Summary
- Many open-world games offer seasonal content for holidays, providing unique missions and items for players.
- Games like American Truck Simulator and Euro Truck Simulator 2 allow players to customize their rigs for festive occasions.
- Titles like Genshin Impact and Tom Clancy's The Division 2 feature original festivals and events in-game to engage players.
Open-world games have used different weather conditions, day/night cycles, and even changing seasons to accentuate their gameplay. But seasonal content is another matter. If they have DLC at all, it’s going to be for stuff the player can use generally, like in-game weapons, cosmetics, or in-game cash/items to give them a headstart in the game’s early goings.
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Still, a few games managed to spice up their proceedings depending on which holidays were coming up. From online adventures that offer regular annual events to mix up their gameplay all year round, to dedicated extra campaigns where players discover fresh reasons for the seasons. Either way, these open-world games offer some of the most unique modes, missions, and more for the holidays.
1 American Truck Simulator & Euro Truck Simulator 2
Spreading Seasonal Cheer on Both Sides of the Atlantic
Euro Truck Simulator 2
- Released
- October 18, 2012
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- SCS Software
- Genre(s)
- Simulation
- Platform(s)
- PC
As odd as it seems, American Truck Simulator and Euro Truck Simulator 2 do count as open-world games, as while the player is set to reach specific real-life destinations, they can take any road they can fit their rig on to get there. Provided they don’t end up swimming in fines and traffic violations by the time they offload their cargo. Otherwise, they won't earn much from the jobs they take.
Both games have plenty of DLC, from different types of trucks to different paint jobs players can plaster them with. If they had a reason to vibe with the season, they could make their rig look festive for Christmas, spooky for Halloween, or full of hearts for Valentine’s Day. That way, they could feel like a truck-driving version of Santa/Jack Skellington/Cupid, delivering treats/tricks/love across the map.
2 InFamous: Festival Of Blood
Electric-Powered Hero Tears Through Bloodsuckers On Mardi Gras
inFAMOUS: Festival of Blood
- Released
- October 25, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Sucker Punch
- Franchise
- Infamous
- Genre(s)
- Open-World, Action
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 3
Strictly speaking, players didn’t need InFamous 2 to play InFamous: Festival of Blood, as it could be played as a standalone game. But it was made using InFamous 2's assets and gameplay, and even had its own User-Generated Content mode where players could make their own missions and comic-style cutscenes, unlike the plain subtitles in the main game.
Its in-game holiday is Pyre Night, a combination of Mardi Gras and Halloween, as the citizens of New Marais (aka fake New Orleans) celebrate the death and immolation of the vampire Bloody Mary. That is, until she threatens to come back, leaving hero Cole McGrath on a tight time limit to send her back to Hell before he becomes one of her vampire minions. It was fine enough if players just wanted a taste of InFamous 2, but as its own entry in the series, it was pretty anemic.
3 Don’t Starve Together
Survive Through the Seasons to Enjoy the Festivities
Don't Starve Together
- Released
- April 21, 2016
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Klei Entertainment
- Genre(s)
- Survival, Adventure, Open-World, Crafting, Sandbox
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC
Players could go wherever, whenever, in Don’t Starve, as their lives depended on it. If they couldn’t fend for themselves in their randomly generated world, farming some foods and hunting for others, they’d die and end up having to try again in a new, likely more hostile environment. Don’t Starve Together just upped the stakes with a multiplayer mode where players could help (or hinder) each other.
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The sequel spiced up its shifting seasons with seasonal campaigns, where players could get rare holiday-themed items and other goodies. "Hallowed Nights" offers plenty of pumpkins and Halloween-themed skins. "Winter’s Feast" lets players craft Gifts, make Winter Foods, and decorate a Winter’s Feast Tree. The New Year introduces different animal-themed events based loosely on the Chinese Zodiac.
4 Genshin Impact
The Odds of Enjoying a Festival Are Higher Than They Seem
Genshin Impact
- Released
- September 28, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- HoYoverse (Formerly miHoYo)
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Action, Adventure, Gacha, Open-World
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC, iOS, Android
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Perhaps the biggest name in gacha-based, open-world action RPGs, Genshin Impact has offered plenty of seasonal content to separate players from their cash. Unlike the usual Xmas/Halloween/Thanksgiving stuff, the game has its own original festivals that players can take part in during different times of the year.
