GTA 6 is the most anticipated game of the decade, and Rockstar has finally locked the date: November 19, 2026, on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. It heads to the sun-soaked state of Leonida and a modern Vice City, following criminal couple Jason and Lucia. With months still on the clock and no PC version confirmed yet, the wait can feel long. So while you count down, here are 15 open-world games that scratch the same itch.
These 15 picks each deliver on what makes Grand Theft Auto great: a sprawling open world, a crime-soaked story, or the freedom to cause chaos your way. No filler, no loose “sandbox” tag-alongs.
Quick Comparison: Top 5 Picks
| # | Game | Setting | Price | Platforms |
| 1 | Grand Theft Auto V | Los Santos | $29.99 | PC, PS, Xbox |
| 2 | Red Dead Redemption 2 | Wild West | $59.99 | PC, PS4, Xbox |
| 3 | Cyberpunk 2077 | Night City | $59.99 | PC, PS5, Xbox |
| 4 | Watch Dogs 2 | San Francisco | $29.99 | PC, PS4, Xbox One |
| 5 | Sleeping Dogs | Hong Kong | $19.99 | PC, PS4, Xbox One |
1. Grand Theft Auto V
Why it’s similar
The closest experience until GTA 6 arrives, with a massive open world, crime missions, and endless activities.
What makes it unique
Three playable protagonists let you switch mid-heist, and GTA Online keeps the world alive years after launch.
Key features
- Three-protagonist campaign
- Los Santos open world
- Heist missions
- Ongoing GTA Online
Price: $29.99 Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox
Where to Buy
Available on Green Man Gaming and Steam.
2. Red Dead Redemption 2
Why it’s similar
Same developer, Rockstar, with incredible world detail and immersive storytelling in a living open world.
What makes it unique
A Western frontier reacts to your honor, and the level of world detail remains a benchmark years later.
Key features
- Detailed Western open world
- Honor reputation system
- Hunting and survival
- Online multiplayer mode
Price: $59.99 Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One
Where to Buy
Available on Green Man Gaming and Steam.
3. Cyberpunk 2077
Why it’s similar
An open-world city with RPG progression, story-driven missions, and the player freedom GTA fans expect.
What makes it unique
The Phantom Liberty expansion added a full spy thriller, and cybernetic implants let you rebuild V’s abilities.
Key features
- Open-world Night City
- Cybernetic implant builds
- Phantom Liberty expansion
- 100+ hour campaign
Price: $59.99 Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
Where to Buy
Available on Green Man Gaming and Steam.
4. Watch Dogs 2
Why it’s similar
Modern-city exploration with sandbox gameplay and memorable side activities, built around a hacking twist.
What makes it unique
You hack the entire city as a tool, turning cameras, cars, and drones into part of your playbook.
Key features
- Hack-the-city gameplay
- San Francisco open world
- Non-lethal options
- Co-op free roam
Price: $29.99 Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One
Where to Buy
Available on Green Man Gaming and Steam.
5. Sleeping Dogs
Why it’s similar
An undercover-cop story with open-world crime gameplay, the closest to GTA’s tone with a martial-arts spin.
What makes it unique
Hand-to-hand combat and environmental takedowns set it apart from GTA’s gunplay-first design.
Key features
- Martial arts combat
- Hong Kong open world
- Undercover story
- Definitive Edition extras
Price: $19.99 Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One
Where to Buy
Available on Green Man Gaming and Steam.
6. Mafia: Definitive Edition
Why it’s similar
A cinematic crime story with a strong narrative and period setting, the story-first side of the GTA formula.
What makes it unique
A full remake of the 2002 classic, it trades open-ended chaos for a tightly told mob rise-and-fall.
Key features
- 1930s Lost Heaven setting
- Cinematic crime story
- Period vehicles and weapons
- Full remake visuals
Price: $39.99 Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox
Where to Buy
Available on Green Man Gaming and Steam.
7. Saints Row (2022)
Why it’s similar
Open-world chaos and over-the-top action with vehicles, weapons, and sandbox fun, GTA cranked up for laughs.
What makes it unique
A deep character creator and criminal-empire building let you customize both your look and your operation.
Key features
- Santo Ileso open world
- Deep character creator
- Empire building
- Co-op campaign
Price: $49.99 Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox
Where to Buy
Available on Green Man Gaming and Steam.
8. Just Cause 4
Why it’s similar
A massive sandbox built for destruction and creative, explosive action across a huge open map.
What makes it unique
A grapple-and-wingsuit toolset plus extreme weather events make traversal and chaos the whole point.
Key features
- Grapple and wingsuit traversal
- Extreme weather events
- Massive open world
- Creative destruction
Price: $19.99 Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One
Where to Buy
Available on Green Man Gaming and Steam.
9. Watch Dogs: Legion
Why it’s similar
A futuristic-London open world with hacking gameplay and the same modern-city sandbox freedom.
What makes it unique
The “recruit anyone” system lets you play as any NPC in the city, each with unique skills.
Key features
- Recruit-anyone system
- Near-future London
- Hack-the-city gameplay
- Online co-op
Price: $29.99 Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox
Where to Buy
Available on Green Man Gaming and Steam.
10. Far Cry 6
Why it’s similar
Open-world exploration and combat with the freedom to approach missions your way, GTA’s chaos in a war-torn island nation.
What makes it unique
A guerrilla-revolution story on the island of Yara, with improvised weapons and animal companions.
