Focus keyword: games like GTA
Meta description (155 chars): GTA 6’s release feels far away. These 10 games like GTA deliver open-world chaos, crime stories, and freedom to keep you busy until launch day.
Best Games Like GTA to Play Before GTA 6
The wait for GTA 6 has been long, and while revisiting the best GTA games of all time is always an option, and it’s not over yet. If you’ve replayed GTA V for the tenth time and finished every heist mission you can stomach, it might be time to branch out. The good news: the open-world crime genre GTA popularized has produced plenty of worthy substitutes over the years — some that scratch the same itch, and others that take the formula somewhere GTA never has.
Below are 10 games like GTA that cover everything from gritty realism to full-blown cartoon chaos, so there’s something here whether you want a slow-burn crime drama or a game that just wants you to cause as much destruction as possible.
What Makes These Games Like GTA?
Not every open-world game earns a spot on a “games like GTA” list just because you can walk around a city. The games below share the traits that actually define the genre:
- A living, explorable open world you can approach in almost any order
- Crime, chaos, or morally gray protagonists at the center of the story
- Vehicles you can steal, drive, crash, and use as core parts of gameplay
- Freedom over linearity — side content, side hustles, and detours that matter as much as the main story
- A strong tone or personality, whether that’s cinematic realism or over-the-top satire
How We Chose the Best Games Like GTA
This list leans on a mix of critical reception, lasting player communities, and how closely each game’s core loop mirrors what made GTA a genre-definer: freedom, chaos, and a world that reacts to what you do in it. We’ve also tried to cover different flavors of the genre — story-driven, multiplayer, satirical, martial arts, and pure open-world sandbox — so there’s a pick here no matter what part of GTA you miss most.
10. Red Dead Redemption 2 — A Realistic Game Like GTA
Made by Rockstar Games, the same studio behind GTA, Red Dead Redemption 2 trades neon cities for the dying days of the American frontier. It’s slower and more deliberate than GTA, but the open world is arguably the most detailed ever built, and the story of Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang is one of the best-written narratives in gaming. If you love GTA’s cinematic storytelling and want something more grounded, start here.
9. Watch Dogs 2 — A Modern Game Like GTA
Set in a satirical version of San Francisco, Watch Dogs 2 swaps guns-blazing chaos for hacking, drones, and tech-driven mischief — while keeping the open-world freedom GTA fans expect. The tone is lighter and funnier than its predecessor, and the hacking mechanics give you new ways to mess with the world beyond just driving fast and causing trouble.
8. Sleeping Dogs — A Martial Arts Game Like GTA
Sleeping Dogs drops you into Hong Kong’s Triad underworld as an undercover cop, and its combat is where it really stands apart: fluid, brutal martial arts that make hand-to-hand fighting as satisfying as any shootout. The city itself is dense and vibrant, and the crime story holds up as one of the more underrated entries in the genre.
7. Mafia: Definitive Edition — A Story-Driven Game Like GTA
This remake of the 2002 classic tells a tightly paced, tragic mob story set in a beautifully recreated 1930s city. It’s more linear than GTA, but that’s part of the appeal — Mafia prioritizes narrative and atmosphere over open-ended sandbox chaos, making it a great pick for players who want their games like GTA to feel more like an interactive crime film.
6. Just Cause 4 — An Explosive Game Like GTA
If GTA’s chaos is the main draw for you, Just Cause 4 turns it up to an absurd degree. Grappling hooks, wingsuits, and a near-limitless arsenal let you turn the open world into a physics-defying playground. It’s less concerned with realism or story and more focused on giving you the tools to create your own explosive set pieces.
5. Cyberpunk 2077 — A Futuristic Game Like GTA
Night City is one of the most detailed open worlds ever built, packed with vertical density, neon-soaked streets, and branching storylines. After a rocky launch, Cyberpunk 2077 has become one of the genre’s standout entries, especially following major updates and the Phantom Liberty expansion. If you want GTA’s freedom filtered through a cyberpunk lens, this is essential.
4. Yakuza 0 — A Unique Open-World Game Like GTA
Yakuza 0 combines a serious crime drama with some of the most bizarre side content in gaming — karaoke battles, business management minigames, and disco dancing sit alongside brutal beat-’em-up combat. It’s a great entry point into the long-running Yakuza series and a reminder that “open-world crime game” doesn’t have to mean gritty realism.
3. Saints Row: The Third — A Chaotic Game Like GTA
Saints Row: The Third leans all the way into cartoonish absurdity, with a giant purple dildo bat, a superpowered gang war, and missions that never take themselves seriously. For players who found later GTA games a little too self-serious, this is the antidote — pure, ridiculous fun.
2. Payday 2 — A Multiplayer Game Like GTA
Payday 2 shifts the focus to cooperative heists, letting you and up to three friends plan and execute bank robberies, jewelry store hits, and armored truck jobs. It’s less about open-world exploration and more about tense, replayable heist gameplay — a great pick if what you miss most from GTA is planning and pulling off the perfect job with friends.
1. The Simpsons: Hit & Run — A Nostalgic Game Like GTA
Often called “GTA but with the Simpsons,” Hit & Run is a beloved cult classic that captures the chaotic, car-driving spirit of early GTA games in Springfield. It’s dated by today’s standards, but the nostalgia and genuinely fun driving missions have kept it alive in fan communities for over two decades.
Which Games Like GTA Should You Play First?
If you only have time for one or two, start with Red Dead Redemption 2 for the best all-around experience, or Saints Row: The Third if you want something quicker and sillier to jump into.
Best Games Like GTA for Story Fans
Red Dead Redemption 2, Mafia: Definitive Edition, and Yakuza 0 all lead with strong narratives and memorable characters.
Best Games Like GTA for Multiplayer
Payday 2 is the clear pick if you want to play with friends, thanks to its cooperative heist structure.
Best Games Like GTA for Open-World Exploration
Cyberpunk 2077 and Red Dead Redemption 2 both offer some of the most detailed, explorable worlds in the genre.
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