5 Most Anticipated Open-World Games Of 2017
2016 closed out with some excellent titles, leaving gamers beyond excited for this year's releases.
Open-world gaming has become an increasingly popular subgenre within the industry. With the help of series like Fallout and The Elder Scrolls, gamers have experienced some of most expansive and beautiful worlds that the entertainment industry has ever seen. While movies and books can show and describe whatever lands and universes that they want, video games are able to literally immerse players inside those same places.
The technological capabilities of current-gen consoles and PCs lead developers to create jaw-dropping settings that can make or break a game. Last year brought us war-torn versions of New York City and Philadelphia, thriving reimaginations of New Orleans and San Francisco, the unbelievable and fantastical lands of Eos and Lothric, and a virtually limitless universe of colourful, massive galaxies. 2017 is set to bring us even more remarkable worlds, hopefully curing the lethargy left by some of the more disappointing games of 2016 in the process.
To qualify for the list of anticipation, the games must be widely-known, must have been officially announced and given a release date within 2017 (no Assassin's Creed), and must be confirmed to definitely be open world (no Metal Gear Survive).
With those rules out of the way, here are the 5 most anticipated open-world games of 2017.
6. Sea Of Thieves
Perhaps the biggest niche title on the list, Sea of Thieves is was announced back in June of 2015. Sea of Thieves is an open-world action-adventure game where the player takes on the first-person role of a pirate. Admittedly not much is known about the game, but multiple gameplay videos have revealed enough to get gamers excited.
Developed by Rare and published by Microsoft, Sea of Thieves is a PC and Xbox One exclusive that encourages multiplayer coop and supports user-generated content. Rare has not revealed a final map size. Instead, gamers have pieced together bits and pieces from videos and photographs that seem to suggest a map layout similar to that of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, with multiple islands and vast open ocean.
So far most of what Sea of Thieves has to offer is hush hush, but it's partially the success of the secrecy that is drawing more and more attention and anticipation to the game's release. With a vast ocean and sprawling landscapes, the cartoony art style could make Sea of Thieves one of the more unique and successful open-world games of 2017.
Let's just hope that it doesn't run into issues similar to No Man's Sky, with a lot of content but no substance.