10 Games Like GTA 5 (to Play While You Wait for GTA 6)
Games like GTA 5 are rare, let’s say. Nothing comes close to it, if you ask me. It’s a legendary game. But, there are a few that can feel like GTA 5, or maybe have similar mechanics. Which is good news for us, since we have months to wait until GTA 6 drops (if it drops when they said it would).
To save you some time searching and going through trial and error (games ain’t cheap, after all), I’ve rounded up those that are most similar to GTA 5. Try them out — I hope you find something here you like!
1. Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077 is best described as a futuristic-looking GTA. So, if by now you haven’t played it, I highly recommend it.
I played it back then when it was released, full of bugs, and all kinds of problems, and still enjoyed it. Since its release in 2020, they worked on the game and fixed all of the issues, polished it even more and they’ve added some new stuff. So now you can purchase it without fear of how it might turn out.
Like GTA V, Cyberpunk throws you into a sprawling open world full of chaos, crime, and questionable morals, but instead of Los Santos, you’re tearing through Night City, a gritty metropolis soaked in neon and corporate corruption. You play as V, a mercenary caught in a high-stakes mess involving cybernetic upgrades, gang wars, and Keanu Reeves as a digital ghost with a vendetta.
The freedom to hijack vehicles, take on side gigs, or just stir up trouble on the streets will feel instantly familiar. But there are some RPG elements like character builds, branching dialogue, and hacking mechanics
2. Just Cause 4
In Just Cause 4, you get to play as Rico Rodríguez who is determined to discover the truth about a fictional nation called Solís.
It’s a huge open-world map that has stunning terrain covered with all kinds of biomes. Just Cause 4 features a wide range of vehicles and weapons including the staple grappling hook and wingsuit for easier exploration. I’ve spent countless hours just gliding around and having fun.
You’ve still got the sandbox freedom (stealing vehicles, causing destruction, and tackling missions in any order. But where GTA V leans into realism and narrative, Just Cause 4 is unapologetically over-the-top. You’re not just hijacking cars, you’re skydiving into enemy bases, grappling jets out of the sky, and literally weaponizing weather. There’s less emphasis on story and characters, but the sheer creative freedom to cause destruction in ridiculous ways makes it a blast.
3. Watch Dogs 2
Hands down, the Watch Dogs 2 is the game closest to GTA V when it comes to the looks of it. It’s like GTA mixed with a lot of elements of hacking and sneaking around.
It’s very underrated with a lot of potential. Watch Dogs 2 is a great game but it could have been one of those games for history books — unfortunately it isn’t.
Anyways, If you haven’t already then you should get it and experience it for yourself. There is a lot of fun to have in the fictionalized version of the San Francisco Bay Area.
4. Mafia: Definitive Edition
As someone who played the original version of Mafia and had an absolute blast, I was overjoyed to hear that they’ll be doing the remake of it.
You get to experience the life of the old-school mobsters and what it was like in their daily lives. You get to see the harsh reality of it all. Also, you get to witness the rise and fall of the main protagonist Tommy as he tells his story to a detective in order to save the lives of his family.
Back then when I played the game, I considered it a masterpiece. Now, many years and games later, and I’ve still gotta admit that it’s a whole experience playing it.
5. Police Simulator: Patrol Officers
If you ever wondered how it would be to play a Police Officer in GTA V, worry not. This Police simulator can give you that experience. You get to play as a cop and stop those who are breaking the law or doing some kind of dangerous stuff.
6. Sleeping Dogs
Sleeping Dogs is like GTA 5 but in Hong Kong. You get car chases, gunfights, criminal underworld drama, but the twist is in the fists. As undercover cop Wei Shen, you’re just as likely to brawl through a street gang as shoot your way out, with a fluid, brutal martial arts system that feels like an action movie come to life.
Here, the focus on hand-to-hand combat, slick driving mechanics, and a surprisingly emotional story about loyalty, identity, and honor. Think GTA with a splash of John Woo and Infernal Affairs. It’s grittier, more compact, and arguably more stylish.
7. The Yakuza Series
This is a seriously underrated option if you’re craving more GTA 5. It plays out more like a gloriously weird crime drama mixed with a life sim. Set mostly in Kamurocho (a fictional stand-in for Tokyo’s Kabukichō district), these games follow ex-yakuza Kazuma Kiryu as he punches his way through gang wars, political conspiracies, and emotional turmoil, when he’s not singing karaoke, managing real estate, or breaking up cults.
Unlike GTA V, the world isn’t huge, but it’s incredibly dense. You can’t steal cars or mow down pedestrians, but you can get into street fights every block, help strangers with absurd side quests, and get invested in surprisingly heartfelt subplots. If GTA V is a blockbuster, Yakuza is a full-season crime epic with a sense of humor.
8. Saints Row
Funnily enough, Saints Row started as a GTA clone, but by the time it hit Saints Row IV, it had veered off the deep end, in a good way (mostly). This series ditches realism for absurdity.
At its core, it’s still about stealing cars, shooting bad guys, and building a criminal empire, but everything is turned up to eleven. The humor is juvenile, the missions are ridiculous, and the weapons range from dubstep guns to inflatable tentacles.
Where GTA V takes a satirical jab at American culture, Saints Row is more like an unfiltered cartoon version of it.
9. Red Dead Redemption 2
Red Dead Redemption 2 is GTA V’s slower, more introspective cowboy sibling. Made by the same studio, it swaps muscle cars for horses and machine guns for revolvers, but the DNA is unmistakably the same. You’re still in an open world full of crime, chaos, and morally gray choices, just with a saddle and spurs.
The key difference is tone and pacing. RDR2 leans heavily into character development, realism, and atmosphere. You’re Arthur Morgan, an outlaw struggling with loyalty, change, and mortality as the age of outlaws fades. It’s less about causing random havoc (though you still can) and more about immersing yourself in a living, breathing world full of stunning detail and emotional weight.
If you’re into open-world games, check these out.
10. Lego City Undercover
Okay, hear me out. LEGO City Undercover is may sound silly, but it’s a surprisingly great family-friendly (ish) version of GTA 5. You play as Chase McCain, an undercover cop in a a large, open-world LEGO city. There’s car chases, disguises, goofy criminals, and a ton of side activities, just without the blood, profanity, or moral ambiguity.
You can still steal vehicles, complete missions, and explore the city’s many secrets, but it’s all wrapped in lighthearted, family-safe fun.
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