Ubisoft is the company in question here, and though it's already shown an impressive commitment to open-world gaming—having released nine such titles in the last seven years—continuing this tradition is clearly job one for the company. Yves Guillemot, Ubisoft's chief executive, offered up some commentary on this front on an investor call, saying that “efficient collaboration between studios working simultaneously on the same massive maps” had a major hand in Ubisoft's release schedule. Indeed, with seven studios on “Assassin's Creed III”, and Ubisoft also having quite a success in “Far Cry 3,” it's showing that gamers are interested in that open world, and Ubisoft, if no one else, means to take advantage of this sea change.
Indeed, with “Grand Theft Auto V”, “Saints Row 4,” “Watch Dogs,” “The Crew,” and “The Division” all set to make appearances, it's not at all surprising that more studios are taking the idea of open-world gaming seriously. Many such titles are set to emerge, and many of the titles that have already emerged have done rather well on the open market. Consider the success of “State of Decay” or “Skyrim,” or the colossal MMO market, which is commonly based around open-world gaming. There's plenty of room in this market, and plenty of successes to justify development in this direction.
What's more, Ubisoft is also poised to bring in a social component as well, with many of its games not only offering multiplayer and co-op experiences—increasingly standard fare—but also stepping up to take on social functions as well. That's a lot on Ubisoft's plate, and how it does with games like “Watch Dogs” will show just what future releases from the company are likely to be like.
Indeed, Ubisoft has a lot in mind for the future of gaming, and much of that future is open world. As more competitors come into the market, each bringing along their own individual vision for open world gameplay, it remains to be seen just who can pull off the best job of open world. From the look of things, though, there will be no shortage of players in this particular market.
