Open-world gaminghas had a sharp rise in prominence over the last couple of decades. The genre has offered players levels of freedom that simply weren’t possible in the past,immersing fans into the game worldand letting them choose their own path.
Like anything that’s popular in the entertainment industry, open-world gaming is constantly being flooded with new entries trying to get a piece of the genre’s success. Consequently, there are numerous open-world games that were notable at the time of their release but have since fallen through the cracks and slipped out of people’s memory.
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Updated Jun 02, 2025, by Jack Pursey:Thanks to the constant stream of open-world games released every month, the genre is constantly providing players withexciting new adventures to embark on. As mentioned before, this can lead to many interesting games falling through the cracks. Therefore, there is no shortage of forgotten open-world games to discuss, so we’ve expanded this list by another five entries.
The quality of the new and pre-existing entries on this list certainly doesn’t compare to household names likeGrand Theft Auto 5orSkyrim, hence why they have been largely forgotten about. However, they have been chosen for this list as they all offer worthwhile experiences for those who like the sound of their concept, even though they will likely suffer from a handful of shortcomings.
15The Godfather 2
Considering that it’s based on one of the most highly-regarded films of all time, it may be a surprise to seeThe Godfather 2on this list. However, any hype for EA’s game soon went away when critics posted their reviews, which resoundingly highlighted the game’s poor technical performance and A.I.
Although these points are justified,The Godfather 2still provides a thoroughly enjoyable experience for those who are willing to look past its deficiencies. Sure, there are plenty of better open-world games out there, thoughThe Godfather 2provides a form of simplistic fun that can be deceivingly hard to find in the open-world genre.
The Godfather 2won’t blow anyone away, though its gameplay loop of recruiting crew members, using their special abilities to take over rackets, and watching the crime empire expand, is enjoyable.
14Infamous
WhenInfamouswas initially released in May 2009, there were many people who thought that the series would become one of PlayStation’s flagship franchises. This was certainly something that Sony needed at the time, as it’s easy to forget now, but PlayStation was losing considerable ground to Microsoft and its Xbox 360.
PlayStation has, of course, recovered since then, but Sucker Punch Productions’Infamousis not high up on the reasons as to why. This perception is unfortunate, as althoughInfamouswasn’t the game to turn PlayStation’s fortunes around, it was still afantastic action-adventure gamein its own right.Infamousstood out with its range of gameplay mechanics centered around the protagonist’s powers, along with the karma system that gave players the chance to be either good or evil.
13Retro City Rampage
“Open World. Action. Parody. Steal The Wheel.” were the words of choice forRetro City Rampage’s cover, which also featured an on the noseBack to the Futurereference. Vblank Entertainment were making it clear that their game was aGrand Theft Autoclone with even more eccentricpop culture references, and that’s exactly what the company delivered.
Unlike mostGTAclones,Retro City Rampagetakes players back to the top-down days of the franchise. The game was initially released exclusively on PC, PS3, and PS Vita, though it soon came to almost every system under the sun in the mid-2010s, many of which were the DX enhanced version that hit stores in 2014 on the 3DS.
12Anarchy Reigns
When most people think of thebeat ‘em up genre, they associate it with the 2D side-scrolling gameplay on retro consoles or arcade machines. One thing it is rarely associated with is the open-world genre. PlatinumGames’Anarchy Reignslooked to change that by combing the open-world and beat ‘em up genres to create a unique experience for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
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The game featured two campaigns, “White Side” and “Black Side,” which both led to a combined “Red Side” finale. Along with the campaigns, the game featured a range of multiplayer modes for players to test out their beat ‘em up skills against other people, including Battle Royale, Survival, and the classic Capture the Flag.
11Fuel
Fuelraised a considerable amount of eyebrows in the late 2000s when details about the game’s huge map size were revealed. The game features an enormous5,560 square miles open-worldthat players are free to traverse in a range of different vehicle types.
Not only was the game’s map size impressive, but its impressive loading feature, or lack of loading feature to be more accurate, also defied belief, as the players could drive around the entire game-world without triggering any load times.
Unfortunately,Fuel’s gameplay struggled to live up to its technical achievements, which resulted in the game slipping out of peoples’ attention.
10The Saboteur
The Saboteurwas released by Electronic Arts in 2009 on PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and even BlackBerry. The BlackBerry and 2010 iOS versions of the game were developed by Hands-On Mobile, while the PC and console versions were developed by Pandemic Studios, a team best known for shooters like the originalDestroy All Humans!andStar Wars: Battlefront 2(2005).
The Saboteurtakes place during World War 2 in Nazi-occupied Paris and lets players explore the city and complete missions at will in a way that is similar to theGrand Theft Autoseries.
9Batman: Arkham Origins
Batman: Arkham Originswas released in 2013, two years after the critically acclaimedBatman: Arkham Cityand two years beforeBatman: Arkham Knight.Considering how beloved theArkhamseries is,Arkham Originsmay seem like an odd choice for this list.
However,Batman: Arkham Originsis often forgotten when people reminisce about the franchise, with most people referring to the series as a trilogy. This is likely because the game wasn’t developed by Rocksteady Studios and also because it was absent fromBatman: Arkham Collection.
8Mercenaries 2: World in Flames
Mercenaries 2: World in Flameswas developed by the same team as the aforementionedThe Saboteur,Pandemic Studios. The game takes place in a fictional, war-torn iteration of Venezuela and tasks players with killing the country’s president — a story thatwasn’t very well received in the country.
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Mercenaries 2: World in Flameshas a few niggling issues, such as poor enemy AI, though its over-the-top, explosive gameplay offered simplistic fun that most fans enjoyed at the time.
7Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
Considering thatGrand Theft Autois the 13th highest-grossing video game franchise of all time, it may seem hard to believe that one of the series’ games is often forgotten about.
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Warsfirst hit stores in March 2009 on the Nintendo DS before coming to PSP and mobile devices in the months and years that followed. The game was well-received by critics, exemplified by its whopping 93 Metascore on DS, which is why it’s such a surprise that the game is rarely discussed today.
TheYakuzaseries has recently enjoyed a huge increase in interest, following the series’ inclusion in Game Pass. The series' combination of hard-hitting storylines about life as a Yakuza and utterly ridiculous andhilarious side questshas encapsulated audiences all over the world.
Befitting of the franchise’s nonsensical themes, Sega released the spin-off gameYakuza: Dead Soulsto try and cash in on the zombie hype that had engulfed the entertainment industry at the time. The game offers an enjoyable 13-14 hour zombie-slaying adventure, though its non-canon story has made it a forgotten entry in theYakuzafranchise.
