Open-world games offer players large worlds to explore, often with a massive amount of optional content. While these games tend to overlap with the RPG genre, they can also work well with other types of games, like racing or stealth. The common thread through all the games on this list are worlds that you can explore with a large amount of freedom, often with persistent progression to build your character and tackle increasing challenges. That sense of discovery is a key part of what makes open-world games special. Some of the most notable games in the genre are also some of the best-selling games of all-time, like The Witcher 3 and Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, touting huge worlds full of side quests, lovable characters, and hidden places to discover.

Below you can see our picks for the best open-world games you can play right now. These span a variety of platforms, including PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch, and we’ve tried to lean into games that are still widely available and well worth playing in 2025.