Probably. Most of the games I'm hyped up for this year are open-world games after all.

I like some open world games a lot, like Fallout and Far Cry, but those types of games often have some problems with quality control due to the nature of the design. Besides, I like variety, and I don't want to see any style "dominate".

A style I like just as much would be a more controlled semi-open-world type, such as with Borderlands, where the map opens up as you progress and you move on to other areas with the option to go back if the need arises. You have the freedom to decide what you want to do inside a new area but it's still limited enough that the designers are able to control the course of events. This is probably a better choice for most games as it takes away the difficult balancing issues developers face with open-world. Even Far Cry is kind of like this, as you have to unlock a second area with tougher bases and enemies to reach the boss.

I hope not. That would get annoying real fast.

Of course. It's very easy and cheap to make and with today's $/minute obsessed gamers it's the only thing you can do.

Open world isn't a genre, as others have said, but yes, attempts at non-linearity will dominate over linear designs this gen, at least until developers and gamers begin to better understand the purpose and advantages of each approach, and also to a degree just get bored of experimenting with it. Right now the limits of open worlds have expanded greatly with the latest technology, and the possibilities have captured gamers' and designers' interest. Once that's been thoroughly explored, we'll eventually see a new fascination take hold.

Hopefully not because I can see the trend of a massive world/map/location with just exploration.

Open world is not a genre, but yes, clearly. It's about damn time, too. And it's not a trend; it's an inevitability. Until hardware upgrade means less space, worlds will always get bigger.

That's not going to stop. Only now, walking through that house will be seamless. No loading.

Open world is not a genre. But yeah this feature will probably be more present than ever, which will augment the value of the few linear big games that will be released later in the gen IMO