History Main / WideOpenSandbox

* ''VideoGame/AtelierFirisTheAlchemistAndTheMysteriousJourney'' is the ''VideoGame/{{Atelier}}'' series' first foray into the genre, with large, open-ended maps and non-linear objectives.

** ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeedMostWanted''

** ''Need for Speed: World''
** ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeedMostWanted2012''

** ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed2015''

* ''VideoGame/{{Starbound}}''
* ''VideoGame/StardewValley''
* ''VideoGame/{{Starfarer}}''
* ''VideoGame/{{Starmade}}''
* ''VideoGame/StarFlight''
* ''VideoGame/StarflightTheLostColony''

* ''VideoGame/TheSaboteur''
* ''VideoGame/TheSimpsonsHitAndRun''

* ''VideoGame/TheSims'' series
** ''VideoGame/MySims''
* ''VideoGame/ShakedownHawaii''
* ''VideoGame/SneakySasquatch''
* ''VideoGame/StarTradersFrontiers''
* ''VideoGame/StateOfDecay''
** ''VideoGame/StateOfDecay2''
* ''VideoGame/SteambotChronicles''
* ''VideoGame/SurvivalCrisisZ''
* ''VideoGame/TerraTech''
* ''VideoGame/TestDriveUnlimited'' (a sub-series of ''VideoGame/TestDrive'')
** ''Test Drive Unlimited''
** ''Test Drive Unlimited 2''
** ''Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown''

* ''VideoGame/DragonsDogma''

* ''VideoGame/DragonsDogma''

** ''RCT3'' finally added an ''actual'' Sandbox mode with no constraints but the boundaries of the park, the game's physics limitations (which can mostly be circumvented with cheats), and your own creativity. Well... that, and the size of your computer's memory/processing power (it's quite possible to overwhelm average machines with too complex a park after building too much).

* The [[TheProblemWithLicensedGames surprisingly good]] ''Film/SpiderMan2'' movie tie-in game gives you free rein in Manhattan after the tutorial. You can go anywhere, do anything, and generally do whatever a spider can, enjoying how fun it is to control Spider-Man in the process. Want to set the record time for crossing the island end to end? Sure! Want to perform some epic-level LeParkour? It's almost required! Want to swan dive from the Empire State Building or Statue of Liberty, only to save yourself at the last moment? ([[VideogameCrueltyPotential Or not save yourself at all]]?) As many times as you want! Oh, sure, you have a little white marker pointing you toward the plot, but you can go there any time. Besides, to finish chapters, you need Hero Points, which are earned doing just about everything you do wandering about the city: beating up thugs, solving crimes (which involve beating up thugs half the time), locating Hint Markers to contact the snarky narrator (Creator/BruceCampbell), completing speed challenges, and... delivering pizzas.

** ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeedMostWanted'' (both 2005 and 2012)

* ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza}}'' (a.k.a. ''Ryu Ga Gotoku'')

* ''VideoGame/{XenobladeChronicles1'' is a {{JRPG}} that borrows a few of elements from [[WesternRPG their western counterparts]]. Despite the linearity of the story, it has a copious amount of overarching sidequests to be done, and lots powerful [[BossInMookClothing unique monsters]] and secret areas to found at one's pleasure. In fact, one can lose a lot of gameplay hours just exploring the vast world and staring at [[SceneryPorn the game's beautiful scenery]].

Traditional role-playing games typically used TheOverworld concept, presented as a FantasyWorldMap with the OverworldNotToScale, such as ''VideoGame/{{Ultima}}'' and ''Franchise/FinalFantasy''. On the other hand, ActionAdventure and {{Action RPG}} titles typically use a fully-scaled open world, with ''VideoGame/CourageousPerseus'' and ''VideoGame/{{Hydlide}}'' being the {{Ur Example}}s, ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' being the TropeMaker, and ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' being the TropeCodifier.

*** ''VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon''

** Turned UpToEleven with ''[[http://powdertoy.co.uk/ The Powder Toy]]''.

* ''VideoGame/ImpressiveTitle''

* ''Videogame/ImpressiveTitle'' started with an open world design due to its focus on exploration, but later evolved into a Sandbox game once a combat and pet taming system was introduced, along with RandomDrops as rewards for killing prey and bosses. And after its shutdown, fans have added many more mechanics such as a more fleshed-out trading system, sidequests, PlayerVersusPlayer combat, shops, and more rewards for exploration.
** ''Videogame/FeralHeart'' on the other hand, is completely an open world game due to cutting out RandomDrops, hunting, and the like in favor of encouraging players to bring their own imagination to life whether it be through the in-game LevelEditor, exploration, online chat, or making videos.