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Fuel tops this source-led ranking, with GamingScan estimating its map at 5,600 square miles in 2025. That is not a definitive measurement: published lists use different rules for what counts as a map, what area is playable, and which kinds of games qualify. The ten entries below follow GamingScan’s 2025 ordering and use its reported estimates; they are not measurements produced by one consistent method. A separate note covers much larger procedural worlds and planet-scale simulations, which do not compare cleanly with bounded open-world maps.
How to read this ranking
Each figure below is a third-party estimate, not a verified official statistic. The ranking follows GamingScan’s 2025 list, preserving its order rather than claiming a universal leaderboard. Other outlets disagree because they count different things: the largest contiguous region, multiple separated areas, water, inaccessible terrain, or a game’s total footprint. Some lists also include older procedural worlds, MMO territories, or a whole-planet flight simulator.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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Open World: Video Games and Contemporary Art | $53.94 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Ghost of Tsushima - PlayStation 4 | $22.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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Mad Max - PlayStation Hits (PS4) | $18.74 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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Just Cause 4 - PlayStation 4 | $11.80 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
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Elden Ring - PlayStation 4 | $33.32 | Buy on Amazon |
“Map size” can mean the full modeled footprint or the portion players can actually traverse. It can also describe one connected landmass or several disconnected regions. A larger number therefore does not necessarily mean more usable play space, more variety, or a better exploration experience.
The 10 largest maps in GamingScan’s 2025 ranking
| Rank | Game | Reported area | What the figure represents |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fuel | 5,600 sq mi | GamingScan’s estimate for the racing game’s free-roaming map. EarlyGame estimated 5,560 sq mi in 2025, showing how published figures vary. |
| 2 | The Crew | 1,900 sq mi | GamingScan’s estimate for its compressed version of the United States. This is the original The Crew, not The Crew 2. |
| 3 | Test Drive Unlimited 2 | 618 sq mi | GamingScan’s estimate across two separate islands, rather than one contiguous landmass. |
| 4 | Final Fantasy XV | About 700 traversable sq mi | GamingScan estimates Eos’s broader footprint at roughly 750 sq mi, with inaccessible areas reducing the traversable area to about 700 sq mi. |
| 5 | Just Cause 3 | 400 sq mi | GamingScan’s estimate for the island sandbox. |
| 6 | True Crime: Streets of LA | 240 sq mi | GamingScan’s estimate for the older city-focused game. |
| 7 | Burnout Paradise | 200 sq mi | GamingScan’s estimate for its arcade-racing city. |
| 8 | Xenoblade Chronicles X | 154 sq mi | GamingScan’s estimate for Mira, an alien-planet setting. |
| 9 | Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising | 135 sq mi | GamingScan reports this as traversable terrain. |
| 10 | Ghost Recon Wildlands | 105 sq mi | GamingScan’s estimate for its dense, explorable map. |
All estimates and qualifying descriptions in the table are from GamingScan’s 2025 ranking, except the alternate Fuel estimate, which is from EarlyGame’s 2025 ranking. Neither outlet’s figure should be read as an official area measurement.
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Why other “biggest map” lists give different answers
Some count only one contiguous map
Virlan’s 2023 comparison explicitly uses each game’s largest contiguous map and excludes procedural or effectively infinite worlds. That rule differs from counting a game’s separate islands or regions together, which is why Test Drive Unlimited 2 needs its two-island qualification. Virlan puts Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s largest map at about 94 sq mi under its approach, but that is a different ranking and method, not a direct correction to the list above. Virlan’s comparison
Some count footprint, others count traversable area
The Final Fantasy XV estimate illustrates the distinction: GamingScan reports a roughly 750-sq-mi total footprint but about 700 sq mi after inaccessible areas are excluded. A raw map measurement can also include water or terrain that contributes little to ordinary traversal. GamingScan notes that Test Drive Unlimited 2 spans two islands and that Assassin’s Creed Odyssey has a map largely covered by water. A comparison-video creator likewise cautions that circulated figures may describe full maps rather than playable area. The comparison video
Rank #2
- Available Now - Ghost of Tsushima: Legends, a new cooperative multiplayer experience inspired by Japanese folk tales and mythology.
- Beyond war, ancient beauty endures: Uncover the hidden wonders of Tsushima in this open-world action adventure.
- The rise of the Ghost: Forge a new path and wage an unconventional war for the freedom of Tsushima.
