Brief Overview
- GTA VI is set to launch on November 19, 2026.
- Here are 5 GTA VI alternatives that can make the waiting time easier for the fans.
The hype for GTA VI is real, and gamers are already excited for November 19, 2026. This is the day the game will be released. The game will feature reworked combat, dynamic NPC behaviour, deep character customization, and over 200 vehicles. But the wait is long. If you are craving that open-world criminal thrill right now, here are the best GTA VI alternatives that feel similar, each in its own unique way.
Red Dead Redemption 2
Red Dead Redemption is a Rockstar Games presentation, similar to the upcoming GTA VI. The theme is set in a breathtaking recreation of the American frontier in 1899. You play as Arthur Morgan, an outlaw trying to survive in a world that’s leaving his kind behind.
What makes RDR2 feel closest to GTA VI in spirit is Rockstar’s attention to detail.
The world feels genuinely alive. NPCs remember you, weather changes how people behave, and every valley, swamp, and mountain town has its own personality.
At the same time, the storytelling is cinematic and emotionally rich. Compared to GTA VI, RDR2 trades city streets for wilderness and getaway cars for horses, but the DNA is identical.
Cyberpunk 2077
When Cyberpunk 2077 launched in 2020, it was a technical disaster.
Four years and several major updates later, it has become one of the most impressive open-world RPGs ever made and a serious rival to GTA.
Night City is a huge, neon-lit city full of crime and corruption. You play as V, a mercenary trying to survive in a dangerous future.
The world is packed with side missions that feel like their own stories, and the main plot features Johnny Silverhand, played by Keanu Reeves.
GTA VI is about realistic crime stories. Cyberpunk 2077 is more sci-fi — you hack people, add cybernetic upgrades to your body, and deal with powerful corporations.
If GTA VI promises the biggest open world Rockstar has built, Night City already feels like the most vertical and layered city in gaming.
Watch Dogs 2
The original Watch Dogs took itself too seriously. Watch Dogs 2 fixed that. Set in a vibrant, sun-soaked version of San Francisco, you play as Marcus Holloway, a young hacker fighting back against a surveillance-obsessed megacorporation called ctOS.
What makes Watch Dogs 2 feel a bit like GTA is its playground energy. You can hack traffic lights to cause car pileups, take control of cranes, use drones for reconnaissance, or simply cruise around a beautifully recreated Bay Area, causing cheerful mayhem.
The tone is lighter and more playful than GTA, but the open-world freedom is genuinely excellent.
Compared to GTA VI, Watch Dogs 2 trades gunfights for gadgets. It rewards creativity and lateral thinking, and its online co-op mode lets you drag a friend into the chaos.
Mafia: Definitive Edition
If GTA VI is the flashy summer blockbuster, Mafia: Definitive Edition is the prestige crime drama.
A full remake of the 2002 classic, this game follows Tommy Angelo, a cab driver who gets pulled into the Italian-American mob during the Prohibition-era 1930s in the fictional city of Lost Heaven.
This is a slower, more narrative-focused experience than GTA. Missions are tightly scripted, the world isn’t as open, and the focus is firmly on storytelling.
What Mafia: Definitive Edition offers that most open-world games don’t is a sense of consequence. Every action feels meaningful. The period setting, period cars, Tommy guns, and jazz clubs are lovingly recreated.
If GTA VI’s story leans into its Bonnie-and-Clyde inspiration, Mafia shows exactly how powerful grounded crime storytelling can be.
Saints Row (2022)
Saints Row (2022) is the most divisive game on this list. It’s a reboot of the chaotic crime series, sending you to the desert city of Santo Ileso as a fully customisable protagonist who builds a criminal empire with a crew.
The game’s main draw is its silliness.
Missions include things like staging insurance fraud by throwing yourself into traffic, fighting over gang territory, and running businesses that range from shady to outright absurd. It embraces the ridiculous.
That said, reviews were mixed at launch because of bugs, awkward combat, and repetitive missions.
Next to GTA VI, which aims for polished, next-gen detail, Saints Row (2022) feels a bit rough. But if you want something light, funny, and purposely silly to pass the time, it’s worth trying.
Ready For GTA VI?
Let’s be very honest, none of these games can be similar to GTA VI, but each fills a different piece of the open-world crime-game-shaped hole.
Which means, if you want cinematic storytelling? Play Red Dead Redemption 2. Want Futuristic density? Play Cyberpunk 2077.
Playful mayhem? Play Watch Dogs 2 or Saints Row (2022). For pure crime drama and storytelling? Play Mafia: Definitive Edition.
The wait for November 19, 2026, just got a little more manageable.
FAQs
What open-world games should I play before GTA VI releases?
You can play games like RDR 2, Mafia: Definitive Edition, and Cyberpunk 2077.
Which game is most similar to GTA VI in terms of gameplay?
All the games have different gameplays, but RDR 2 matches the pattern, as the creators of GTA VI and RDR 2 are the same.
