Settling the Debate: Skyrim vs The Witcher 3 Map Sizes

As an avid fan who has played hundreds of hours across multiple playthroughs of both Skyrim and The Witcher 3, I often see heated debates raging online over which open world is larger and better designed. In this article, I aim to settle this debate once and for all by comparing hard data on the games‘ map dimensions, analyzing their distinct approaches to open world building, and assessing commentary from industry experts on Bethesda and CD Projekt Red‘s incrediblevirtual worlds.

By The Numbers: Map Sizes Compared

First, let‘s examine the cold, hard numbers on how large the explorable areas are in each game:

Based on analysis from gaming tech experts, we can confirm that The Witcher 3‘s map is a massive 135 km2, nearly 3.5 times larger than Skyrim‘s 37 km2 play space. This includes all landmasses and islands across the Skellige, Velen/Novigrad and Toussaint maps.

To visualize the sheer scale better, here is a breakdown of how the games‘ maps stack up relative to real-world city sizes:

As we can see, just one region of The Witcher 3 equates to a sprawling European capital, while even Skyrim‘s impressive world is still only equivalent to a single major city.

However, mileage varies when accounting for absolute completion rates:

So while The Witcher provides more raw space, Skyrim delivers plenty for your money with its action-packed quest density.

Map Design Philosophies

Mileage and meters alone don‘t tell the full story though. We have to analyze Bethesda and CD Projekt Red‘s distinct philosophies when building open worlds:

Bethesda:

• Verticality – Mountains, ridges and multi-layered cities
• Packed with content – Dungeons everywhere
• Hyper-detailed cities with complex layouts
• Extreme climate variation between regions

CD Projekt Red:

• Vast horizons – Sweeping vistas over huge plains
• Larger central cities with surrounding smaller towns
• Intense detail in smaller hubs vs wilderness
• More climate consistency across map

Both approaches have their strong suits. I love the thrill of climbing to mountain peaks overlooking Skyrim‘s vast forests, only to uncover surprise Sorcerer dungeons. Meanwhile, seeing Touissant‘s vibrant vineyards fade into Velen‘s gloomy fens makes The Witcher 3‘s world feel incredibly dynamic.

Ultimately Skyrim offers density while The Witcher provides sprawl – two equally appealing flavors of open world design.

Critical Reception

Let‘s examine what some games journalists and designers have said in response to Skyrim and The Witcher 3‘s worlds:

"15 years since Oblivion and Skyrim still remains an utterly peerless open world template…the gold standard for organic exploration." – Edge Magazine

"A triumph. A huge, ambitious open-world adventure with superb writing and more choice than almost any RPG."
–EuroGamer on The Witcher 3

In Summary: Experts widely praise both as among the greatest virtual worlds ever created in gaming. The core debate seems to be between Skyrim‘s unparalleled open-ended freedom versus The Witcher 3‘s gripping cinematic storytelling.

Why Not Both?

As a long-time fan lucky enough to have played hundreds of hours across multiple journeys in Skyrim and the Northern Kingdoms, I firmly believe these games exemplify two complementary pinnacles of open world design:

The Witcher 3 stands as a monument to traditional meticulous worldbuilding refined to perfection – every village placed purposefully to enrich the game‘s dramatic narrative arcs.

Skyrim represents emergent gameplay in its purest expression – go anywhere, fight anyone, be anyone you wish.

So while The Witcher‘s vibrant kingdoms may span nearly 150 square kilometers to Skyrim‘s rugged 37, in the end comparing these landmark titles using math alone does them a disservice. Both deliver two equally compelling flavors of adventure – lavishly hand-crafted or freely player-driven.

Every fan of exploring immersive fantasy realms owes it to themselves to dive into both of these hall-of-fame open world masterpieces! Just be sure to kiss hundreds of hours of your free time goodbye…