Key features
- Yara open world
- Guerrilla revolution story
- Improvised weapons
- Animal companions
Price: $59.99 Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox
Where to Buy
Available on Green Man Gaming and Steam.
11. Yakuza 0
Why it’s similar
A crime drama with memorable characters and a packed city full of activities and side stories, a GTA-adjacent classic.
What makes it unique
Brawler combat and an absurd amount of minigames sit beside a genuinely gripping mob narrative.
Key features
- 1980s Tokyo and Osaka
- Brawler combat
- Dozens of minigames
- Gripping crime story
Price: $19.99 Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox
Where to Buy
Available on Green Man Gaming and Steam.
12. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
Why it’s similar
Open-city exploration and an engaging narrative with a huge amount of side content and minigames.
What makes it unique
Turn-based RPG combat and a Hawaii setting expand the series far beyond its brawler roots.
Key features
- Honolulu and Yokohama
- Turn-based RPG combat
- Massive side content
- Dual protagonists
Price: $69.99 Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox
Where to Buy
Available on Green Man Gaming and Steam.
13. L.A. Noire
Why it’s similar
Rockstar-style storytelling with a realistic world and detective gameplay, a different angle on the open-world crime genre.
What makes it unique
Facial-capture interrogations make reading suspects the core mechanic, not shooting.
Key features
- 1940s Los Angeles
- Detective interrogations
- Facial-capture tech
- Crime-solving cases
Price: $29.99 Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch
Where to Buy
Available on Green Man Gaming and Steam.
14. The Saboteur
Why it’s similar
Open-world action with stealth, driving, and sabotage missions, a cult classic crime-and-resistance sandbox.
What makes it unique
A “will to fight” system paints liberated areas in color against a noir black-and-white occupied city.
Key features
- WWII occupied Paris
- Stealth and sabotage
- Color-restoration system
- Open-world driving
Price: $14.99 Platforms: PC
Where to Buy
Available on Steam.
15. Crackdown 3
Why it’s similar
Sandbox action with open-world freedom and explosive combat, GTA’s chaos with a super-powered twist.
What makes it unique
An agility-and-strength progression system lets you leap across skyscrapers as you level up.
Key features
- Super-powered agent
- Vertical open world
- Destructible environments
- Co-op campaign
Price: $29.99 Platforms: PC, Xbox
Where to Buy
Available on the Microsoft Store and Xbox.
Full Comparison Table
| # | Game | Setting | Price | Platforms |
| 1 | Grand Theft Auto V | Los Santos | $29.99 | PC, PS, Xbox |
| 2 | Red Dead Redemption 2 | Wild West | $59.99 | PC, PS4, Xbox |
| 3 | Cyberpunk 2077 | Night City | $59.99 | PC, PS5, Xbox |
| 4 | Watch Dogs 2 | San Francisco | $29.99 | PC, PS4, Xbox One |
| 5 | Sleeping Dogs | Hong Kong | $19.99 | PC, PS4, Xbox One |
| 6 | Mafia: Definitive Edition | 1930s Lost Heaven | $39.99 | PC, PS, Xbox |
| 7 | Saints Row (2022) | Santo Ileso | $49.99 | PC, PS, Xbox |
| 8 | Watch Dogs: Legion | Near-future London | $29.99 | PC, PS, Xbox |
| 9 | Far Cry 6 | Yara | $59.99 | PC, PS, Xbox |
| 10 | Yakuza 0 | 1980s Japan | $19.99 | PC, PS4, Xbox |
| 11 | Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth | Honolulu | $69.99 | PC, PS, Xbox |
| 12 | Just Cause 4 | Solís | $19.99 | PC, PS4, Xbox One |
| 13 | L.A. Noire | 1940s Los Angeles | $29.99 | PC, PS, Xbox, Switch |
| 14 | The Saboteur | WWII Paris | $14.99 | PC |
| 15 | Crackdown 3 | New Providence | $29.99 | PC, Xbox |
Conclusion
GTA 6 fans have plenty to play while the countdown runs. Want the purest GTA fix? Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption 2 are Rockstar’s own, and no one builds worlds like them. Craving a modern open-world city? Cyberpunk 2077, Watch Dogs 2, and Watch Dogs: Legion deliver dense urban sandboxes with their own twists.
Here for the crime story? Sleeping Dogs, Mafia, Yakuza 0, and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth put character and drama first. And if you just want chaos, Saints Row, Just Cause 4, and Crackdown 3 hand you the keys to the city. Every game here earned its spot through real open-world or crime-genre craft, not just a “sandbox” tag. Come November 19, you will be more than ready for Leonida.
Read More Like This!
15 Games Like GTA V You Need to Play in 2026
15 Games Like Cyberpunk 2077 You Need to Play in 2026
15 Games Like Fallout 4 You Need to Play in 2026
15 Games Like Forza Horizon 6 You Need to Play in 2026
15 Games Like Ghost of Tsushima You Need to Play in 2026
15 Games Like The Witcher 3 You Need to Play in 2026
15 Games Like Borderlands 4 You Need to Play in 2026
15 Games Like Hollow Knight: Silksong You Need to Play in 2026
15 Games Like Coffee Talk Tokyo You Need to Play in 2026
15 Games Like Bloodborne You Need to Play in 2026
15 Games Like Thick as Thieves You Need to Play in 2026
15 Games Like Elden Ring Nightreign You Need to Play in 2026
15 Games Like Ghost of Yotei You Need to Play in 2026
15 Games Like Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 to Play in 2026
15 Games Like Lies of P You Need to Play in 2026