8 Games Like GTA 5 for Your Next Open World Crime Spree

If you loved GTA 5, start with Red Dead Redemption 2: same publisher, same obsession with detail, different century. After that, go back to the older GTA games or try Mafia II, Sleeping Dogs and Saints Row: The Third. Everything on this list shares the same core: a city or region that feels alive without you, missions that go sideways, and the freedom to drop everything and cause trouble. Here are 8 picks, each with its own flavor.

What makes GTA 5 so hard to put down

Released in 2013 by Rockstar North, GTA 5 drops you into Los Santos, a sun-baked satire of Los Angeles where everyone is chasing money. You switch between three leads, Michael, Franklin and Trevor, at almost any moment. The heists, where you pick a crew and an approach before pulling the job, are the bits everyone still talks about.

What really keeps you there is everything else. Stealing a car just to listen to the radio, playing a round of golf, skydiving off a mountain, getting lost in Blaine County. And once the story wraps up, GTA Online takes over with friends. So a good game like GTA 5 needs two things: a story worth following and a playground you want to hang around in.

How to pick your next one

If the story and characters hooked you, go for Red Dead Redemption 2, GTA IV or Mafia II, which are more grounded and serious. If you mostly played for the chaos, Saints Row: The Third pushes the madness much further. Want tighter fights? Sleeping Dogs and its martial arts brawls. Craving wide open nature? Far Cry 3 swaps the city for a jungle but keeps the sandbox spirit.

1. 

   1. Red Dead Redemption 2

   2018 · Main story 48.5 h

   The obvious pick and the most ambitious one. You ride with Arthur Morgan and his gang of outlaws at the end of the Wild West era, in a world packed with detail. It is slower and more thoughtful than GTA 5, but the story hits even harder. Best for anyone who loved Rockstar's storytelling. More ideas in our list of games like RDR2.

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2. 

   2. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

   2004

   The 2004 classic. You play CJ, back home in a state modeled on 90s California, with three cities plus countryside and desert in between. It looks dated now, but the amount of stuff is huge: gang wars, the gym, planes, car tuning. Great if you want to see where the GTA 5 formula came from.

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3. 

   3. Grand Theft Auto IV

   2008 · Main story 30 h

   The darkest GTA. Niko Bellic arrives in Liberty City, a gray and gritty take on New York, looking for the American dream and finding mostly trouble. Driving feels heavier and the mood is more melancholic. Ideal if you preferred Michael's serious moments over Trevor's rampages.

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4. 

   4. Mafia II

   2010 · Main story 16 h

   An old-school gangster story set in Empire Bay, a city inspired by 1940s and 1950s New York. You get less freedom than in GTA 5, but a very cinematic plot, a carefully built period atmosphere and gorgeous classic cars. Pick this one if you want a well-told linear story more than a sandbox.

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5. 

   5. Saints Row: The Third

   2011 · Main story 17.5 h

   If you spent most of your GTA 5 time causing mayhem, this is your game. Steelport is an absurd playground where weapons, outfits and missions keep getting sillier. It also supports two-player online co-op for the whole campaign, which doubles the fun.

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6. 

   6. Sleeping Dogs

   2012 · Main story 17 h

   You play an undercover cop inside the Hong Kong triads. The city is small next to Los Santos but feels busy and alive, and the game shines with its hand-to-hand combat inspired by action movies. The car chases are great too. A genuinely good game that flew under a lot of radars.

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7. 

   7. Watch Dogs 2

   2016 · Main story 38 h

   Head to San Francisco with a crew of hackers who can take over traffic lights, cameras and cars. The tone is light and colorful, the city is fun to roam, and you can often finish missions without firing a shot. A good pick if you want a modern city with a different way to play.

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8. 

   8. Far Cry 3

   2012 · Main story 16 h

   Leave the city behind for a tropical island run by pirates, with the infamous Vaas as the villain. The freedom matches GTA 5: explore, hunt and take outposts however you like. It is a first-person shooter at heart, but the sandbox spirit is fully there.

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FAQ

What game is most like GTA 5?

Red Dead Redemption 2, made by Rockstar just like GTA 5. You get the same dense open world, staged missions and dark humor, moved to the Wild West. If you want to stay in a modern city, GTA IV is the closest in spirit.

Do I need to play older GTA games first?

No. Each GTA tells its own story with its own characters, so you can start anywhere. Older entries like San Andreas or GTA IV are mostly worth it if you want to see how the series grew, or if you have already squeezed everything out of GTA 5.

Which games like GTA 5 can I play with friends?

Saints Row: The Third has a full two-player online co-op campaign, and Watch Dogs 2 lets a friend join you for missions. Far Cry 3 includes a separate co-op mode. And GTA Online is still the go-to option for playing in a group.