
Features · Jul 13, 2026
Studios Are Rethinking the 100-Hour Open World
After a decade of bloat, several major studios are quietly cutting their maps in half—and finding players are staying longer.
Senior Reviews & Features Editor
Writes long-form criticism about systems, worlds, and the moments when ambitious games finally click.

After a decade of bloat, several major studios are quietly cutting their maps in half—and finding players are staying longer.

A genre-defining reinvention of the immersive sim, undone only slightly by an ending it does not quite earn.