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By the commonly cited community measurements, Breath of the Wild is bigger: GamePro reported an estimated 61.2 km² for Hyrule and 36.72 km² for Skyrim. That makes Hyrule about 1.7 times Skyrim’s area on those figures. Neither number is an official publisher measurement, and the available estimates do not use a fully documented, standardized method.
How big are the two game worlds?
| Game | Reported area | What the figure represents |
|---|---|---|
| The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild | 61.2 km² | A community measurement attributed to Reddit user HylianWarrior and reported by GamePro in 2017; not an official Nintendo statistic. GamePro’s comparison |
| The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim | 36.72 km² | The same 2017 GamePro report of HylianWarrior’s community comparison; not an official Bethesda statistic. GamePro’s comparison |
| Skyrim base-game province | About 37.1 km² | SkyrimMap’s account of fans counting terrain cells; its current page, accessed in 2026, describes an estimate rather than an official figure. SkyrimMap’s map-size explanation |
Using GamePro’s pair of numbers, Hyrule covers 24.48 km² more than Skyrim—roughly 1.67 times the area. The comparison is useful as an estimate, not as a precise, publisher-verified measurement.
What counts as “map size”?
Area comparisons depend on the boundary being measured. “Map size” might mean accessible land, the full terrain grid, all space inside an invisible boundary, or every separately loaded location. It can also change depending on whether water, inaccessible ground, downloadable content, or distinct worldspaces are included.
Skyrim’s estimate is for the province, not every location
SkyrimMap describes its roughly 37.1 km² estimate as the base-game province’s terrain, excluding Solstheim and separate areas such as Blackreach, the Forgotten Vale, and the Soul Cairn. It also notes that different definitions can yield estimates around 37–40 km². Those differences help explain why its estimate and GamePro’s reported 36.72 km² are close but not identical. SkyrimMap
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- Discover Hyrule as never before: by making your own path, choices, and consequences
- Ingenuity is the key to survival: find multiple solutions to tons of dynamic puzzles
- Surprises hide around every corner: scavenge weapons, armor, plants, animals, and more
- Live off the land: find weapons and armor, cook food, and brew elixirs
- Utilize special technology: the in-game Sheikah Slate controls, objects and enemies in fun ways
Breath of the Wild’s figure has its own limits
GamePro attributes 61.2 km² to a community measurement, but its cited report does not fully document the method or establish an official map-area figure. The available sources do not show that Hyrule and Skyrim were measured using matching rules for playable land, boundaries, or separate areas. Treating the numbers as directly comparable is therefore an approximation.
Does the larger area mean a longer or bigger-feeling game?
No. Surface area does not by itself establish travel time, content density, or how large a world feels while playing. Routes, elevation, obstacles, movement options, and how exploration connects landmarks all shape the experience.
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For example, SkyrimMap describes one Riften-to-Solitude journey as about 45–50 minutes at a run and around 2.5 hours walking. Those are that source’s observations under its stated conditions, not universal crossing times or a direct comparison with a route in Hyrule. SkyrimMap’s route example
A Eurogamer feature reproduced in Steam’s news feed characterizes Skyrim as “a little over 14 square miles in scope,” while discussing how landscape and presentation can make a compact world feel expansive. That is a journalistic description, not a standardized area survey. Eurogamer’s feature in Steam news
Rank #3
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- Discover Hyrule as never before: by making your own path, choices, and consequences
- Ingenuity is the key to survival: find multiple solutions to tons of dynamic puzzles
- Surprises hide around every corner: scavenge weapons, armor, plants, animals, and more
- Live off the land: find weapons and armor, cook food, and brew elixirs
- Utilize special technology: the in-game Sheikah Slate controls objects and enemies in fun ways
Why Breath of the Wild can feel especially open
Area is only one part of the comparison. In a 2017 interview, Breath of the Wild producer Eiji Aonuma connected the game’s design to feedback about the separated regions in Skyward Sword. He said the aim was to make a world that was both vast and connected, allowing players to explore freely without imposed barriers or gaps. Game Developer’s interview report
“So taking that on board, from the very start of Breath of the Wild, we wanted to, and set out to, create a world that wasn’t only vast, but where everything was connected. So you really could freely explore the world, without these barriers or gaps imposed.”
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The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition Upgrade Pack - Nintendo Switch 2 [Digital Code]
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That design goal helps explain why a map’s continuity can matter as much as its measured footprint. It does not prove that one game feels larger to every player, or that its area translates into more content.
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Verdict: Breath of the Wild is larger by the cited estimates
If “bigger” means estimated map area, the cited community comparison favors Breath of the Wild: 61.2 km² versus 36.72 km² for Skyrim. The figures are estimates with different scope and measurement caveats, so they support a qualified winner rather than an exact, official head-to-head result.
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