10 Games to Play While You Wait for GTA 6

Updated October 3, 2026. Grand Theft Auto VI is due on November 19, 2026 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, which leaves about seven weeks to fill. The best way to use them is not to replay trailers. Pick one or two games below that hit a specific part of the GTA formula, whether that is crime-story drama, a city you can get lost in, or pure open-world chaos.

What GTA 6 Is (and Why These Picks Fit)

Rockstar's official GTA VI page lists a November 19, 2026 release on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Rockstar has not announced a PC version. The game is set in the state of Leonida, a modern take on Florida built around Vice City, and its two leads are Jason and Lucia. For the full rundown of editions, pricing news and what has been confirmed so far, see our GTA 6 release date, price and editions guide.

Every game on this list was chosen to match at least one of those ingredients: a crime story with a strong lead, a dense and believable city, a Florida or tropical setting, or a sandbox where getting chased by the police is half the fun. We also say plainly where a pick falls short of GTA, because some of these games play very differently.

All 10 Games at a Glance

Prices below are the regular US list prices on Steam when we checked on October 3, 2026. Most of these games go on sale often, and several were heavily discounted on the day we checked, so look at the current price before you buy.

The Rockstar Picks: RDR2, GTA V and Vice City

The safest way to prepare for a Rockstar game is to play more Rockstar. These three show where the studio is now, how it builds a modern GTA, and the first version of the city GTA 6 returns to.

1. Red Dead Redemption 2

This is Rockstar's last big single-player game before GTA 6, so it is the best guide to what the studio's next open world might feel like. You play Arthur Morgan, an outlaw in Dutch van der Linde's gang, in 1899 across five fictional states. The epilogue is set in 1907. The world reacts to almost everything you do, and the slow pace and character-driven story are close to what fans expect from GTA 6's two-lead setup.

It is a long, deliberate game, so if you start now you may still be riding through Lemoyne on November 19. Red Dead Online is included. RDR2 runs on PS4, Xbox One and PC, and PS5 and Series X|S owners can play it through backward compatibility.

2. Grand Theft Auto V

If you have somehow never finished GTA V's story, now is the time. It switches between three leads, Michael De Santa, Franklin Clinton and Trevor Philips, in Los Santos, Rockstar's version of Los Angeles, and its heist missions are still the template for the series. GTA Online is included with the game.

A note on subscriptions: GTA V left Xbox Game Pass on April 15, 2026, so you now need to buy it. On PC, the Enhanced version (with the PS5/Series X|S-era upgrades) arrived on March 4, 2025 as a free update for existing owners.

3. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City – The Definitive Edition

GTA 6 brings the series back to Vice City, so the 2002 original is the obvious history lesson. You play Tommy Vercetti in 1986. After he is released from prison and a drug deal goes wrong, he builds a criminal empire across a neon version of Miami. The Definitive Edition, part of the Trilogy released in November 2021, updates the visuals and controls.

Be warned that the Trilogy had a rough launch, with technical problems and very poor reviews in 2021. It is still the easiest legal way to play Vice City on current hardware. It is on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Series X|S, Switch, PC and mobile. Vice City was taken off Netflix's mobile games library in December 2024, so that is no longer a free option for subscribers.

Mob Stories: Mafia: The Old Country and Mafia: Definitive Edition

If the part of GTA you love most is the crime story, with loyalty, betrayal and a lead in over his head, the Mafia series does that with a tighter focus. These are not sandbox games. They are linear, story-led and much shorter.

4. Mafia: The Old Country

Hangar 13's 2025 prequel takes the series to early 1900s Sicily. You play Enzo Favara, rising through a crime family. 2K describes it as a focused single-player game built on Unreal Engine 5, with melee combat, gunplay, period vehicles and horseback riding. It launched on August 8, 2025 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC at $49.99, below the usual full price.

It is a good choice if you want a complete, well-paced crime story finished well before November. If you are looking for an open world to wander, skip this one, because 2K deliberately kept it linear.

5. Mafia: Definitive Edition

This is a complete remake of the 2002 original, not just a remaster. You play Tommy Angelo, a taxi driver who joins Don Salieri's crime family in Lost Heaven during the Great Depression. The 1930s cars, tommy guns and noir atmosphere make a good contrast to GTA's satire.

