We recently teamed up with MSI's monitor division with a sponsored video that looks at some of the best games playable on ultrawide monitors, which offer wider aspect ratios than the 16:9 standard that's shared between the vast majority of modern TVs and gaming monitors.

John Linneman was responsible for picking out some of his favourite experiences after owning an ultrawide for the past few years, with input from the rest of the Digital Foundry team, and we've reproduced the final list here.

These picks include specific titles paired with whole genres, so if you've got an ultrawide monitor yourself or you're looking to pick one up, this article could give you a few new ideas to take full advantage of an ultrawide display. Enjoy!

1. Cyberpunk 2077 (and FPS games)

It's no surprise that one of our favourite games as a collective is also one of our favourite ultrawide experiences. Cyberpunk 2077 supports all manner of RT effects, up to full path tracing, plus every major upscaler and frame generation solution, all enhancing its immersive open world, so it's the perfect match for an ultrawide. The wider field of view here versus a standard 16:9 display allows the world to dominate the viewport, with UI elements further to the sides, and particularly suit the game's first-person experiences. I'm especially reminded of the braindance sequences that occur in the main storyline, but the whole game is pretty outstanding ratcheted right to the limits of your peripheral vision, whether you're playing in first or third-person. The upcoming Halo: Campaign Evolved game is another excellent example, with 21:9 cutscenes and a different (though configurable) approach to HUD placement that sees information nearer the centre of the screen. Again, the immersion here is top-notch.

2. System Shock 2 (and classic remakes)

Modern remakes of classic games are less obvious candidates for ultrawide support, but many efforts from developers like Nightdive Studios - including the recent System Shock 2 remaster - embrace modern 21:9 aspect ratios, again improving immersion and filling more of your vision with the lovingly updated artwork. Paired with a monitor that supports extremely high refresh rates, like 360Hz, and the game can feel transformed from its 4:3 origins. Weirdly, the earlier System Shock release doesn't support 21:9 out of the box, requiring a community fix.

3. Crimson Desert (and action/adventure RPGs)

While first-person games naturally suit a more realistically wide field of view, with ultrawide monitors better mimicking human vision, third-person games can also feel great on an ultrawide. Action-adventure and RPG games with a large scope and lush environments are particularly well-suited; I played a lot of Assassin's Creed Odyssey on an ultrawide and fell in love with that setting so stunningly realised. John's pick for the same overall genre is Crimson Desert, a more modern (and slightly more out-there) alternative that does equally impressive things with its environments. The sense of scale here is off the charts, and while that comes across on a standard aspect ratio presentation, ultrawide enhances it significantly. Beyond the core visuals, the HUD and menus are also clearly authored with wider aspect ratios in mind, making excellent use of the space available. (I'd put Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 in the same conversation, with its period-appropriate menus being significantly more usable on a wider screen.)

4. F1 25 (and sim racing games)

The F1 series, recently updated with the F1 25: 2026 Season Pack to include the new machinery and tracks of the current Formula 1 calendar, has always been a great choice for ultrawide gaming. Being in the cockpit provides a great sense of speed - along with realistic limitations on exactly what you can see - and having an ultrawide for this takes it to the next level. Whatever your favourite view though, having the extra horizontal real estate makes it easier to see upcoming corners like a true racer, or keep an eye out for the unexpected lunges of your rivals. Sim racing games were some of the first genres to embrace multi-monitor and ultrawide displays, so obvious was the utility, and therefore pretty much all modern examples support at least 21:9 and 32:9. Modern arcade and simcade titles like Forza Horizon and Tokyo Xtreme Racer also may support 21:9, and even in a third-person perspective it still looks great. Ultrawide almost sits as a midpoint between standard 16:9 and VR, so if you want the extra immersion without the sweaty goggles, this is a great choice.

5. Diablo 4 (and isometric games)

The isometric perspective of Diablo 4 is a less obvious fit for ultra-wide, but the game fully supports it, allowing Blizzard's art direction to shine. The firm's pre-rendered cutscenes are still in 16:9, of course, but the interesting environments, glistening gore and large-scale boss encounters all work brilliantly in a wider aspect ratio. You get a genuine advantage with an ultrawide here too, because you can see much further to the left and right of your character. (StarCraft 2, another isometric Blizzard title, actually forbids ultrawide aspect ratios to prevent competitive imbalance, so strong is that extra field of view.) You also can see more of the world while you have menus up, which in Diablo 4 is quite frequently given the flurry of loot drops you encounter. I played through the entire original campaign on a 40-inch ultrawide, and going back to 16:9 when reviewing the expansions honestly felt like a huge step backward.

6. Madden NFL 26 (and sports games)

It's been quite a few years since I invested significant time into a sports game, but these are also great candidates for ultrawide play. Madden NFL 26 is the title that John tried, and the 21:9 footage that resulted does impress. The wider aspect ratio when throwing and running gives you a better sense of the field, making it easier to adapt plays to holes in the defence, and the same goes for playing on the other line of scrimmage. Madden is a Frostbite engine game these days, so the ultrawide support isn't a surprise, but the quality of the visuals matching a real-life broadcast was something of a shock. Add on that wider field of view, and you've got a compelling reason to ditch your console copy for the PC version. As well as Madden, EA Sports FC 25, NBA 2K25 and PGA Tour 2K25 all support ultra-wide aspect ratios natively.

7. Darius 2 (and emulation)

There are a surprising number of classic games that support ultrawide aspect ratios, including ones that originally shipped with some form of ultrawide or multi-monitor support, and ones that have had wider aspect ratio support coded in by dedicated fans. As John mentions in the video, a fair few games from the 80s and 90s were designed for multiple CRT monitors set in a line, ie in a 8:3, 12:3 or 10:4 aspect ratio. That's not too far away from a standard 21:9 aspect ratio, so you can run them on modern ultrawides using applications like MAME. Add in games from older platforms that have community patches to run at arbitrary resolutions, higher frame-rates and with a redesigned HUD on PC, and you have a huge number of classic titles that look fantastic on ultrawide.

Wrapping up

With that, we're finished - for now. I'm sure we've missed other great ultrawide experiences, so why not leave a recommendation in the comments below. Maybe we can do a follow-up to this article with user-submitted games and genres!

And if you're interested in more recommendations, you can also check out the Rock Paper Shotgun ultrawide game picks. Sadly they've not been updated since 2021, but there are still some great games there that are worth checking out on a new ultrawide.