The standout event is the Lantern Rite Festival, which sees the citizens of Liyue light Mingxiao Lanterns. It's similar to the Kongming Lanterns that get lit during Chinese New Year. But its other realms have their festivities that have loose links to other real-life events, like the Romanesque Fontinalia, the Iranian-inspired Sabzeruz, and the German wine enthusiast’s favorite Weinlesefest.
5 Tom Clancy’s The Division 2
Saving the Seasons in Washington D.C.
Tom Clancy's The Division 2
- Released
- March 15, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Massive Entertainment
- Franchise
- Tom Clancy
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Blasting around Washington D.C. While it’s suffering an epidemic seems like a grim situation for people to be in, and a handy setting for a third-person, free-roaming action RPG shooter too. It’s worked out fairly well for Tom Clancy’s The Division 2, as players cover-shoot around the city for XP, items for crafting, and other goodies hidden across the map.
Still, just because players were surrounded by rival factions, tough enemies, and the Green Poison virus didn’t mean they couldn’t celebrate the holidays. The game regularly goes through special events whenever Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's Day, and other holidays roll around. From weapons to gear, everything gets a little more festive, which brings a little more spirit to the carnage.
6 Red Dead Online
The Wild West Gets Wilder During the Holidays
Red Dead Online
- Released
- May 14, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
Ubisoft’s shooter isn’t the only game to try and empty players’ wallets whenever the holidays roll around. If players were done with Red Dead Redemption 2’s campaign, they could take to the net in Red Dead Online and continue their cowboy adventures with their friends. Riding around its version of the Wild West just gets more interesting when its events start taking place.
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Winter brings snow, treasure maps, and additional missions that grant up to triple XP and RDO dollars. Halloween makes players fight off invading creeps around the freeholds. Even Thanksgiving offers trader and trade route perks. Plus, these, among other holidays, offer special outfits, weapons, and other goodies for the right price. They're as regular as the holidays themselves, though with a year-long break between them, the fear of missing out can be real.
7 Grand Theft Auto Online
Going After Santa in Los Santos
Grand Theft Auto Online
- Released
- October 1, 2013
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Rockstar North
- Genre(s)
- Open-World, Action
- Platform(s)
- PS5, PS4, PS3, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC
That said, RDO is just following on from what Grand Theft Auto Online offered. GTA5's online mode is likely why the GTA series went from having multiple games on one console, to having multiple consoles featuring a single game. Still, Rockstar has kept GTA Online fresh with plenty of campaigns, heists, minigames, and holiday content. Albeit to the detriment of its main game.
Like RDO, GTA Online offers different goodies for different holidays, like hunting down the grinch-like Gooch on Christmas, fighting off the undead in Ludendorff Cemetery for Halloween, and letting gaming couples live out their Bonnie & Clyde dreams by shooting other couples for Valentine's. If players miss out on them the first time around, they can catch them again the next time the season comes around.
8 Saints Row 4
Deck the Streets with Lots of Bodies
Saints Row 4
- Released
- August 20, 2013
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Volition
- Franchise
- Saints Row
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter, Open-World
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Still, a lot of the seasonal content here is pretty much quick cash grabs. Few feel like they have dedicated themselves to one holiday or another. Except perhaps for Saints Row 4, where the series' gangster roots pretty much dropped off entirely in favor of wacky meta-humor. Which means it's likely not surprising that it had some Christmas content that feels like a love letter to all things festive.
How the Saints Save Christmas is a goofy, multi-map campaign that sees the Playa/Boss/President save Santa Claus and the holidays (including Kwanzaa, Hannukah, and Festivus) from his evil doppelgänger, Santa Clawz. While it has some irony to keep things from being too cheesy, like saving the North Pole from rogue gingerbread men, it still loves the season and all the media surrounding it. So, grinches might prefer sticking to the Enter the Dominatrix campaign instead.
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