The end of 2022 is approaching, and this year has been rich for open-world fans with the highly acclaimed Elden Ring and the sumptuous Horizon: Forbidden West.
But what does 2023 have in store for us? Today we’re going to look at the 10 most anticipated open worlds. You’ll see, there are some heavyweights. Follow the guide; we’re going on a journey to discover these highly anticipated games.
Forspoken
New licence from Square Enix and Luminous Productions, Forspoken will be released on PC and exclusively on PS5. Expected to be released on January 24th, you will play Frey Holland, an ordinary young New Yorker who finds herself teleported to a dangerous fantasy land called Athia.
Frey must use her newfound magical abilities to traverse sprawling landscapes and battle monstrous creatures in search of a way home. The young New Yorker has a magical bracelet that talks and gives her magical abilities. You can learn new skills that will help you defeat wild creatures and men turned into monsters. During the exploration phases of Athia’s world, you will be able to climb walls or jump to absolutely amazing heights.
Forspoken is an action-adventure game that promises to be spectacular. Between quest phases where you could seek NPC’s help and explosive fights, this new license looks promising, and we can’t wait to try it out.
One of the open-world games that we are most looking forward to for 2023.
Hogwarts Legacy
Many of you are looking forward to it, and so are we!
Developed by Avalanche Software, Hogwarts Legacy can be described as the game in the world of Harry Potter that all fans of the saga have been hoping for. Hogwarts Legacy is an open-world action RPG set in the world first introduced in the Harry Potter books.
Discover Hogwarts in the 1800s, long before the events of the Harry Potter saga. In Hogwarts Legacy, you play as a student who holds the key to an ancient secret that threatens to tear the wizarding world apart. Now you can take control of the action and be at the centre of your own adventure in the wizarding world. Choose your home, travel to the school for classes and explore the secrets of the mythical building. Of course, the Hogwarts Legacy adventure won’t stop at Hogwarts, far from it. The famous flying broom will be part of the game and will allow us to explore the Forbidden Forest and its secrets.
Hogwarts Legacy will be available on 10 February 2023 on PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch.
Sons of the Forest
Sons of the Forest, developed by EndNight Games, is scheduled for 23 February 2023 for PC only.
It is the sequel to The Forest released in 2014.
Sons of the Forest is an open-world survival horror that plunges you into the heart of a Mysterious Island teeming with Cannibal mutants and Deformed creatures to find a missing billionaire. Given the game’s bestiary, you’ll first have to make sure you save yourself or find a buddy to help each other in the co-op mode. Building huts, hunting or making traps and weapons will become your daily routine. The threats will be even greater as you will also have to face the cycle of the seasons. You’ll have to collect and store for the winter, as food and resources will be scarce, and you won’t be alone in your search for a meal.
A survival horror that is likely to give us some cold sweats.
The Day Before
Second most desired game on Steam – Behind Hogwarts Legacy – The Day Before is expected on 1stʳ March 2023 on PC. Although planned for the next generation consoles PS5 and Xbox, no date has been announced yet.
The Day Before plunges you into a post-apocalyptic America in the midst of a pandemic that will recall the atmosphere of The Last Of US, and I Am Legend with Will Smith. In this multiplayer-oriented open world, you will have to find resources to survive in buildings and houses or explore remote areas in vehicles, but be very careful not to get caught by zombies or humans who want to loot you. You will be able to trade items with other players in a secure area.
Originally scheduled for 2021, The Day Before has been pushed back several times to migrate to the Unreal Engine 5. March 2023 being quite close, and little information circulating, another postponement is not to be excluded. We’re keeping our fingers crossed.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
The sequel to the legendary Zelda Breath of the Wild is my most anticipated game for 2023, and I believe I’m not alone.
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is scheduled for May 12, 2023. In addition to the vast lands of Hyrule, the latest game in the iconic Legend of Zelda series will take you to the skies and to a world beyond! In the different trailers, we also saw a number of new skills, such as the ability to manipulate objects in time and space, to use a kind of stone planeswalker and even the ability to walk through the ground.
There is still a lot of mystery surrounding this new Zelda and we can’t wait to find out more. Although many theories are already abounding the web, only Nintendo has the real answers for the moment.
See you in May 2023, to discover the most awaited game of the Nintendo Switch.
