Best Open-World Crime Games to Play While Waiting for GTA VI

If you want one clear recommendation while waiting for Grand Theft Auto VI, start with Red Dead Redemption 2 for Rockstar-style world detail and freedom. Choose Cyberpunk 2077 instead if a modern city, vehicles and character progression matter more; pick Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition for organized-crime drama and martial-arts combat.

Rockstar’s currently published plan lists November 19, 2026 for GTA VI on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. That is a changeable publisher plan, so confirm the date and platforms when you read this. In the meantime, no single game reproduces GTA’s combination of contemporary crime, driving, missions, satire and sandbox freedom. The useful approach is to identify which part of that mix you miss most.

#	Preview	Product	Price
1		Red Dead Redemption 2 PS4 Brand New Factory Sealed	$23.80	Buy on Amazon
2		Red Dead Redemption - PlayStation 5	$24.99	Buy on Amazon

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At-a-glance comparison

The games below are complementary alternatives rather than one-for-one replacements. Each preserves a different part of the open-world crime formula and gives up something else.

Red Dead Redemption 2: the best substitute for world detail and immersion

Red Dead Redemption 2 is the strongest overall alternative when what you love about GTA is the feeling that the world exists beyond the next mission marker. Its historical western setting replaces the contemporary city, but the trade is deliberate: the game emphasizes a richly detailed environment, freedom to wander and a slower, story-led pace.

#1 Best Overall

Red Dead Redemption 2 PS4 Brand New Factory Sealed

• From the creators of Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption
• The deepest and most complex world Rockstar Games has ever created
• Covers a huge range of 19th century American landscapes
• Play as Arthur Morgan, lead enforcer in the notorious Van der Linde gang
• Interact with every character in the world with more than just your gun;Engage in conversation with people you meet. Your actions influence Arthur's honour;Horses are a cowboy's best friend, both transport and personal companion;Bond with your horse as you ride together to unlock new abilities

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That change of era affects the entire rhythm. You are not looking for a modern urban crime sandbox, so it cannot satisfy someone whose priority is present-day driving, city traffic or contemporary criminal activity. Instead, it works for players who value atmosphere, observation and the sense of inhabiting a place. The world-detail appeal is the reason it belongs at the top of this list, even though its genre and period are different.

Choose it when

• You want the most immersive, carefully observed open world in this group.
• You prefer a serious story and are comfortable with a slower pace.
• You want freedom and exploration more than a modern-city setting.

Think twice when

Choose another game if your essential GTA ingredient is a contemporary metropolis or a fast, vehicle-centered sandbox. Red Dead Redemption 2 is a substitute for world-building and immersion, not for GTA’s modern criminal fantasy.

Cyberpunk 2077: the modern-city pick with RPG progression

Cyberpunk 2077 is the clearest choice for readers who want a large, contemporary-feeling city and a steady sense of character development. Night City supplies vehicles, crime activities and gigs, while its role-playing structure lets progression shape how you approach the campaign.

The setting is futuristic rather than contemporary, so the resemblance to GTA is functional rather than literal. You get urban scale, traffic between activities and a criminal underworld, but the game is built around role-playing decisions and progression rather than GTA’s particular blend of satire and free-form crime. That difference is a strength if you want a more defined character arc or a build-oriented way to play.

What makes it a strong waiting game

• City focus: Night City gives you a dense urban backdrop instead of a rural or period setting.
• Activity variety: Vehicles, crime activities and gigs provide reasons to leave the main story path.
• Progression: The RPG structure gives the campaign a sense of development beyond simply unlocking the next mission.

Its central compromise

If you want GTA’s contemporary crime satire exactly, the futuristic setting and role-playing design will feel like a different kind of game. Pick Cyberpunk 2077 when the modern-city atmosphere and progression loop matter more than matching GTA’s tone.

Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition: the organized-crime and martial-arts choice

Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition is the most direct recommendation for anyone who wants a crime drama first and an open-world driving sandbox second. It combines an open-world criminal story with martial arts and stunt action, giving hand-to-hand combat a role that the other recommendations do not share in the same way.

