Codex Gamicus
Explore
Main Page
Discuss
All Pages
Interactive Maps
navigation
Main page
Community portal
Recent changes
Random page
Admin noticeboard
Forums
Company Index
Character Index
Hardware Index
In-Game Index
Ratings Index
Video Game Index
Fandom
Gamepedia support
Report a bad ad
Help Wiki
Contact us
FANDOM
Fan Central
BETA
Games
Anime
Movies
TV
Video
Wikis
Explore Wikis
Community Central
Start a Wiki
Don't have an account?
Register
Sign In
FANDOM
Explore
Current Wiki
Start a Wiki
Don't have an account?
Register
Sign In
Sign In
Register
Fandom's centric source of video game knowledge
42,404
pages
Explore
Main Page
Discuss
All Pages
Interactive Maps
navigation
Main page
Community portal
Recent changes
Random page
Admin noticeboard
Forums
Company Index
Character Index
Hardware Index
In-Game Index
Ratings Index
Video Game Index
Fandom
Gamepedia support
Report a bad ad
Help Wiki
Contact us
Editing
Open-world video games
(section)
Back to page
Edit
VisualEditor
View history
Talk (1)
Edit Page
Open-world video games
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
===Timeline of early milestones=== {| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin:auto; margin:auto;font-size:85%" |- ! Year ! Developer ! Game ! Milestone ! Genre |- | c. 300 BCE | [[China]] | ''[[Go]]'' | Open-world [[board game]],<br />board game with [[overworld]] | [[Strategy video games|Strategy]],<br />[[Wargaming|wargame]] |- | c. 400 CE | [[Wikipedia:Indian subcontinent|Indian subcontinent]] | ''[[Chess]]'' | Free-roaming tactical [[Wargaming|wargame]],<br />free-roaming battlefield | [[Strategy video games|Strategy]],<br />[[Wargaming|wargame]] |- | [[1970s in video gaming|1970]] | [[SEGA]] | ''[[Jet Rocket]]'' <ref name="jet-rocket"/> | Open-world [[electronic game]],<br />[[Three-dimensional|3D]] open world,<br />[[First-person perspective video games|first-person]] open world | [[Flight simulation video games|Flight sim]],<br />[[First-person shooter|FPS]] |- | [[1974 in video gaming|1974]] | [[Gary Gygax]],<br />[[M. A. R. Barker|Muhammad Barker]] | ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'',<br />''[[Empire of the Petal Throne]]'' | [[Role-playing game]] with overworld | [[Role-playing game|Tabletop RPG]] |- | rowspan="2" | [[1975 in video gaming|1975]] | rowspan="2" | [[Taito]] <br> ([[Tomohiro Nishikado]]) | ''[[Western Gun]]'' | Open-world [[video game]],<br />free-roaming [[Arcade video games|arcade video game]] | [[Shoot 'em up video games|Multi-directional]] [[shooter]] |- | ''[[Interceptor]]'' | [[Scrolling]] open-world video game | [[Flight simulation video games|Flight sim]] |- | [[1976 in video gaming|1976]] | Don Daglow | ''[[Dungeon]]'' | Free-roaming [[computer game]] | [[Computer role-playing game|CRPG]] |- | rowspan="2" | [[1977 in video gaming|1977]] | [[SEGA]] | ''[[Heli-Shooter]]'' | [[Three-dimensional|3D]] open world,<br />3D [[First-person perspective video games|first-person]] open world | [[Flight simulation video games|Flight sim]],<br />[[First-person shooter|FPS]] |- | William Crowther | ''[[Colossal Cave Adventure]]'' | Free-roaming [[computer]] game | [[Text adventure]] |- | [[1979 in video gaming|1979]] | [[wikipedia:University of Tokyo|University of Tokyo]] | ''[[Heiankyo Alien]]'' | Open-world computer game,<br />video game with overworld | [[Action video games|Action]],<br />[[Puzzle video games|puzzle]],<br />[[Maze video games|maze]] |- | [[1980 in video gaming|1980]] | [[Namco]] | ''[[Rally-X]]'' | [[Scrolling]] open-world video game,<br />open-world driving game | [[Maze video games|Maze]],<br />[[Racing video games|racing]] |- | 1980 | [[Atari]] | ''[[Adventure]]'' | Multi-screen indoor castle exploration | [[Action video games|Action]]/[[Adventure video games|Adventure]] |- | 1980 | [[SubLOGIC]] | ''[[Flight Simulator]]'' | Free-roaming [[Flight simulation video games|flight simulator video game]] | [[Flight simulation video games|Flight sim]] |- | [[1981 in video gaming|1981]] | [[SEGA]] | ''[[005]]'' | Open-world [[action game]],<br />action game with overworld | [[Action video games|Action]]/[[Adventure video games|Adventure]],<br />[[Stealth action video games|stealth]] |- | 1981 | [[Namco]] | ''[[Bosconian]]'' | Open-world [[shooter]] | [[Shoot 'em up]] |- | 1981 | Origin Systems | ''[[Ultima]]'' | [[Computer role-playing game|CRPG]] with overworld | [[Computer role-playing game|CRPG]] |- | [[1982 in video gaming|1982]] | [[Yoshiki Okamoto]] | ''[[Time Pilot]]'' | Endless open world | [[Shoot 'em up video games|Shoot 'em up]] |- | 1982 | [[Konami]] | ''[[Tutankham]]'' | Scrolling dungeon exploration,<br />action game with dungeon exploration | [[Action