GamerBraves Newsletter vol. 70 – Open World Vs Open Zone: What’s The Difference

Ask anyone, they’d probably tell you Open World games are the hottest new trend in gaming. From big console releases like Breath of the Wild to even mobile games like Genshin Impact.

This is a little weird for one reason, really: Open World games are one of the new pseudo-genres, where it’s more of a recurring gameplay device than an actual genre. Death Stranding and Genshin Impact are two very different games, but both feature the mechanic, for example.

However, back when we interviewed Sonic Team’s Takashi Iizuka, he stressed another parallel concept to exist alongside Open World games: the Open Zone. Are these all PR buzzwords? Maybe not.

So to start explaining what an Open Zone is, you first have to understand the failings of the Open World. The Open World model has been popular because of its ability to hook people in. Just chuck in a huge map, fill it with things to do and, hypothetically, players will be engaged for as long as you can make another exclamation mark on the map to guide them to. To find out more, consider subscribing to our newsletter. You can read the full article for free just by putting your email address in the box below:

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