Its appeal is focused. The organized-crime framing supplies the dramatic pressure, while melee encounters and stunts keep missions from being defined solely by driving or gunplay. That makes it a useful alternative when your favorite GTA moments are undercover tension, rival factions and close-quarters action rather than simply roaming through a city.

Best reasons to play it

• Crime-drama focus: The campaign is built around organized-crime storytelling.
• Martial arts: Hand-to-hand combat is a defining part of the experience.
• Stunt energy: Action sequences are not limited to standard open-world travel.

Where it differs from GTA

It is not the best choice if your priority is a pure driving sandbox with maximum freedom. Its identity comes from the combination of story, melee combat and stunts, so choose it for that blend rather than expecting a direct replacement for every GTA system.

Watch Dogs 2: the hacking and infiltration alternative

Watch Dogs 2 is built around a city-focused hacking concept. It suits players who enjoy treating an urban environment as a system to manipulate: infiltration, exploration and problem-solving are central to its appeal.

The game’s tone and mechanics separate it from GTA. Instead of making conventional criminal driving the main attraction, it gives you a different way to interact with the city. That makes it especially valuable for players who remember the freedom of approaching an objective from multiple angles and want systemic tools rather than another straightforward crime campaign.

Choose it for systemic urban play

• You want hacking to be the defining tool in an open-world city.
• You prefer infiltration and experimentation to a conventional driving-first loop.
• You want modern urban exploration with a tone distinct from GTA’s crime satire.

Know the trade-off

Watch Dogs 2 is not trying to recreate GTA’s exact criminal fantasy. Its value is the way hacking changes how you enter, investigate and move through the city. If that system is not a priority, another game on this list will fit better.

Saints Row: the choice for comic, exaggerated chaos

Saints Row keeps the broad idea of an open-world crime sandbox but turns the tone toward comedy and exaggeration. It is the right waiting game when you want the freedom to cause trouble without the weight of a grounded crime drama.

The difference is more than a few jokes. A lighter, irreverent tone changes how missions and open-world activities feel: spectacle and absurdity become the point. That makes Saints Row a useful counterweight to the serious storytelling of Red Dead Redemption 2 or Mafia III, but a poor match if you want realism or solemn organized-crime drama.

Pick it when the mood matters most

• You want exaggerated action rather than grounded criminal storytelling.
• You value open-world freedom and comic situations over realism.
• You want a lighter alternative for short, chaotic sessions.

Its limit as a GTA substitute

Saints Row preserves the sandbox idea while changing the emotional register. It can replace the freedom and mayhem, but not the serious or satirical balance you might associate with GTA. Go in expecting a comic interpretation of the formula.

Rank #2

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Red Dead Redemption - PlayStation 5

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Mafia III: grounded organized crime in a tighter world

Mafia III is aimed at readers who want a character-led organized-crime campaign rather than the broadest possible sandbox. Its open world is more compact, and its slower structure keeps the protagonist’s story at the center.

That focus is the point. A smaller world can support a more concentrated campaign, while the grounded crime framing gives the game a different feel from the comic excess of Saints Row or the futuristic role-playing of Cyberpunk 2077. It is a strong option when you would rather follow a deliberate crime narrative than spend most of your time searching for unscripted distractions.

Choose it for

• A grounded organized-crime atmosphere.
• A slower, character-led campaign.
• A more compact open world that supports the main story instead of competing with it.

Do not choose it for maximum sandbox breadth

If your main requirement is the largest range of free-roaming systems, Mafia III is the wrong fit among these six. Its appeal is concentration and narrative direction, not the widest possible collection of activities.

How the six games differ by the GTA feature you miss

If you miss a modern city

Start with Cyberpunk 2077 for Night City, vehicles, crime activities and RPG progression. Choose Watch Dogs 2 if the city matters mainly as a network to hack and infiltrate. Both provide urban settings, but they answer different needs: one emphasizes role-playing development, the other systemic hacking.

