.
Beating Mr. Shakedown multiple times, becoming a real estate mogul in Kamurocho, turning Club Sunshine into the No. 1 Cabaret Club in Sotenbori, and experiencing the emotional narratives of both protagonists will keep players busy for a while. This statement is especially true in the case of players who want to min-max their characters, leading to playthroughs that stretch well beyond a hundred hours.
2 Cyberpunk 2077
With The DLC, There Are A Ton Of Ways Players Can Extend Their Playtime In This Game
Cyberpunk 2077
- Released
- December 10, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- CD Projekt Red
- Publisher(s)
- CD Projekt Red
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch 2, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the most beautiful open-world games around, and fans were glad to see that CD Projekt Red didn't give up on this game by removing most of the major bugs and performance issues and adding more content to the game. Along with this, some substantial updates did a great job of improving the gameplay systems, giving players another excuse to explore the beautiful world of Night City.
This will comfortably lead to players investing hundreds of hours in this title, and this is before they even reach Dogtown. This dense and layered district serves as the setting of Phantom Liberty and is one of the highlights of the game that will also bump up a player's runtime considerably.
3 Fallout: New Vegas
Completing The Base Game And Its Expansions Will Take A Long, Long Time
Fallout: New Vegas
- Released
- October 19, 2010
WHERE TO PLAY
Fallout: New Vegas is one of the most captivating open-world RPGs that fans can get their hands on. The base game itself is jam-packed with content, but Obsidian Entertainment decided to give players more content to mess around with courtesy of four expansion packs that are riveting in their own way.
10 Best Open-World Games With Cheats, Ranked
Open-world games offer unparallel freedom in video games, and the games that also offer cheat codes can expand that freedom in interesting ways.
With the depth of role-playing options present in the game, it's easy to see why players can have a grand time in New Vegas across multiple playthroughs. It's very easy to invest hundreds of hours in this game without getting bored, which is a testament to the brilliance of Obsidian's magnum opus.
4 Red Dead Redemption 2
The Open World Is Massive And Becomes Even Bigger In The Epilogue
Red Dead Redemption 2
- Released
- October 26, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Rockstar Games
- Publisher(s)
- Rockstar Games
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Rockstar wowed fans with their work in Red Dead Redemption 2, making one of the most beautiful sandboxes that fans will love to explore time and time again. After a lengthy prologue, players will finally access the open world in its entirety and be wowed by what's on offer here.
Red Dead Redemption 2 focuses on realism (almost to a fault), making gameplay a bit too slow at times. However, this measured approach enhances the game's atmosphere and helps players immerse themselves in this gorgeous world for hundreds of hours.
5 The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom
Players Can Spend Endless Hours Messing Around In The Game World
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Released
- May 12, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Genre(s)
- Adventure, Action, Open-World
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
While The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom may tread some similar ground as its predecessor, it makes up for this with its layered gameplay systems that encourage players to spend a long time creating unique contraptions that are incredibly fun to mess around with. Players can spend a lot of hours with Ultrahand itself, showing just how malleable this power is.
It helps that the story is grander than ever and lets players explore both the Depths and the Sky Islands in a bid to help Link become as strong as possible. If players want to explore the world in its entirety, uncovering the countless secrets hidden away in every corner, then investing hundreds of hours in Tears of the Kingdom is as easy as can be.
6 Elden Ring
Honing One's Skills And Experimenting With Different Builds Is Time-Consuming But Extremely Compelling
Elden Ring
- Released
- February 25, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- From Software
- Publisher(s)
- Bandai Namco Entertainment, From Software
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Elden Ring is a game loaded with so much content that players can easily spend hundreds of hours across multiple playthroughs before they even get to the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion. This is a testament to the game's massive world that gives players endless opportunities to explore, discover unique locations, weapons, and gear, and collect valuable Runes for leveling up.
8 Best Open-World Games Where You Start Really Weak
Players won't be receiving a warm welcome in these open-world games, where players start off weak and must persist to grow stronger.
The slow progression curve as players get stronger and invest in the build of their choice never gets old. Despite the recycling of minor dungeon bosses cheapening their impact somewhat, that should take nothing away from Elden Ring's ability to keep players busy and entertained for hundreds of hours.
7 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The Base Game Is Massive Enough As Is, And The Expansions Add To The Runtime Considerably
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- Released
- May 19, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- CD Projekt Red
- Publisher(s)
- CD Projekt Red
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is one of the largest and most ambitious open-world games that fans will have a great time with. The base game itself can encourage players to spend hundreds of hours on end as they check out the many branching options in the story, but CD Projekt Red didn't just stop there.
They also released two massive expansion packs in the form of Hearts of Stone and Blood & Wine that boast the same amount of time as many full-length video games. It's a testament to the sheer amount of passion players have for this game that they can spend hundreds of hours in this title yet never get bored.
8 The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered
The Remaster Gives Players An Excuse To Jump Into Cyrodil For Hundreds Of Hours Once Again
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
- Released
- April 22, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
- Publisher(s)
- Bethesda
- Genre(s)
- Action, RPG, Open-World, Adventure
- Platform(s)
- Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PlayStation 5, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Fans were surprised and elated to see a remaster of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion suddenly shadow-drop out of the blue, allowing players to gallivant across the varied regions of Cyrodil once again. The sheer amount of work put into remastering this Elder Scrolls game was impressive, and it has done a great job of restoring some of Bethesda's goodwill.
Oblivion's janky charm and unintentionally hilarious dialogue are preserved in a remaster that has helped players enjoy the nostalgia of exploring Cyrodil once again. It helps that Bethesda has done just enough to modernize some of the game's dated systems, giving players endless reasons to get lost in this fantastic and beloved open world.
8 Best Open-World Games If You Love Reading Lore, Ranked
For those who love immersing in interesting lore, these open-world games will keep players occupied for hours as they chronicle great stories.