Best Open-World Games Without Sequels

When big-money studios declare themselves "AAA," it isn't necessarily a declaration of quality to gamers. Rather, it signals to investors that their product is safe, that it will have the broadest possible appeal, and will ultimately sell well upon release. Games so big that they require the kind of funding only the biggest companies can provide are open-world games, and it just so happens that these types of games are what the largest gaming companies have been interested in making over the last few years.

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With success usually comes a follow-up, and when a sequel to a beloved open-world game isn't forthcoming, there's usually a story behind it (even if the story tends to be that of a tragedy). Sales don't always align with quality, and sometimes, due to a twist of fate, even the most lucrative and critically acclaimed game worlds must remain standalone adventures. These games are still well worth playing today but should be considered one-and-done experiences.

1 Days Gone

Gone With No Goodbye

The world has been turned upside down because of a pandemic that turned most of the population into zombies. Players take control of Deacon, a biker-turned-bounty hunter, as he makes his way across the Pacific Northwest in search of his wife, who may or may not be alive. Days Gone had plenty of fans willing to bat for its merits, but that just didn't translate into higher sales or confidence behind the scenes at Sony. Days Gone's director, John Garvin, drew criticism for implying that fans were at fault for the series' untimely conclusion, stating that "if you love a game, buy it at [...] Full price."

Despite Days Gone only being released in 2019, Garvin's co-director, Jeff Ross, went on record to confirm that there is now no possibility of a forthcoming sequel. While interest in the zombie genre is still a mainstay in gaming culture, it had its heyday in the 2000s and again but less so in the 2010s, and its appeal in an open-world romp was perhaps not as strong a draw as expected. Days Gone may have sold millions of copies, but AAA open-world games are still generally expected to sell in the tens of millions if they are to be considered successful.

2 The Saboteur

A One-And-Done Liberation

The Saboteur is a free-roam game about the liberation of 1940s Paris from Nazi forces. Rather than just exploring the city and following missions, the player is tasked with undermining the occupation one section at a time, with each success impacting the story itself. Occupied areas are entirely in black and white, whereas free areas bloom in full color.

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Players are free to conduct their liberation of Paris with a number of playstyles, including sneaky or guns blazing. While The Saboteur brought an interesting hook and compelling gameplay, and while there are historical locations ripe for more anti-Nazi liberation activities, technical issues brought its final score down just enough to keep the IP locked away in the history books.

3 Sleeping Dogs

These Dogs Were Put To Sleep Long Ago

After splitting off from the True Crime series and forming its own open-world, undercover cop identity, Sleeping Dogs enamored its fans with a tight but well-packed, vibrant, and bustling open-world Hong Kong. With positive reviews, fans expected to see a sequel in the next coming years. Indeed, two were announced: first, an ambitious follow-up that would have taken place down China's Pearl River Delta and would have included a mobile game tie-in; second, a massively multiplayer spin-off, Triad Wars.

The higher-ups at Square Enix initially acknowledged the less-than-stellar sales in Sleeping Dogs' opening month but declared it to be a strong new property for the company nonetheless. However, after a few months, it became evident that the series would not be entering the list of Square Enix's best-selling franchises any time soon. While Triad Wars made it through beta testing before being shuttered, Sleeping Dogs 2 never made it past development.

4 L.A. Noire

A Victim Of Its Own Studio's Success (And Working Environment)

In a meticulous recreation of 1940s Los Angeles, players step into the gumshoes of Detective Cole Phelps, tasked with navigating a web of crime scenes, interrogations, and moral choices. L.A. Noire has all the markings of a classic, to which its sales and reviews concurred. So why was there no sequel? With so many huge open-world games already in development at the studio and each at an unimaginable monetary cost, it's not hard to see why Rockstar would be happy to put L.A. Noire into cold storage from a management perspective.

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Besides Rockstar having its hands full (presumably with a steering wheel or gun), there's another reason why an L.A. Noire 2 might never see the light of day: behind-the-scenes friction. Rumors of unsustainable, toxic working conditions blew up following the game's release, and since Team Bondi (the partner studio behind L.A. Noire) was liquidated in 2011, either could have been the final nail in the coffin for another detective romp.

5 Mad Max

A Gout Of Wasteland Rampage Released At The Wrong Moment

This f orgotten open-world gem has developed more of a cult following recently but flew under the radar at the time of its release. Appropriately adrenaline-fueled during action sequences and morbidly pensive during calm drives through the wasteland, 2015's Mad Mad perfectly captures the spirit of the series, in part thanks to the studio's confidence in departing from the plot of Fury Road and doing its own thing, which it does with panache. Recent comments by George Miller pin Hideo Kojima as the only person the Mad Max creator and director would trust to direct a game set in the Max series in the future.

Despite Miller's criticisms, Mad Max is still an e xtraordinary achievement in gameplay pacing, tone, and open-world combat racing design. Considering the legendary game director's schedule and the rarity of seeing a movie tie-in game in the modern era, it is unlikely that another Mad Max game will see the light of day any time soon. Coincidentally, the lower-than-expected sales of Mad Max in 2015 were partly blamed on the game's release being on the same day as the massively-anticipated Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain.

6 Bully

A Schoolyard Classic Stuck In Detention

Also known as Canis Canem Edit outside of North America, Bully takes players into the chaotic microcosm of Bullworth Academy, a fictional New England boarding school. Players control Jimmy Hopkins, a rebellious teenager who must navigate the social hierarchy, cliques, and pranks of school life while attending classes, participating in extra-curricular activities, and avoiding the eye of the hall monitors.

Rockstar is no stranger to dealing with controversial material in the press or taking heat from politicians and news reports, but the climate of fear in U.S. Schools, thanks to the continuous chain of gun-violence-related tragedies, makes the setting more than just a sore spot in the public consciousness. Although Bully had a strong anti-bullying theme and message, the franchise, like many of its other bright but troubled franchises, will likely have to stay behind class indefinitely.