Xbox One and PlayStation 4 will have focus on open world games: Ubisoft

In this upcoming generation of consoles, both Microsoft and Sony have been throwing around the term “open world” a lot. Ubisoft believes that this is because that will be the major focus for developers on the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One.

According to Polygon, Nicholas Rioux, the Managing Director of Ubisoft’s Quebec City studio, states that the company has been focusing on games that are more open world and aim to “take you away from the corridor.” This is Rioux referencing the fact that a lot of games these days are linear and essentially consist of corridors of enemies to kill.

Moving away from the corridors.

“When you listen to Sony and Microsoft at their press conferences, they talk about ‘open worlds’ again and again. This is what the new consoles are all about. It’s what consumers want now. They want freedom to explore and find their own adventures. This is what we have been working in for the past three or four years,” says Rioux.

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This can be seen with the company’s upcoming games—The Crew, Watch Dogs, Assassin’s Creed 4 and The Division, all of which have a focus on the open worlds and the social aspects the new consoles will have.

“It’s a huge challenge for our designers,” he said. “We have to think of those games as systems, with lots of possibilities and ways to engage.”

Every console generation so far has brought some or the other major revolution to console gaming. The PlayStation 2 and the Xbox both brought online play, while the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 brought HD graphics. Similarly, the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One seem to be focusing on more social and open world experiences.