10 Best Games to Play Before GTA 6 (2026)

The best games to play before GTA 6 give you more than a big map. They let you steal a car, escape a police chase, get tangled up in a criminal enterprise, or abandon the next mission because something interesting is happening down the street. Those are the qualities that make this list worth exploring while you wait for Rockstar’s next trip to Vice City.

Grand Theft Auto VI is scheduled to launch on November 19, 2026, for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. These recommendations are ranked by how well their crime stories, driving, action, and freedom fit a GTA fan’s interests. The connections are recommendations, rather than predictions about GTA 6’s unreleased mechanics.

If you only want one game, start with GTA V. For an alternative outside Rockstar’s catalogue, choose Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition. Prefer a change of pace? The Precinct puts you on the other side of a police pursuit, while Red Dead Redemption 2 trades city streets for an outlaw’s life.

10. The Precinct

Best for: Police pursuits and a compact urban sandbox.

The Precinct takes the crime-ridden city and vehicle chases you associate with GTA, then hands you a badge. Set in Averno City in 1983, it follows rookie officer Nick Cordell Jr. through patrol work, arrests, and gang investigations. A routine shift can escalate into a chase through streets where fences and other obstacles do not necessarily survive the pursuit.

That change of perspective is its strongest selling point. You are managing trouble instead of causing all of it, which makes the familiar police-versus-criminal setup feel different. The elevated camera also gives it a connection to GTA’s earliest games. Choose it for city patrols and sudden bursts of action; expect a smaller police sandbox rather than a sprawling third-person crime epic.

9. Saints Row: The Third Remastered

Best for: Gang warfare, customization, and outrageous action.

When you want GTA’s criminal playground with the absurdity turned up, Saints Row: The Third Remastered is an easy recommendation. The Saints arrive in Steelport as celebrities with a criminal empire to defend, and their struggle with rival organizations quickly becomes an excuse for ridiculous weapons, reckless driving, and destruction.

Character creation and vehicle customization make it especially appealing if you enjoy deciding how your criminal alter ego looks before heading out into the city. Its missions favor spectacle over restraint, and the remastered release bundles the original game’s expansion missions and additional content. This is a different tone from Rockstar’s more grounded crime drama: pick it for freedom and comedy, with little concern for realism. Make sure you select The Third Remastered rather than the separate Saints Row reboot.

8. Mafia: Definitive Edition

Best for: A focused gangster story and period driving.

Mafia: Definitive Edition follows Tommy Angelo, a taxi driver drawn into the Salieri crime family in 1930s Lost Heaven. Its appeal is the climb into organized crime: the money, loyalty, and consequences that make a gangster story compelling. Period cars and city streets give that story a setting with a clear identity.

It earns its place for players who enjoy GTA’s criminal characters and cinematic missions more than endless side activities. The campaign has a more directed structure, with the city serving the story rather than constantly offering another distraction. Free Ride gives you room to explore separately, but this is not the most open-ended sandbox here. Choose the Definitive Edition remake when you want a concentrated crime drama to finish before committing to another enormous world.

7. Cyberpunk 2077

Best for: City exploration, criminal jobs, and character builds.

Night City makes Cyberpunk 2077 a strong choice for anyone who enjoys wandering through a dangerous metropolis between jobs. You play V, a mercenary navigating gangs, fixers, and corporations while deciding how to approach encounters. Driving across the city, taking gigs, and discovering another neighborhood can be as appealing as following the central story.

The important difference is that Cyberpunk is an action RPG, with first-person combat and character builds shaping how you play. Hacking, stealth, and cyberware give it a different rhythm from GTA’s third-person missions. The Ultimate Edition includes Phantom Liberty, a separate spy-thriller expansion; you do not need it to begin the main campaign. For the modern version, look at PC, PS5, or Xbox Series X|S releases rather than assuming the older console editions offer the same updates.

6. Watch Dogs 2

Best for: Modern city freedom and creative mission approaches.

Watch Dogs 2 sends hacker Marcus Holloway into the San Francisco Bay Area with DedSec. It has the urban exploration, cars, pursuits, and third-person action that make it a natural GTA alternative. Hacking adds the distinctive part: cameras, drones, and connected infrastructure can become tools for working your way through a guarded location.

