Bethesda has long been known for the ‘bigger is better’ approach, creating epic, sprawling worlds, filled with colourful characters andenough bugsto create a Pixar film.
But the actual sizes of the worlds vary quite a lot from game to game, and sometimes you really just want the mostbang for your buckwhen it comes to an open world.
10 Best Bethesda Franchises, Ranked
More than just Fallout and Elder Scrolls, let’s review the best Bethesda franchises, ranked worst to best.
Read on to find out, by kilometres squared of viewable area (as some sections are technically off limits due to invisible walls), which of Bethesda Game Studio’s worlds are the largest, to help you plan your next trip to Tamriel or another of their worlds.
This list is limited to first-party Bethesda games that have open worlds, which narrows it down to the company’s RPGs. I know, a bad day to be an IHRA Drag Racing fan.
Exact figures are hard to come by due to scaling, so these map sizes are all approximations either given by official marketing or by die-hard fans who have taken the time to figure out the map scale of their favourite games. If you have any more substantial sources, please don’t hesitate to comment!
9Fallout 4
10.36km² (6.44sqmi)
Fextralife Wiki
The fourth mainline game in the Fallout franchise,Fallout 4, takes place in a post-apocalyptic version of Boston and Massachusetts, collectively known as The Commonwealth.
Fallout 4 has the smallest map by far of the modern Bethesda games, with just over 10km² of playing area.
This doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty to do, however, with over27 hours of main story content, plenty of wild side quests and evensettlement buildingto sink your teeth into.
8The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
16km² (9.94sqmi)
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
Morrowind, the third main game in theElder Scrollsseries, is beloved by fans as being dense, with complicated systems, D&D-esque character building and a world that just keeps giving.
Interestingly enough, it’s actually the smallest world of main games in The Elder Scrolls, with just 16km² of playing area.
It feels bigger than it is due to the lack of easy fast-travel present in most other Bethesda games, with you instead having to employ methods such as boats and Silt Striders.
7The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
37 km² (22.99sqmi)
Skyrim, the fifth, and currently latest in the mainline series of The Elder Scrolls, is still one of the smallest of the series’ map sizes. This is for good reason, as a good amount of the game is handcrafted, compared to some of the earlier games which usedprocedural generation.
In Skyrim, you play as The Dragonborn, achosen onewho turns from being almost executed for a crime they didn’t commit to helping to defeat Alduin The World Eater, a dragon who is prophesied to destroy the world.
Alongside this, you can participate in a host of activities from buying a house to exploring dungeons and even dabble in the dangers of the Dragon Priests.
Oh, and, of course, explore the entire world, using a mix of foot travel, horse, dragon and good ol’ fashion physics breaking to get anywhere you want to go.
6The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
41 km² (25.48sqmi)
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
Oblivion,recently remastered, has the largest of the map sizes of the more hand-crafted, rather than procedually generated, worlds of The Elder Scrolls, with about 4km² more playing area than Skyrim.
In Oblivion, you play as a character who has been imprisoned for an unknown crime. As is the way for these games, things quickly escalate, and you end up being sent on a quest to thwart a cult called the Mythic Dawn, before they can open the gates to the eponymous Oblivion.
You can also participate in many other activities, and with the RadiantAI system, NPC characters now follow schedules, so you can also people watch, just as I’m doing now, as I write this article in a London park.
5Fallout 3
41.4 km² (25.72sqmi)
Fallout 3, the first of the series created by Bethesda, and the first one to take place in a 3D world, follows Oblivion’s lead with game size, being roughly 41.4km².
The game takes place in the post-apocalyptic wasteland of Washington D.C. and the surrounding area in Virginia and Maryland, otherwise known as The Capital Wasteland.
You play as an inhabitant of Vault 101, who sets out to find their father when they go missing. Along the way, you’re able to participate in world-changing decisions and meet a large roster of nuclear-changed characters, from robots to Super Mutants.
10 Places That Would Be The Perfect Setting For Fallout 5
With Fallout 5 far off on the horizon, we at DualShockers are theorizing the best potential locations for the next Fallout game.
Unfortunately, you can’t sprint. Yes, for the entire map, you will have to walk along it. Great for immersion and seeing the chilling destruction that a nuclear apocalypse can cause. Not quite so great for, well, getting anywhere. Thankfully, there is at leastfast travel.
4Fallout 76
41.99 km² (26.09sqmi)
Fallout 76
Fallout 76, Bethesda Game Studio’s first foray into the large-scale multiplayer format beloved by some and loathed by others. In the game, you play as a resident of Vault 76, who ventures forth 25 years after the nuclear war to recolonise the Earth.
To accompany the large scale, Fallout 76 also has the biggest map of the Fallout games, with the base map size being a whole 0.59km² bigger than Fallout 3… So not quite a gargantuan leap forward.
Of course, the steady stream of updates since launch has increased the size of the map to encompass more than the initial Appalachian area, with areas based on the Shenandoah region, New Jersey and more.
3The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall
161,600 km² (100,414sqmi)
The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall
Daggerfall, the second game in The Elder Scrolls series, is what most people jump to when they think of a big world in gaming.
You have been sent by the Emperor to free the ghost of King Lysandus and discover what happened to a letter sent by the Emperor. So, what would normally be considered some pretty great side quests in the later games.
Daggerfall is set in the High Rock and Hammerfell areas of Tamriel, and is made up of an incredible 15,000 cities, towns, dungeons and other areas for the player to explore, created by procedural generation.
As with the other games in the series, you may ignore the main quest if you want to, and instead focus on the side activities, from buying a house, to joining different guilds such as the Mages Guild, which allows you to create your own spells.
2Starfield
2,589,988km² (1,609,344sqmi)
Starfield, the latest Bethesda Game Studio franchise and the first wholly original one in 25 years, is a big game. Set in a section of the Milky Way galaxy, you control a silent space miner who has been employed by The Constellation to locate an artifact.
There are over 1000 different planets the player can land on and explore, as well as numerous moons and other astral bodies.
The reason this is possible is due to procedural generation, with each planet being generated based on the star system it’s in, among other factors.
There are also hand-crafted elements, with the main city of ‘New Atlantis’ being the largest singular city that Bethesda has developed thus far.
1The Elder Scrolls: Arena
9,000,000 km² (5,592,341sqmi)
Bethesda Softworks
Release Date
March 1994
The Elder Scrolls: Arena is the game that spawned the legendary Elder Scrolls series. The game is set across the entirety of the fictional world of Tamriel, of which the other games in the series only focus on small sections of.
You play as a custom character who gets sent out to uncover a conspiracy surrounding the Emperor. Along the way there are monsters to fight, inns to sleep in, 17 handcrafted dungeons to battle through and lots of side quests.
The game is technically infinite, due to its use of procedural generation, although technical restraints restrict it to approximately 9 million km² according to Bethesda.
This is approximately the same size as the land area of the total United States of America, which has9.147 million km² of land mass.
Skyrim: 10 Ways To Make A New Playthrough Harder
Ever wanted to add a touch of difficulty to your Skyrim playthroughs? This list will scratch that itch.
