The Best Shared Open-World Games

Open-world games are among the most expansive undertakings that game developers create, bringing entire worlds to life that have their own unique climates, populations, and evolving ecosystems. These games evolve as the player progresses through the world and change depending on the choices they make.

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Some games are open to multiple players simultaneously, allowing for a shared experience in both PVE and PVP settings. This game supports massive player counts and pushes the limits of immersion to its peak. Open-world games can be some of the most incredible experiences, but become even more fantastic with friends. Here are some of the best shared open-world games, ranked from worst to best.

8

Fallout 76

Dive Into The American Wasteland With Friends

Fallout 76 is an innovative take on one of Bethesda’s flagship franchises. The game takes the apocalyptic setting of Fallout and creates a massive, open-world environment for players to explore.

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Players take on the role of a Vault Dweller, newly released into the wild from Vault 78. On the first day in a New, Strange, Expansive, and Harsh environment, players must learn the rules quickly to survive. Fallout 76 offers a shared open-world experience, allowing up to twenty-four players on a public server where they can trade, group up, and explore with one another.

7

Red Dead Online

Explore The Old West In An Evolving World

Red Dead Online is an open-world online expansion of Red Dead Redemption 2, allowing players to create their own custom cowboy or cowgirl and take on the violent era of the Old West. Red Dead Online offers a massive open world that can accommodate up to 16 players, allowing them to interact with one another, either peacefully or antagonistically.

Players can go on missions together, explore the frontier, or wreak havoc across multiple towns. Red Dead Online does an incredible job of incorporating immersive layers into the world and features incredibly realistic animations and physics.

6

Ark Survival Evolved

Take On The Treacherous Environment

Ark: Survival Evolved is an intense and harsh survival game that provides a challenging experience that pits players against prehistoric monsters, deadly environments, and dangerous exploration. Players are dropped into a dinosaur-infested world where they must combat hunger, thirst, warmth, and safety or be devoured at the bottom of the food chain.

Ark: Survival Evolved allows players to advance their tools to futuristic levels, tame wild dinosaurs, and build massive bases in the open world, solo or with friends.

5

DayZ

Try And Survive The Zombie Apocalypse

DayZ

Released

December 13, 2018

DayZ began as an Arma 2 mod, which transformed the massive world of the game into a detailed and harsh zombie apocalypse survival experience. Able to support up to sixty players, after being dropped into the e world, players must find nourishment, clothing, armor, and weapons all by scavenging barren areas for scraps and leftover equipment.

DayZ is an open PVE and PVP game, so everything has the possibility to be a threat, from zombie NPCs to other players. DayZ supports crafting, exploration, and base building, and offers multiple vehicles, including planes and cars, for players to utilize.

4

Minecraft

A Colorful And Vibrant World Filled With Danger

Minecraft is one of the most popular games in history, having broken worldwide records upon its initial release. Minecraft centers around building and crafting, allowing players to scavange materials from the environment and use them to craft anything they can think of.

Minecraft has one of the largest worlds in gaming that has multiple biomes and climates, from desert tundras to phantasmal underworlds. Where Minecraft shines is in its mod support, which allows players to download user-created expansions that provide everything from upgraded graphics packs, skins, and entirely new world designs.

3

Rust

A Ruthless And Aggressive Survival Game

Rust

Released

February 8, 2018

Rust is another harsh survival game that drops players into a large open world with minimal supplies and tasks them with forging their own path to survival. The world of Rust is filled with lethal obstacles, including deadly fauna, local predators, and monstrous behemoths.

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It is up to players to find resources to craft equipment and protection, which takes in-game time and effort. Players can struggle with a rock and a piece of cloth or rise to the top with a castle, firearms, and traps. Rust servers can support up to one thousand players, with local team limits of eight.

2

No Man’s Sky

Explore Thousands Of Worlds As An Intergalactic Adventurer

No Man’s Sky launched to a rocky start, offering a near-endless open-universe survival game. Players begin as an intergalactic frontiersman who must repair their ship and continue on their journey of exploration.

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No Man’s Sky houses thousands of enormous worlds of various climates that players can travel to, explore, and build seamlessly. No Man’s Sky also grants a host of customization options, different starships, character skins, and base options. No Man’s Sky is one of the largest shared-world games, constantly updated since its release.

1

GTA Online

Take To The Streets Of Los Santos With Endless Freedom

GTA Online

Released

October 1, 2013

ESRB

m

GTA Online is the online expansion of Grand Theft Auto 5, one of the most successful games in history. Grand Theft Auto Online allows players to explore, interact, and take advantage of the enormous Los Santos map and live a second life free of consequences.

Players can play it safe and interact with the world in various activities such as sports and entertainment, or become an overnight legend by going on heists, leading biker gangs, or wreaking havoc on he city and other players. GTA Online supports up to thirty players, and it even has an option for private servers.

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