With GTA 6 confirmed for November 19, 2026 after two delays, the wait has officially become the longest gap between mainline Grand Theft Auto games in the series' history. The good news: this stretch of 2026 happens to be an unusually strong year for open-world releases, alongside a deep back catalogue of games that already do a lot of what GTA 6 is promising. Here are ten worth your time before Vice City opens up.
Red Dead Redemption 2
The obvious pick, and still the right one. Rockstar's 2018 western remains the clearest preview of what GTA 6 is likely to feel like: dynamic weather, a real day-night cycle, an honour system that shapes how the world treats you, and hundreds of hours of side content beyond the main story, hunting, fishing, poker, train robberies. If you've never finished Arthur Morgan's story, there's no better way to understand Rockstar's current approach to world-building before Vice City arrives.
Grand Theft Auto V & GTA Online
It sounds obvious, but GTA V at over a decade old is still getting new GTA Online content, and revisiting Los Santos is the most direct way to reset your expectations for what Rockstar considers a baseline before seeing how far GTA 6 pushes past it. It's also simply one of the best-selling and most replayed games ever made, so there's a good chance mods, DLC, or GTA Online updates you missed the first time are worth a second look.
Cyberpunk 2077 (+ Phantom Liberty)
CD Projekt Red's rocky 2020 launch is old news at this point; years of free updates plus the Phantom Liberty expansion turned Night City into one of the most atmospheric open worlds available. Multiple endings, deep build variety, and a criminal-underworld setting make it a legitimately strong stand-in for the tone GTA 6 is chasing, minus the wait.
Yakuza 0
A different flavor of crime story, but a genuinely great one. Yakuza 0, released internationally in 2017 and set in late-1980s Japan, pairs a dense, walkable open city with over-the-top brawler combat and an absurd amount of side content, karaoke, batting cages, real estate management, business minigames that somehow all work. If GTA 6's satirical, character-driven tone appeals to you, Yakuza 0's blend of melodrama and comedy is one of the closest things gaming has to offer.
Sleeping Dogs
A genuine cult favorite that never got the sequel it deserved. Set in a neon-soaked, fictionalized Hong Kong, Sleeping Dogs leans harder into martial arts combat than GTA ever has, while still hitting the same beats: undercover cop infiltrating a criminal organization, car chases, a lived-in Asian metropolis dense with side activities. Square Enix ultimately passed on a sequel, but the original still holds up as one of the better "open-world crime game that isn't GTA" experiences out there.
Saints Row 2
Of all the games that tried to compete directly with GTA over the years, Saints Row 2 got closest, before the series pivoted into full parody territory with later entries. Waking up from a coma to find your gang dismantled and your turf gone, you rebuild from nothing across a satirical stand-in city, all while the game embraces a much sillier, more chaotic tone than Rockstar typically allows itself. If you want GTA's structure with the seriousness turned down, this is still the one to go back to.
Forza Horizon 6
Launched May 19, 2026 and set in Japan, Playground Games' latest open-world racer shares more DNA with GTA than you'd expect: a huge, detailed map built around a real location, arcade-friendly driving, and an absurd density of things to do that reward simply driving around rather than beelining to the next marker. It's included with Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass, making it one of the easiest entries on this list to try at no extra cost if you already subscribe.
Crimson Desert
Pearl Abyss's fantasy open-world action game launched in March 2026 and couldn't be tonally further from GTA 6, sword-and-sorcery combat, a medieval fantasy kingdom, brutal melee encounters rather than gunplay and car chases. That contrast is exactly the appeal here: if you want something that scratches the "massive, detailed open world" itch without treading the same crime-and-city ground GTA 6 will cover, Crimson Desert is one of 2026's most talked-about releases for exactly that reason.
LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight
A lighter pick, but a legitimately good one. Built on Arkham-style combat with a full open-world Gotham to explore, complete with a roster of Batman-universe vehicles and the usual LEGO staples, collectibles, replayable missions, a big cast of unlockable characters. It's a genuine change of pace from crime-drama realism, and one of the stronger-reviewed open-world games of 2026 so far, worth a look even outside of "GTA 6 substitute" framing.
Not every game on this list needs to resemble GTA 6 to be worth your time before it arrives
Mafia: The Old Country / The Mafia Trilogy
For a more grounded, story-first crime alternative, Hangar 13's Mafia series remains one of the better options. Whether you revisit the remastered Mafia: Definitive Edition trilogy or check out newer entries in the series, these games trade GTA's chaos and freedom for tighter, more cinematic crime narratives, closer in spirit to a mob drama than an open sandbox, but sharing enough DNA in setting and tone to make the wait feel productive rather than empty.
Honorable Mention: NTE: Neverness To Everness
Worth a mention for anyone specifically looking for a free option: NTE is a free-to-play open-world game that's drawn genuine praise for successfully replicating a GTA-style sandbox feel, something very few free games have managed convincingly. It won't replace a premium open-world experience outright, but as a no-cost way to burn time before November, it's earned its spot on more than one "games to play before GTA 6" list this year.
The Bottom Line
None of these are trying to be GTA 6, and that's the point. Whether you want Rockstar's own back catalogue, a rival crime saga, or something tonally opposite entirely, 2026's release calendar and the genre's deep back catalogue mean there's genuinely no excuse to spend the rest of the year staring at a countdown timer. November 19 will get here either way.
