The biggest upcoming open world games with sci-fi settings

For those who love sci-fi open world games, 2026 and the years to come promise to be exciting. Developers are hard at work building massive worlds set among the stars, in futuristic cities and under alien waves. The variety in this lineup is unmatched. The player can explore a retro-futuristic version of the Soviet Union and beyond. Another adventure involves piloting your own starship through a galaxy containing thousands of unique planets.

Some games introduce time manipulation mechanisms that allow users to rewind combat or see how their choices affect people decades later. And then there are those that focus on pure survival against terrifying creatures deep under the water of a new planet.

Atomic Heart 2

Same retro-futuristic Soviet-era aesthetic as the first game, but now with a global focus

• The story continues even after the first game, when the mechanical rebellion spreads far beyond the original Soviet borders.

• This sequel shows how advanced technology has brought down society on a global scale.

While the first Atomic Heart centered on a secret Soviet base called Facility 3826, the developers have confirmed Atomic Heart 2 will be on a global scale. In fact, Robert Bagratuni, CEO of Mundfish, said the game is “bigger and bolder” than its predecessor. The sequel is being built using Unreal Engine 5 to handle these much larger and more detailed open spaces.

The story continues to explore the dark side of technology and the mess left behind after the end of the first game. Players can expect the same mix of fast-paced shooting and multiple threats, but encounters will take place in more varied outdoor locations. The game doesn't have a set release date yet, but the idea of ​​exploring a retro-futuristic open-world game that expands beyond the borders of the Soviet Union is very exciting.

The Last Sentinel

A cyberpunk story from Tokyo

• It takes place in a future version of Tokyo that looks incredibly realistic and gritty.

• There are people on the team who worked on it Grand Theft Autoso the city is built to feel dangerous and rich in culture rather than just a big blank map.

There's a new company that makes big budget open world games and it's going strong. Lightspeed LA, a studio led by Steve C. Martin, who worked on games like Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemptionis making an open-world cyberpunk game called The Last Sentinel. It takes place in a rebuilt, futuristic version of Tokyo. The goal The Last Sentinel is to mix the gritty feel of a future dystopia with a deep story.

The team hasn't shared many details about the game, but the history of the people making it suggests that the game will be very polished and carefully built. The main character is Hiromi Shoda, who lives in a world that feels both culturally rich and dangerously high-tech. Unlike many open world games that only focus on how big the map is, The Last Sentinel focuses on a unique environment that takes its style from graphic novels and serious sci-fi movies. The developers want the player to feel fully involved in the game and have created a version of Tokyo that feels truly alive and not just a place to travel.

Cinder City

Searching for a loved one in high-tech destroyed Seoul

• It follows a father's search for his daughter in a futuristic version of South Korea's capital.

• Fast-paced large-scale tactical shooting in two open worlds.

Formerly known as The LLL projectCinder City is a tactical MMO shooter from BigFire Games. The environment in Cinder City is modeled after a futuristic version of Seoul, where the very advanced technology of the 23rd century mixes with the ruins of today's world. While the game has a few giant robot enemies, it is mostly a third-person shooter where players play as a human soldier known as a knight.

Cinder City it's basically about a father searching for his daughter in a world that's falling apart. According to the executive director of BigFire Games, the game uses two large open-world maps that add up to about 14 kilometers. Players can hijack large mechs or ride motorbikes, but that's only part of the fun. Players can take part in massive battles as the CEO of BigFire Games also hinted that up to 200 people participated in the playtests. According to NCSOFT, this MMO tactical shooter should hit consoles and PC sometime around the second half of 2026.

Subnautica 2

Co-Op survival under the sea

• Finally, players can bring up to three friends with them to help them build bases and survive in the terrifying deep water.

• The developers are creating a brand new planet with fresh monsters and dark underwater areas to explore.

Subnautica 2 is a sequel to the hit game from 2018 and changes some key things. The biggest news is that players can now play together in up to four people. For the first time, players don't have to face the dark depths alone. They and their friends can build bases, pilot submarines and scream together when giant creatures appear.

Set on a brand new planet, the game promises to find (and eat) brand new plants and animals. The first videos showed the new Leviathan creatures and vast underwater areas that transition from calm plains to terrifying deep zones. Unfortunately, KRAFTON has delayed the game until 2026. If players loved the sense of discovery and fear in the first game, Subnautica 2 he is ready to make this feeling much bigger and share it.

Chrono Odyssey

Bend time and space to save the world in a Fantasy MMORPG

• Fight to stop a dark force from erasing their world's history.

• Players can freeze the hands of time while exploring Setera and deep dungeons.

Developers from Chrono Studio are building a massive online adventure where the environment itself reacts to the passage of time. IN Chrono Odysseyplayers are soldiers fighting against a dark corruption called the Void that is slowly erasing world history. Players cannot fully enjoy what Setera has to offer without obtaining the Chronotector machine. This device gives the player the power to manipulate the flow of time during active gameplay. So, for example, during a difficult fight, the player can freeze an enemy in the air or reverse his character's movements to avoid an attack.

There are a variety of classes available, including the tough Berserker and the fast-moving Assassin. The game allows players to instantly switch between multiple weapon types when in the middle of a fight.

Free Stars: Children of Infinity

Explore a galaxy full of alien threats

• Play as a captain exploring a galaxy full of hundreds of star systems and fun alien species.

• The game mixes ship battles with resource gathering, and the aliens will remember if you were good or bad to them.

For those who love classic sci-fi games like Ur-Quan Masters, Free Stars: Children of Infinity will be a wonderful sequel to look forward to. IN Free Stars: Children of Infinityplayers take on the role of captain of a starship on a journey to a little-known part of the universe.

The “open world” here is actually a galaxy full of hundreds of star systems and thousands of planets. Players can land on planets to find resources, talk to strange alien races and make deals, and fight in fast-paced top-down ship battles. The ship battle system called Super Melee is back with over 30 different starships, each with their own special abilities. The game's Steam page has an expected launch date of 2025, but whether that happens remains to be seen. This is the game for anyone who wants a space adventure that looks like a 1992 classic Star control 2.

StarRupture

The Galactic Factory-Builder

• The core of the game combines survival and factory building, requiring players to build huge automated production lines on an enemy planet.

• The star causes massive waves of fire and heat to periodically destroy the surface, so players must quickly build strong shelters to survive.

StarRupture is a survival and base-building game that will launch on January 6, 2026. It is an open-world sci-fi experience designed for solo play or a group of up to four players in co-op mode. Players are dropped on the dangerous planet Arcadia-7 as convicts tasked with mining resources for powerful corporations.

The main idea of ​​the game is for players to quickly build and defend their base. Players must do more than just survive. They need to build long lines of machines and belts to find materials and make new tools. As the player's factory grows, new dangers appear. First, angry aliens attack bases in large groups. Players must use automatic weapons and shields to fight them. Second, the star, Ruptura, emits extreme heat. This happens often and forces players to run to safe places or all their hard work will come to fruition.