video games|Action]]/[[Adventure video games|Adventure]],<br />[[Maze video games|Maze]] |- | [[1983 in video gaming|1983]] | [[Yoshio Kiya]] <ref>[https://www.giantbomb.com/yoshio-kiya/3040-5470/ Yoshio Kiya] at [[Giant Bomb]]</ref> | ''[[Panorama Toh]]'' <ref>[https://www.giantbomb.com/panorama-toh/3030-45796/ Panorama Toh] at [[Giant Bomb]]</ref> | Open-world [[Action roleplaying video games|action RPG]],<br />[[Action roleplaying video games|Action RPG]] with overworld | [[Action roleplaying video games|Action RPG]] |- | 1983 | [[Yuji Horii]] <ref>[https://www.giantbomb.com/yuji-horii/3040-46276/ Yuji Horii] at [[Giant Bomb]]</ref> | ''[[Portopia Serial Murder Case]]'' <ref>[https://www.giantbomb.com/portopia-renzoku-satsujin-jiken/3030-28520/ Portopia Renzoku Satsujin Jiken] at [[Giant Bomb]]</ref> | Open-world [[adventure game]],<br />Open-world [[Immersive simulation video games|immersive simulation]] | [[Adventure video games|Adventure game]],<br />[[Visual novel video games|visual novel]] |- |1983 |[[Data East]] |[[W:c:dataeast:Boomer Rang'r|''Boomer Rang'r'']] |Open-world action-adventure,<br />Fully-scaled on-foot open-world |[[Action-adventure]] |- | [[1984 in video gaming|1984]] | [[Namco]] | ''[[The Tower of Druaga]]'' | [[Action RPG]] with dungeon exploration | [[Action RPG]] |- |1984 |[[Data East]] |''[[W:c:dataeast:Kamikaze Cabbie|Kamikaze Cabbie]]'' |Open-world driving video game,<br />fully-scaled open-world city |[[Action video games|Action]]/[[Adventure video games|Adventure]],<br />[[Racing|Driving]] |- | 1984 | [[Cosmos Computer]],<br />[[Tokihiro Naito]] <ref>[https://www.giantbomb.com/tokihiro-naito/3040-149911/ Tokihiro Naito] at [[Giant Bomb]]</ref> | ''[[Courageous Perseus]]'',<ref name="perseus"/><br />''[[Hydlide]]'' | Fully-scaled on-foot open-world | [[Action RPG]] |- | [[1984 in video gaming|1984]] | [[Hiroshi Ishikawa]] <ref>[https://www.giantbomb.com/hiroshi-ishikawa/3040-46925/ Hiroshi Ishikawa] at [[Giant Bomb]]</ref> | ''[[Brain Breaker]]'' <ref>[https://www.giantbomb.com/brain-breaker/3030-13733/ Brain Breaker] at [[Giant Bomb]]</ref> | [[Side-scrolling]] open-world | [[Metroidvania]] |- | 1984 | [[Bandai]],<br />David Braben | ''[[Ginga Hyōryū Vifam]]'',<ref>[https://www.giantbomb.com/gingahyoryu-vifam/3030-8915/ inga Hyōryū Vifam] at [[Giant Bomb]]</ref><br />''[[Elite]]'' | Open-world [[Space simulation video games|space simulator]] | Space simulation |- | rowspan="2" |[[1985 in video gaming|1985]] |[[SystemSoft Alpha|SystemSoft]] |''[[Yūgeki-ō]]'' <ref name=":0" /> |[[Three-dimensional|3D]] open world,<br />3D [[First-person perspective video games|first-person]] open world |[[Flight simulation video games|Flight sim]],<br />[[First-person shooter|FPS]] |- | Novagen Software | ''[[Mercenary]]'' | Open-world with wireframe graphics | [[Action video games|Action]]/[[Adventure video games|Adventure]] |- | [[1986 in video gaming|1986]] | [[Nintendo]] | ''[[The Legend of Zelda]]'' | Fully-scaled open-world [[Action video games|Action]]/[[Adventure video games|Adventure]] | [[Action video games|Action]]/[[Adventure video games|Adventure]] |- | 1986 | [[Nintendo]],<br />[[Konami]] | ''[[Metroid]]'',<br />''[[Vampire Killer]]'' | [[Side-scrolling video games|Side-scrolling]] open-world | [[Metroidvania]] |- | 1986 | [[Arsys Software]] | ''[[Wibarm]]'' | [[Three-dimensional|3D]] open-world,<br />[[Third-person perspective video games|third-person]] open-world | [[Role-playing shooter]],<br />[[action RPG]] |- | 1986 | [[Taito]],<br />[[Canvas]] | ''[[Takeshi's Challenge]]'',<br />''[[Miami Vice]]'' | Open-world crime game | [[Action video games|Action]]/[[Adventure video games|Adventure]] |- | [[1988 in video gaming|1988]] | [[Arsys Software]] | ''[[Star Cruiser]]'' | [[Three-dimensional|Fully 3D]] open-world,<br />open-world [[role-playing shooter]] | [[Role-playing shooter]],<br />[[First-person shooter|FPS]] |- | [[1989 in video gaming|1989]] | [[Infogrames]] | ''[[Drakkhen]]'' | [[Three-Dimensional|Vector Based 3D]] Fully-Scaled open-world, <br/>open-world [[role-playing game]] | [[Action RPG]],<br />[[Real-time Strategy]] |- | [[1997 in video gaming|1997]] | [[DMA Design]] | ''[[Grand Theft Auto]]'' | Open-world crime game | [[Action video games|Action]]/[[Adventure video games|Adventure]] |- | [[1999 in video gaming|1999]] | [[SEGA AM2]] | ''[[Shenmue]]'' | 3D open-world adventure game | [[Action video games|Action]]/[[Adventure video games|Adventure]] |}
Summary:
Please note that all contributions to the Codex Gamicus are considered to be released under the CC BY-SA 3.0
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)
Follow on IG
TikTok
Join Fan Lab