STALKER 2 : Heart of Chornobyl
S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2 Heart of Chornobyl, from the Ukrainian studio GSC Game World, whose development is known to be extremely disrupted by the current conflicts there. This sequel will once again plunge us into an open world in the heart of the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, where terrible mutants are out to get us.
Although the studio is already planning multiplayer, STALKER 2 is essentially single-player for its main story. Its release has been postponed to 2023, and we understand why. The title is announced as an exclusive on Xbox Series and PC. We’ll wait patiently for more information.
Avatar : Frontiers of Pandora
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is a first-person action-adventure game.
In this new standalone story, you will take on the role of a Na’vi and embark on a journey through the Western Frontier, an uncharted part of Pandora. You will explore a vibrant world inhabited by unique creatures and new characters and must fend off the RDA forces that threaten it. Developed using the latest iteration of the Snowdrop engine exclusively for next-generation consoles and PC, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora brings to life the alluring world of Pandora, with all its beauty and danger. The trailer is breathtaking, and developers of Massive Entertainment ( Tom Clancy’s The Division, Assassin’s Creed Revelation ) promise an immersive open-world experience.
While the Avatar sequel is expected to be released in theatres (US & UK) on December 16th, the video game is still in development at Ubisoft & Massive Entertainment and should be released somewhere between April 2023 and early 2024. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that VR integration is planned by then.
The game will be available on PS5, Xbox Series and PC.
Redfall
Redfall is an open-world FPS that can be played in single-player and co-op, created by Arkane Austin, the team behind Prey and Dishonored. Arkane is a master of carefully crafted worlds and immersive simulations, and Redfall brings the studio’s signature gameplay to this story-driven action shooter.
The plot takes us to the island town of Redfall, Massachusetts, which is under siege by a legion of vampires who have blocked out the sun and cut off the citizens from the outside world. You’ll explore the open world and dive into an in-depth, scenario-driven campaign to unravel the mystery of the vampires’ appearance.
The open world of Redfall was designed by the level designers behind Prey’s Talos I space station and Dishonored’s Dunwall. From the once bustling city centre to the haunted forest to the decimated seaside promenade and beyond, you’ll battle through cultist outposts and supernatural psychic spaces to solve Redfall’s many mysteries.
Redfall will be released in 2023 on Xbox Series X|S & PC. Good news, it will be available on day one on Game Pass.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
The world’s most famous spider, will be back on PS5 in 2023. After an exceptional first game, this Spider-Man 2, still developed by Insomniac Games, was revealed at the PlayStation Showcase with an impressive trailer. However, not much information was revealed, so we’ll have to wait a little longer to find out more. The trailer takes place on the streets of New York, where Venom is seen making an apparition, which suggests that Venom will be the villain or one of the villains in this sequel.
Although the trailer shows Peter Parker and Miles Morales fighting side by side, Insomniac Games has confirmed that Spider-Man 2 will be a single-player game.
"We're thrilled to continue the journey of Peter Parker and Miles Morales in their most epic single-player adventure to date.- Ryan Schneider, Chief Strategy Officer at Insomniac.
The first Spider-Man is one of the best games on the PS5; it’s clear that this sequel is one of the most awaited open-world PS5 games of 2023.
StarField
Last game on this list, and not the least, is Starfield, a new license from Bethesda. Developed by the studio behind Skyrim and Fallout 4, this new RPG sets the bar very high.
The year is 2330 and you are part of the last group of space explorers, Constellation, searching for rare artefacts in the galaxy. Starfield invites you to discover a whole new frontier: space and answer humanity’s biggest question: what’s up there? You will have to build outposts on the discovered planets, research, and collect scarce resources. Resources can be used to upgrade your equipment and weapons to ensure you are prepared for any danger you may encounter.It will also be possible to customise your ship with upgradeable parts, and even its interior will be customisable. Spaceships mean real-time space battles!
We trust Bethesda to keep us in suspense for many hours with this StarField, especially since we are talking about being able to explore more than 1000 planets.
Starfield has yet to set a release date, but it should land on Xbox Series and PC in early 2023. Can’t wait!
And that’s it for our list of the top 10 most anticipated open-world games for 2023. Feel free to leave us a comment to tell us your favourite or if you think a future hit is missing from this list.
You can also check out our list of the 10 Upcoming games for next-gen we don’t hear about.