November 19, 2026 is a long way to sit still. That is the day GTA 6 finally arrives, and the wait is the hard part. The good news is that the genre GTA built is stacked right now. These ten games cover every reason you love Rockstar’s sandbox, whether that is the crime story, the open city, the dumb fun or the driving.
The Verdict: The closest fix is still GTA 5 and GTA Online, which are not going anywhere. For a deeper single-player world, nothing beats Red Dead Redemption 2. Everything else on this list depends on which part of GTA you actually miss.
The picks
Grand Theft Auto V and GTA Online
Start with the obvious. The game you are waiting on a sequel to is still one of the best in its class, and GTA Online keeps getting updates. If you never finished the story, or you bailed on Online years ago, this is the cheapest, surest way to sit in Rockstar’s world until the new one opens. The downside is familiar. You have probably played it, and Los Santos is a decade old now.
Red Dead Redemption 2
Rockstar’s other masterpiece, and the one to play if you want the studio’s craft rather than its chaos. The world is slower and heavier than GTA, built for getting lost in rather than blowing up. Arthur Morgan’s story is the best writing Rockstar has ever shipped. Be ready for the pace, though. The realism that makes it special also makes the opening hours a slow burn that loses some people before it grips them.
Cyberpunk 2077
Night City is the most convincing open city since GTA 5, full stop. After years of patches and the Phantom Liberty expansion, the launch disaster is ancient history, and what is left is a dense first-person RPG with a city that feels genuinely lived in. Play it if you want scale and atmosphere over crime-spree sandbox freedom. It leans more RPG than GTA, so do not expect the same anything-goes physics playground.
Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition
An undercover cop buried too deep in a Hong Kong triad. That premise carries one of the most underrated open worlds out there, with melee combat that borrows from the Batman: Arkham games and a city that nails its setting. It is more than a decade old, so the systems feel dated next to modern open worlds. The story and the sense of place hold up beautifully, and it is usually cheap.
Saints Row: The Third Remastered
GTA’s loud, dumb, gleeful cousin. Where Rockstar plays its crime stories mostly straight, Saints Row goes for full cartoon chaos, and the third game is where the series found its identity before it lost the thread. Grab it when you want the sandbox without the seriousness. The humor is broad and very 2011, which lands or grates depending on your mood.
Mafia: Definitive Edition
If the GTA you love is the crime saga and not the rampage, this is your pick. It is a tight, linear remake of the 2002 original, a 1930s mob story with a real beginning, middle and end rather than an endless sandbox. The driving and shooting are solid without being standouts. You come to this one for the story and the period atmosphere, both of which are excellent.
Watch Dogs 2
The first Watch Dogs was grim and forgettable. The sequel fixed almost everything: a sunny, playful San Francisco, a likeable crew, and hacking that turns the whole city into a toy. It is the lighter, more inventive side of the open-world formula. The story is throwaway and the shooting is the weakest part, so lean into the gadgets and the traversal rather than going in guns first.
Like a Dragon: Yakuza
A dense slice of a Japanese city, stuffed with crime drama up top and total absurdity underneath. One minute you are in a tense story beat, the next you are running a cabaret club or singing karaoke. Yakuza 0 is the usual starting point and it is fantastic. The catch worth knowing is scale: these are compact, hand-crafted districts rather than sprawling maps, so it trades GTA’s size for depth.
Just Cause 4
Pure, uncut chaos. There is barely a story here and the writing is forgettable, but no other series lets you grapple a helicopter to a fuel tanker and parasail away from the explosion. Fire it up when you want a physics playground and nothing more. It gets repetitive if you treat it as a long campaign, so play it in short, ridiculous bursts.
Forza Horizon 5
Maybe it is the driving you miss most. Forza Horizon 5 is the best open-world racer going, a gorgeous open Mexico built entirely around the joy of going fast through it. No crime, no story stakes, just the cleanest driving feel on the list. It is not trying to be GTA, so if you need the full sandbox this only covers one craving. For that one craving, nothing does it better.
Frequently asked questions
When does GTA 6 come out?
November 19, 2026, on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, with a PC version expected later. Our GTA 6 guide tracks everything Rockstar has confirmed.
What game is most like GTA?
GTA 5 itself, which is still active and updated. Outside the series, Saints Row: The Third comes closest to the chaotic sandbox feel, while Red Dead Redemption 2 is the better game if you want Rockstar’s depth.
Is Cyberpunk 2077 worth playing in 2026?
Yes. After years of updates and the Phantom Liberty expansion, it is one of the strongest open worlds available, as long as you go in expecting an RPG rather than a crime sandbox.
Related reads
Six months is a long wait, but it is a good time to have an open-world habit. Start with GTA 5 if you want the literal fix, or Red Dead if you want the better game. What are you replaying until November? Tell us in the comments.
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