That makes it particularly suitable if you enjoy finding your own way into a mission. You can scout, manipulate the surroundings, and experiment instead of treating every encounter as a straight shootout. Its brighter tone also provides a useful break from the heavier crime stories elsewhere on this list. Choose it for a contemporary city where movement and improvisation matter; the central fantasy is being a hacker, rather than building a traditional criminal empire.

5. Red Dead Redemption 2

Best for: Rockstar storytelling and an absorbing outlaw world.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is the most substantial change of setting here, but its place is easy to justify. Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang live through robberies, escapes, and strained loyalties in 1899 America. It gives GTA fans another Rockstar crime story, with a world that rewards stopping to investigate what is happening around them.

Hunting, fishing, chance encounters, and camp life make the stretches between missions part of the attraction. It is also a slower experience: horses replace sports cars, and the game often asks you to settle into its pace. Pick it when the appeal of GTA is inhabiting a detailed world and getting invested in its characters. Leave yourself room for a long campaign, and select an edition that includes Story Mode rather than buying Red Dead Online alone.

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

Best for: Revisiting GTA’s original neon-soaked Vice City.

No recommendation list ahead of GTA 6 should overlook Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Tommy Vercetti’s rise through the criminal underworld gives you an earlier interpretation of the setting Rockstar is returning to. Its 1980s atmosphere, radio stations, and tropical streets make it a useful pick for the mood alone.

The Definitive Edition is available within GTA: The Trilogy and updates the presentation and controls, while retaining the structure of the older game. Expect shorter missions and a city built to the scale and conventions of its original era. It is worth playing for its own crime story and atmosphere, rather than as required homework for GTA 6. This is an earlier version of Vice City, not a preview of the new game’s layout or systems.

3. Grand Theft Auto IV

Best for: A grounded urban crime story and tense driving.

Niko Bellic’s attempt to start again in Liberty City makes Grand Theft Auto IV one of the most suitable games to play before GTA 6. Its criminal jobs and relationships unfold in a city where wealth and opportunity sit uncomfortably close to desperation. Between missions, driving through the boroughs and responding to invitations from friends give Liberty City a lived-in quality.

It is a stronger choice than most GTA alternatives if you want the familiar combination of third-person action, stolen cars, police attention, and a personal crime narrative. On PC, The Complete Edition includes The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony, extending that world through two further perspectives. Its handling and presentation show their age, but that heavier driving also makes escaping trouble satisfying. Check the edition and platform carefully before buying this older entry.

2. Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition

Best for: The closest crime sandbox outside the GTA series.

Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition gets the essentials right: a distinctive city, a criminal underworld, exciting vehicles, and a protagonist caught between competing loyalties. Wei Shen is an undercover officer infiltrating Hong Kong’s Triads, and that position gives the story a reason for both police work and dangerous criminal assignments.

Martial arts are the big difference. Close-range fights and environmental takedowns make encounters feel different from GTA’s emphasis on firearms. Street races, karaoke, and exploring Hong Kong keep the world interesting when you step away from the plot. The Definitive Edition includes the previously released DLC, including additional story content. This is our strongest recommendation if you want another urban action-adventure with the same broad appeal as GTA, while giving yourself a fresh city and a different style of combat.

1. Grand Theft Auto V

Best for: The most direct GTA 6 preparation.

Grand Theft Auto V remains the first recommendation because it delivers the closest overall mix: a contemporary crime story, third-person action, car chases, heists, and an open world that keeps distracting you from the next objective. Michael, Franklin, and Trevor bring three different perspectives to Los Santos and Blaine County, with their stories converging around increasingly ambitious criminal jobs.

It is the obvious choice for newcomers who want to understand the series’ modern appeal, and an easy return for players who enjoy switching between missions and free exploration. Buy a package that includes Story Mode if the campaign is your priority; the standalone GTA Online product serves a different purpose. On PC, check whether you are choosing Enhanced or Legacy. GTA V gives you the clearest starting point without requiring you to predict which features GTA 6 will retain.

Which Game Should You Play First?

Choose GTA V for the closest overall fit, Sleeping Dogs for a fresh city and martial arts, or Watch Dogs 2 for creative approaches to urban missions. Mafia: Definitive Edition suits a more focused crime story, while Red Dead Redemption 2 is the choice when you have time to settle into a long Rockstar adventure.

You do not need to finish this list before GTA 6 arrives. Pick the experience you actually want to spend time with, and check that the edition you buy includes the campaign or content described above.