Ten Game Map Sizes vs Real World Cities
Open world games are most famous for the freedom of exploration and giant maps. Video game world sizes are a critical part of an open-world game...
Published 2 years ago in Ftw
Open world games are most famous for their freedom of exploration and giant maps.
Video game world sizes are a critical part of an open-world game experience and have been a topic of interest for many years.
This is why its about time to see how far games have come compared to their real-world sizes of in-game locations.
While you're here, check out: The Fifteen Biggest Spaceships and Bases in Video Games .
1
Crew 2 - USA - 1900 square miles vs. 3.8 million square miles.
Let's start with the biggest of them all, Crew 2. Ubisoft's open-world racing title may not be the best racing game out there, but it is undoubtedly intriguing because it is set on a map of the entire USA. The map isn't 1:1 of the real USA. It is still a massive map and can take some time to travel via road from one end to the other. The game's version of the USA is 1900 square miles which is a bit small compared to the actual 3.8 million square miles that make up the real US.2
GTA V - Los Santos 49 sq. miles, Los Angeles - 502.7 square miles.
Rockstar is known for creating incredibly detailed open-world games. Grand Theft Auto V is one of them that takes the real-world of Los Angeles and reimagines it in its own way. However, as big as GTA V is, it's not even close in terms of actual size. Los Santos is 49 square miles, while the real Los Angeles is 502.7 square miles.3
Fallout 4 - Boston - 3.82 square miles vs. 89.63 square miles.
Every Fallout game is set in a real-world city, with Fallout 4 being in Boston. The game offers a wide variety of side quests on a pretty big map at around 3.82 square miles. This may look small compared to others, but since the game is played traveling on foot, the size makes sense. The real-world of Boston isn't too big either, as it is only 89.63 square miles.4
Batman Arkham - Gotham - 1.9 Square Miles vs. Manhattan Island 22.78 Square Miles.
It is widely known that Batman is set in Gotham. The same is true for Arkham Knight that allows players to glide around an incredibly detailed Gotham City. Gotham is based off Manhattan Island, which is 22.78 square miles. Compared to this, the in-game map of Gotham is only 1.9 square miles. Luckily, the details and verticality totally blind the players to the fact that Gotham is so small.5
GTA IV - New York - 6.23 square miles vs. 302.6 square miles.
Grand Theft Auto IV offers its version of New York, named Liberty City. The city is 6.23 square miles and provides the wide range of detail that is expected from Rockstar. The game has four different islands, but even with that, it doesn't come close to the 302.6 square miles of the real New York.6
Assassin's Creed Unity - Paris - 1.06 Square Miles vs. 40.6 Sq Miles.
Assassin's Creed Unity is well known for its setting, parkour, and glitches. The game takes itself all the way to Paris, which is 40.6 square miles in the real world. However, in-game, it is only 1.06 square miles. Again, the verticality and the ability to enter buildings adds a lot more depth to this one, making its world feel more significant than it is.7
Sleeping Dogs - Hong Kong - 1.85 Square Miles vs. 427 Sq Miles.
While some may have forgotten this, it still doesn't change the fact the Sleeping Dogs was one fantastic title. Sleeping Dogs offered a great blend of game mechanics borrowed from many other games, like Batman Arkham and Bully. The game is set in the real world of Hong Kong, which is about 1.85 square miles in size. However, the actual city is over 200 times as large, 427 square miles.8
Spider-Man - New York City - 4.6 Square Miles vs. 302.6 square miles.
The latest Spider-Man series is the talk of the town, being a Sony exclusive and due to the release of Miles Morales on PS5. The praises for both the games aren't just the result of hype, but also because the city is big enough to swing around. The New York in-game is built to be 4.6 square miles, while the real one is 302.6 square miles.10
Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag - Caribbean - 90 Sq Miles Vs. 1 Million Sq Miles.
This one is outright insane. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag is set in the Caribbean, which has many blank areas and manages to provide a whopping 90 square miles playground for the players. However, if it was set in the real Caribbean, it would take players a month to finish a few missions, as the Caribbean is 1 million square miles.
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