Some include procedural worlds, MMO totals, or simulations
These cases can produce much bigger numbers, but they answer a different question from “Which bounded open-world map is largest?” Destructoid estimated The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall at 80,000–90,000 sq mi in 2024, noting that the size is hard to pin down; EarlyGame reported 80,823 sq mi in 2025. The figures are broadly similar but remain secondary estimates, not a standardized measurement.
For The Elder Scrolls: Arena, the estimates conflict substantially: EarlyGame reported 6 million sq mi in 2025, while Destructoid reported 3 million sq mi in 2024. Those numbers should not be presented as a settled area. Microsoft Flight Simulator is listed at 197 million sq mi by both EarlyGame and Destructoid, but that describes a simulation of Earth’s surface, not a conventional bounded land-based game map.
Rank #3
- Be Mad Max - Become the iconic post-apocalyptic warrior, crafting and upgrading Max's equipment and weapons to survive by combining melee combat, gunplay and tactical techniques. Gamers must form alliances as they work towards the goal of building their "Magnum opus."
- Immersive savage Wasteland - Explore the gritty, dynamic world while braving the treacherous landscapes, hostile weather patterns and deadly marauders.
- survive the open-world landscape - Staying alive isn't easy. Players clash with deadly factions and gangs through scores of dangerous side-missions and quests in the dynamic open-world full of exploration.
- intense vehicular combat - Engage in dynamic inter-vehicular combat, taking down enemy vehicles with a range of powerful weapons. Car combat is entirely physics-based, so no two battles are ever the Same.
- build the ultimate survival machine - Players design, customize and upgrade their ultimate vehicle-the Magnum Opus-choosing from different car chassis and a slew of upgrades including mounted weapons, armour and engines to survive another day
Guild Wars: Nightfall is another outlier: EarlyGame reported about 15,000 sq mi in 2025, while Destructoid described it as a little over 15,000 sq mi in 2024. The comparison-video creator specifically warns that measurements circulated for this game have been exaggerated, so its estimate deserves particular caution.
Sources for these comparisons: Destructoid’s 2024 ranking and EarlyGame’s 2025 ranking.
Rank #4
- Day One Edition includes Neon Racer Pack with these DLC items Neon Racer Supercar, Neon Racer Wingsuit, Neon Racer Parachute; see description for full details
- Bring The Thunder Soar through the skies with your wingsuit Skydive, Base Jump and Free Dive, as you fight your enemies harnessing extreme weather to your advantage
- Rico’s Ultimate Mission Spearhead the rebellion and defeat a hi tech private military organization; Face off against the most capable adversary yet; Uncover the mystery behind Rico’s Father’s past
- Huge South American World 100 square kilometers to explore from rainforest to desert, and across snowy mountain peaks as you explore the world of Solis from bustling cities to rural grasslands
- Creative destruction at its best Customize your new grapple hook with evolved and new capabilities; Experiment with military jets, helicopters, turbo fueled sports cars, and construction vehicles
Does the biggest map make the best open-world game?
No. Area tells you how much ground a game presents under a particular measurement, not how rewarding that ground is to explore. A large world can offer variety and room to roam, but size can also bring navigation friction, loading, or repetition. Density, meaningful destinations, and variety of activities shape the experience alongside scale. Virlan makes this trade-off in its discussion of map size and playability: Virlan’s analysis.
For a comparison that is useful to players, treat each number as an estimate with a definition attached. Check whether it includes water, inaccessible terrain, or multiple regions; whether the world is procedural; and whether the figure represents a bounded game map or something as broad as a planet simulation. Under GamingScan’s 2025 ordering, Fuel is first—but that is a source-specific result, not a universal verdict on the biggest video-game world ever made.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- ELDEN RING is a fantasy action-RPG adventure set within a world created by Hidetaka Miyazaki—creator of the influential DARK SOULS video game series; and George R.R. Martin—author of The New York Times best-selling fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire
- Danger and discovery lurk around every corner in FromSoftware’s largest game to-date
- HIDETAKA MIYAZAKI: President and Game Director of FromSoftware Inc. Known for directing critically-acclaimed games in beloved franchises including Armored Core and Dark Souls
- GEORGE R. R. MARTIN: the #1 The New York Times bestselling author of many novels, including the acclaimed series A Song of Ice and Fire—A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast For Crows, and A Dance with Dragons
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