If you miss world detail and immersion

Red Dead Redemption 2 is the strongest fit. Its historical western setting is a fundamental change from GTA, yet its detailed world and freedom make it the best choice for players who want to disappear into a carefully built place.

If you miss organized-crime drama

Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition favors crime-story momentum with martial-arts and stunt action. Mafia III is better when you want a slower, more grounded and character-led campaign in a compact world.

If you miss comic mayhem

Saints Row is the obvious pick. It retains open-world criminal freedom while moving decisively toward exaggerated, irreverent action.

If you miss driving above all else

None of these games is a complete replacement for GTA’s entire driving-and-crime combination. Cyberpunk 2077 supplies vehicles within a futuristic RPG city, while Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition adds driving to a crime story whose defining strengths are melee combat and stunts. Choose between those two according to whether progression or hand-to-hand action is the more important companion to driving.

Setting, tone and story: the trade-offs that matter

Setting

The list spans a historical western, a futuristic metropolis, contemporary urban crime, a modern hacking-focused city, comic open-world crime and a grounded organized-crime campaign. That range is why a single “best GTA replacement” would be misleading: the setting changes the activities, pacing and emotional tone of every recommendation.

Tone

Red Dead Redemption 2 and Mafia III are the serious, story-forward choices. Cyberpunk 2077 uses a futuristic role-playing frame, Sleeping Dogs centers crime drama and martial arts, Watch Dogs 2 leans into systems and urban exploration, and Saints Row is deliberately comic. Decide how much realism or irreverence you want before comparing features.

World density and freedom

World freedom does not mean the same thing in every game. In Red Dead Redemption 2, it means immersion and room to explore. In Cyberpunk 2077, it is tied to a city full of vehicles, gigs and crime activities. In Watch Dogs 2, it comes from manipulating urban systems. Mafia III intentionally narrows the world to keep its campaign focused.

Combat and mission structure

Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition is the clear hand-to-hand specialist. Watch Dogs 2 is the infiltration specialist. Cyberpunk 2077 uses gigs and RPG progression, while Mafia III and Red Dead Redemption 2 put more weight on character-led storytelling. Saints Row prioritizes exaggerated action and comic scenarios. These are different loops, not interchangeable feature checkboxes.

A practical pick order

1. Start with Red Dead Redemption 2 if immersion, world detail and freedom are your top priorities and a historical setting is acceptable.
2. Choose Cyberpunk 2077 if you want an urban setting, vehicles, crime activities, gigs and RPG progression.
3. Choose Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition if organized-crime drama, martial arts and stunts matter more than a pure driving sandbox.
4. Choose Watch Dogs 2 if hacking and systemic infiltration are the features you most want to explore.
5. Choose Saints Row if you want open-world criminal freedom delivered as exaggerated comedy.
6. Choose Mafia III if you prefer a grounded, slower, character-led crime campaign in a more compact world.

Buying and availability checks

The recommendation list includes different releases and editions, so check the exact product page before buying. Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition is the specific edition named here; the other games may have platform or edition differences depending on the store and region.

• Confirm the platform you own before purchasing.
• Check that the listing is the intended edition, especially for Sleeping Dogs.
• Verify regional availability, stock and whether a physical listing is new or used.
• For GTA VI, recheck Rockstar’s release plan and the listed PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S platforms because publisher plans can change.

The bottom line

There is no single game to bridge every gap until GTA VI. Red Dead Redemption 2 is the best broad substitute for world detail and immersion; Cyberpunk 2077 is the strongest modern-city and progression choice; Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition delivers the most focused crime-and-martial-arts experience. Watch Dogs 2, Saints Row and Mafia III each win when hacking, comic chaos or grounded organized-crime storytelling is the feature you miss most.

Quick Recap

Bestseller No. 1

Red Dead Redemption 2 PS4 Brand New Factory Sealed

From the creators of Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption; The deepest and most complex world Rockstar Games has ever created

$23.80

SaleBestseller No. 2

Red Dead Redemption - PlayStation 5

$24.99

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