open world

noun

plural open worlds

: a video game or part of a video game in which the player is not constrained to achieving specific goals and has a large degree of freedom to explore, interact with, or modify the game environment : sandbox sense 2a

The gameplay feels similar to other RPGs, and while it's an open world that allows you to do whatever you want for the most part, I do recommend accomplishing the first tasks of the recruitment quests early.

—Swapna Krishna

… you'll likely get swept in deep by the stellar narrative and the meticulously-crafted open world gameplay.

—Tanveer Singh

—sometimes hyphenated when used before another noun

Whether you're keen on open-world games where you've got masses of virtual space to explore or survival games where there are more threats to keep you on your toes, our list should help you make the right choice.

—Adrian Willings

Examples of open world in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Another lesson that BioWare took from critics of Andromeda, and Inquisition too, was that sometimes building a massive open world doesn’t mean much when it isn’t filled with meaningful content. —George Yang, Rolling Stone, 31 Oct. 2024

Within its first month, the open world survival game sold more than 12 million copies and became Microsoft’s biggest third-party Game Pass launch ever. —Megan Farokhmanesh, WIRED, 19 Sep. 2024

Elden Ring, on the other hand, is the first of FromSoftware’s games to be centered on a nonlinear open world. —Gabriel Winslow-Yost, Harper's Magazine, 23 Sep. 2024

In 'The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom' the open world is wide open Auonuma has evidently changed his mind. —James Perkins Mastromarino, NPR, 21 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

2003, in the meaning defined above