Is there something better / faster / cooler than Open GL?

Question

Do the really big games also use Open GL? Or are there some proprietary technologies out there, which can scare Open GL's pants off?

Answer 1

OpenGL and Direct3D both allow comparable access to the GPU.

The "really really really really really really really big games" use one of these, in addition to other non-graphical libraries, plenty of skilled programmers, artists, musicians, game designers, level designers and other staff to create those games "that cost billions to develop".

Answer 2

Feature-wise you can accomplish the same output with either API (OpenGL or DirectX). Several game engines abstract the underlying API from the developer resulting in games which can use either API and are potentially cross platform.

Some examples of this are most of id software (doom,quake,etc) games and any games which use their engine. World of Warcraft also supports either Direct3D or Opengl. Also, several steam/valve games which run on Windows, Mac, and rumored Linux.