The timing is good: on August 14, 2026, a free upgrade brought 60fps to PS5 and Xbox Series X|S for eligible owners. On Xbox, only digital copies qualify, and old saves do not carry over. A Free Ride mode lets you explore Lost Heaven without missions once the story is done.

Big-City Open Worlds: Cyberpunk 2077 and Watch Dogs 2

These two are for players who mainly want a big modern city to explore, full of side jobs, cars and things to get into.

6. Cyberpunk 2077

Night City, set between Northern and Southern California, is one of the densest cities in any open-world game. You play V, a customizable mercenary. The Phantom Liberty expansion and Update 2.0 in September 2023 overhauled its core systems, and the game has recovered from its rough 2020 launch.

The main difference from GTA is that you play in first person, with third-person views limited to driving and some scenes, and it plays like an RPG, with builds and skill trees. If you mostly want driving and crime-story missions, that is worth knowing before you buy. More in our Cyberpunk 2077 hub.

7. Watch Dogs 2

Ubisoft's 2016 sequel is set across the San Francisco Bay Area, including San Francisco, Oakland, Marin County and Silicon Valley. You play Marcus Holloway, a hacker working with the DedSec group. Hacking is the main idea: you can control cars, mess with infrastructure and turn the city against your targets, or just go in with 3D-printed weapons.

Its sunny, satirical take on tech culture is closer in tone to GTA than most imitators manage, and it supports online co-op. On Steam it is often heavily discounted, which makes it one of the cheapest good picks on this list.

Crime Dramas With a Twist: Sleeping Dogs and Like a Dragon

8. Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition

Sleeping Dogs is the most-requested answer to "games like GTA" for good reason. You play Wei Shen, an undercover police officer working inside the Sun On Yee Triad in Hong Kong, caught between his cover and his job. Combat is mostly hand-to-hand, and it has often been compared to the Batman Arkham games, which sets it apart from GTA's gunplay.

The Definitive Edition (PS4, Xbox One, PC) includes the DLC released for the original game. It is over a decade old and shows it in places, but the story and fights still hold up, and the price on PC is often very low.

9. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth

This is the most unusual pick, and the one that fits GTA 6's setting surprisingly well. RGG Studio's 2024 game sends Ichiban Kasuga and series hero Kazuma Kiryu to Honolulu, Hawaii. It was the first game in the series with settings outside Japan. Expect a serious crime story mixed with absurd side content, including the Dondoko Island resort-management mode and Sujimon creature battles.

The big caveat is that combat is turn-based, using a command RPG system where your party can move within a ring. If you want real-time brawling, try the older action entries in the series instead. It is on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Series X|S and PC.

Pure Chaos: Saints Row: The Third Remastered

10. Saints Row: The Third Remastered

For the side of GTA that is about blowing things up for fun, Saints Row: The Third is the classic choice. The developers' stated philosophy was "Embrace the Crazy; Fun Trumps All", and Steelport is designed for over-the-top stunts rather than realism. The 2020 remaster bundles all the DLC with updated graphics and lighting.

The whole campaign supports two-player co-op, which is rare in this genre and a good way to pass the wait with a friend. It is on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Series X|S and PC. We picked this over the 2022 Saints Row reboot because The Third is the better-reviewed and more focused game.

How to Choose: Which Game Fits Your Time and Budget

• You have a lot of free evenings: Red Dead Redemption 2 or Cyberpunk 2077. Both can easily last until launch.
• You want to finish something before November 19: Mafia: The Old Country or Mafia: Definitive Edition. Both are linear and story-focused.
• You want GTA 6 setting context: Vice City – The Definitive Edition, then Infinite Wealth for a modern tropical US city.
• You are on a tight budget: Sleeping Dogs, Watch Dogs 2 and Saints Row: The Third Remastered regularly drop to a few dollars on Steam.
• You want to play with a friend: Saints Row: The Third Remastered (co-op campaign), Watch Dogs 2 (online co-op) or GTA Online.

Subscription libraries change every month, so check before you buy. Our best Xbox Game Pass games list and the Game Pass vs PlayStation Plus comparison cover what each service currently offers. If you want something new instead, the October 2026 release calendar lists everything coming out before GTA 6.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources checked on October 3, 2026 against Rockstar Games' official GTA VI and GTA V pages, 2K's Mafia: The Old Country announcements, Steam store listings, and Xbox Game Pass departure reports.