Open-world video games have seen a variety of geographical settings that players can traverse, but the next big one is exploring outer space.
As the world becomes more fascinated with the potential future of space exploration, games such as Bethesda’s Starfield are taking a big leap at creating the next type of expansive open world. If other studios decide to follow suit, players might just find new favorite immersive open worlds to explore in virtual outer space. Bethesda isn’t the first, nor only, studio to do this though, as the stage has already been set by some successful hit games, all of which deserve praise for leading the way.
EVE Online, a game released back in 2003 and developed by CCP Games, was the first video game to introduce aspects of open-world space exploration to the industry, and it’s still going strong today. It was later followed by Star Trek Online in 2010, which also proved to be a hit release and adopted many similarities from the dearly beloved sci-fi franchise. Both games were MMORPGs, though, and had limits to the amount of exploring players could do. However, it wasn’t until newer RPGs like No Man’s Sky and Outer Wilds that the industry began to see distinct kinds of space exploration games, ones that featured single-player adventures and unique world-building aspects that incentivized personal discovery. Now, Bethesda, one of the most well-known studios globally, picked up that torch and is looking to set the bar higher with Starfield, but others are looking to join in on the action too.
There’s a distinct possibility that within the next decade space exploration is going to be the next big catalyst for open-world games. Although interest in space travel dwindled toward the closing stages of the 20th century, recent civilian space trips through SpaceX and Blue Origin have helped bolster excitement in the area. That’s why it’s the perfect time for gaming studios to freshen up boring open-world sandboxes and head to the stars. So far, Starfield, Deliver Us Mars, and Star Citizen are showing the most promise, but there’s plenty more that could come.
While there’s been no gameplay footage for Starfield yet, Bethesda already made it clear that it’s an open-world game geared at exploring settled systems in the cosmos. This should come as no surprise because the Skyrim and Fallout development team is behind this massive AAA project. What’s also emphasizing the expansiveness of the game is the information about its unique NPC groups based on different planets. Just as Skyrim had Imperials and Stormclacks with contrasting beliefs, Starfield‘s settled systems will have factions that focus on different objectives. Bethesda has also put out some impressive concept art that’s highlighted some of the different planets’ themes and important building structures. With The 2022 Xbox and Bethesda summer showcase coming this summer, there’s a chance that a part of this expansive world will get shown.
Another upcoming space exploration title coming to PC and consoles is Deliver Us Mars. While it’s not being created by a massive studio like Bethesda, or on the same expansiveness scale as Starfield – the game still looks ambitious and has the potential to be great. Deliver Us Mars is the sequel of Deliver Us The Moon, a game released in late 2019; since there’s no launch date for Mars yet, it could be one of 2023’s big video game sequels. While the first game focused on an astronaut being sent to the moon to obtain life-saving resources for Earth, Deliver Us Mars is about an astronaut going to the neighbor plant and trying to recover a lost colony of ships called ARK. Unlike Starfield, which has multiple star systems and is bound to allow intergalactic space flight, Deliver Us Mars will specifically focus on exploring the unique topography of the red planet.
Star Citizen is one of the most ambitious open-world projects where players can explore a fictional outer space system. Currently, the game is in the alpha stage and has been under full development since 2011. Cloud Imperium Games has continued to grow since it first began the project – even getting a new studio to build new worlds in Star Citizen. Project backers can log onto online regional serves and travel across the Stanton system, which is only one of the many star systems Star Citizen is supposed to have on full release. Exploring the four planets in Star Citizen is as realistic of a space experience that players can get through a first- and third-person simulation. Whether it’s mining rare resources, battling space pirates, making deliveries, or simply using the quantum drive to get from one end of the system to the next, it’s an engulfing experience despite the annoying bugs that players will run into.
In addition to the expansive Stanton system that backers can currently take part in, the developers are also working on a single-player narrative. Squadron 42, as the campaign is called, will take players outside of the Stanton system into a much more massive «The Verse.» However, with the official release date for the game being up in the air, it’s hard to know when players will get a chance to play it – if at all. Some backers fear Squadron 42 will never release, but hopefully, Cloud Imperium Games keeps its promise and delivers on this aspect of the Star Citizen project. However, if the studio can’t deliver, it’ll hurt the trust of backers and might pan out bad for the life of Star Citizen.
The current fascination with space exploration gives studios an opportunity to capitalize on unique open-world video game designs. Because outer space is so vast and mysterious, it serves as a perfect setting to create fictional worlds and incentivize exploring. Bethesda is the first major studio to take the big leap into this realm and try its open-world model in space. Starfield will be different than No Man’s Sky and other previous games that utilized space exploration. If the game is successful, other notable studios like Ubisoft or Rockstar may see it as a formula that could work for their future open-world AAA titles. Until then, Bethesda and other smaller studios will continue laying the path for future space-faring video games.
Preston Pearl is a contributing writer based out of the US. He publishes work for the Game Features sector of Screen Rant. While being a Secondary English education major at Kentucky State University and educator in Frankfort, KY; he also spends time writing fictional short stories, gaming, weight lifting, and — most importantly — enjoying time with friends and family.
