Games Like Grand Theft Auto V: 5 GTA 5 Alternatives to Play

The best games like Grand Theft Auto V each capture a different part of GTA 5: choose Red Dead Redemption 2 for Rockstar’s detailed worlds and story, Saints Row for goofy criminal mayhem with a co-op partner, Watch Dogs 2 for city exploration built around hacking, Just Cause 4 for spectacular sandbox action, or Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition for a focused undercover-crime drama. None is a one-to-one replacement for Los Santos, so the right GTA 5 alternative depends on what you want to do next.

GTA 5 combines a modern city, driving, shooting, heists, side activities, a cinematic campaign, and GTA Online. The picks below separate those ingredients so you can find a game that fits your favorite part of the experience.

Best GTA 5 alternatives at a glance

How to choose a game like GTA 5

Think about the activity you miss most. If you want another character-driven story with a carefully built world, start with Red Dead Redemption 2. If you want to roam a contemporary city, Watch Dogs 2 and Sleeping Dogs are the closer setting matches, though their combat and stories feel very different. For a friend to join the campaign, Saints Row is the clearest pick on this list. If you mainly want a huge playground for stunts and destruction, Just Cause 4 moves furthest from GTA’s crime drama and leans into action instead.

Also consider pacing. GTA 5 balances missions with free roaming, but these alternatives are more specialized: Sleeping Dogs is more focused on its narrative, Watch Dogs 2 encourages stealth and gadget use, and Just Cause 4 is built around movement and spectacle.

1. Red Dead Redemption 2: best for Rockstar storytelling

Red Dead Redemption 2 is the strongest starting point if what you love about GTA 5 is the sense of inhabiting a fully realized world. Set in 1899, it follows outlaw Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang as their way of life comes under pressure. The landscape is the American frontier rather than a contemporary city, and horses replace fast cars, but Rockstar’s emphasis on character, atmosphere, and unscripted discoveries will feel familiar.

Expect a more deliberate pace than GTA 5. The story takes time, travel is slower, and much of the appeal comes from exploring, meeting people, hunting, and taking on side activities between missions. The game also includes Red Dead Online as a separate multiplayer experience; it does not recreate GTA Online’s modern vehicles, businesses, or city setting. Pick this if you want a substantial single-player adventure and world detail more than a direct crime-sandbox clone.

See Rockstar’s official Red Dead Redemption 2 page for the game overview.

2. Saints Row (2022): best for co-op criminal chaos

The Saints Row reboot takes place in Santo Ileso, a fictional city in the American Southwest. You create the Boss and build a new criminal crew through missions, criminal ventures, and side activities. Its tone is more playful and exaggerated than GTA 5’s, with an emphasis on customization and spectacle rather than a grounded crime drama.

Its standout reason to choose it is two-player co-op: you can bring a friend into the campaign and cause trouble together. That makes Saints Row a better fit than the other games here if shared story missions matter to you. Go in expecting a different style of humor and storytelling from Rockstar; the appeal is a flexible, deliberately silly crime sandbox, not a close imitation of GTA 5’s satire.

Check the official Saints Row listing for its Santo Ileso setting and co-op details.

3. Watch Dogs 2: best for hacking a modern city

Watch Dogs 2 gives you a contemporary Bay Area setting and a different way to approach open-world missions. You play hacker Marcus Holloway, working with the DedSec group against a surveillance system. Your phone, drones, and remote-control tools let you manipulate devices and distract or bypass enemies, so careful planning can be more rewarding than starting every encounter with a shootout.

This is a good game like GTA 5 on PC or console if the urban setting, driving, and freedom to approach missions creatively appeal to you. It is less of a traditional criminal power fantasy: the characters are hackers challenging surveillance and corruption, and the game’s strongest identity comes from its gadgets and stealth options. Ubisoft also lists co-op gameplay and multiplayer modes, but treat those as separate from GTA Online’s ongoing city-life structure.

Read Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs 2 overview and official co-op gameplay information.

4. Just Cause 4: best for stunts and open-world destruction

Just Cause 4 is the pick for players who care more about movement and mayhem than a crime story. As agent Rico Rodriguez, you travel across Solís with a parachute, wingsuit, and customizable grappling hook. Its extreme-weather events and physics systems encourage experimentation: chain tools together, launch yourself across the landscape, and turn enemy installations into elaborate action set pieces.

Avalanche Studios describes Solís as a 1,024-square-kilometer world with rainforests, deserts, snowy peaks, cities, and grasslands. That scale does not automatically make it a better match for GTA 5; the activities and tone are different. Choose Just Cause 4 when you want a broad playground for aerial traversal and destruction, and look elsewhere if you need a tightly written, character-focused crime campaign.

See the developer’s official Just Cause 4 page for the setting, traversal tools, and world details.

5. Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition: best for an undercover crime story

Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition follows Wei Shen, an undercover police officer trying to infiltrate the Triads in Hong Kong. Its central conflict—living between law enforcement and the criminal organization he is investigating—makes it a strong choice if the crime drama and shifting loyalties in GTA 5 are what you remember most.

The combat is its major distinction. Rather than relying mainly on firearms, the game gives close-quarters martial arts and environmental takedowns a prominent role. Hong Kong is smaller than GTA 5’s map, but the dense streets, shops, and neighborhoods make exploration feel concentrated. The Definitive Edition includes the previously released DLC, according to PlayStation’s product description. Choose it for a focused single-player story with a distinct setting, not for a sprawling multiplayer replacement.

See the official Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition page for its story and included content.

Which GTA 5 alternative should you play first?

• For the closest match in world-building: start with Red Dead Redemption 2, while keeping in mind that its frontier setting and slower pace are a major change.
• For a co-op campaign: pick Saints Row (2022) and invite a friend.
• For a modern city with stealth: try Watch Dogs 2 and use its hacking tools to plan missions.
• For nonstop stunts and destruction: choose Just Cause 4.
• For an undercover-crime plot and hand-to-hand combat: play Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition.

Before buying, check the current store listing for your platform and region. These games launched across different PC and console generations, and storefront availability or backward compatibility can vary. If multiplayer is the priority, verify that the exact mode you want is available on your platform.

Frequently asked questions

What game is most like GTA 5?

Red Dead Redemption 2 is the closest match for Rockstar’s open-world detail and cinematic storytelling. For a modern city and more direct criminal escapades, Saints Row (2022) is a closer fit, especially if you want co-op.

Which games like GTA 5 have co-op?

Saints Row (2022) supports a two-player co-op campaign. Watch Dogs 2 also offers co-op and online modes, though they are structured differently from GTA Online.

Is Sleeping Dogs like GTA 5?

Yes, in that it is an open-world crime story with driving and city exploration. It differs through its undercover-cop premise, Hong Kong setting, and martial-arts-focused combat.