10 New & Upcoming Games Like GTA You Need to Play in 2026 (That Aren’t Saints Row or RDR2)

by Fernando Diaz / Articles, Grand Theft Auto, Lists, Upcoming Games / 28 Oct 2025

The credits roll again… The GTA 5 map is forever seared into your retinas, and the unearthly wail of police sirens is now a core part of your personality. So then what?? You feel the need—that primal, atavistic need for mayhem, hijackings, and plowing through a 12-car motorcade just to see what happens.

You type in “games like GTA,” and the holy trinity you’ve already blasted through appears: RDR2, Saints Row and Yakuza. Great games… We know, you know, your dog knows… We’re well past that list!!

Today we’re diving headfirst into the weirdo bin. We’re talking fresh games, indie fever dreams, and spiritual successors that put the GTA template through a blender on the “puree” setting. These are the “what-the-heck-is-this?!?” games you’ve been sleeping on. Here are 10 games on the horizon to brutally scratch that itch:

171

Everyone pack your bags!! We’re out of America and off to Brazil. 171 drops you into a virtual Brazilian metropolis that’s colorful, chaotic, and way more fun than another tour of New York or LA. 171 is still in Early Access; i.e., the world hangs together by duct tape and the sheer, uncut optimism of the devs and community—and you can tell. It’s not just a new map… it’s a brand new mood; and it’s about time!

MindsEye

Think about it: the guy who headed Rockstar North—yes, the GTA people—goes for a solo shot. We all hoped for a miracle… What we got was a dumpster fire of physics. Cars falling from the sky. NPCs phasing through walls just to T-pose menacingly in a corner. It’s gold. So why is it here?? Because it’s a show. The devs are trying to fix a plane in mid-air. Soap-opera-grade catastrophe… Will they No Man’s Sky it and save the day?? Or is it the train wreck we’ll warn our kids about?? Either way, we can’t look away…

The Precinct

We’ve been the bane of society for years. Now we get to be the cops… The Precinct flips the script and puts you in the shoes of a rookie cop in the best ’80s movie that never got made. You’re chasing down bad guys and restoring order to a city that has none; all from a dazzling isometric view. It’s the open world anarchy you’re hooked on–but this time you get to flip on the siren instead of running from it… you’re the law!!

The Boss Gangsters: Nightlife

Being a crime lord is cool and all, but is your criminal empire also a trendy nightclub?? In The Boss Gangsters, you live a DOUBLE life. One minute you’re buying velvet ropes for the VIP section; the next -> you’re in a menu allocating skill points to “Intimidation” and “Money Laundering” It’s Scarface meets SimCity; a game where your APM (Actions Per Minute) is spent keeping both anarchy and the cocktail menu perfectly balanced.

Ananta

THROW REALISM IN THE TRASH. Ananta is an anime-style energy blast that makes you a paranormal investigator in a neon-drenched city. The twist?? The movement. Stamina bar? Never heard of her. Fall damage?!? A polite suggestion at best. This is straight-up unrestricted traversal. It’s the kind of game where you glance at a skyscraper and your first thought isn’t “How do I get around it?” but “Which wall should I jump off to launch myself into orbit?” It’s an action game on pure flow for those whose favorite button is always “sprint.”

Rustler (Grand Theft Horse)

Sometimes you just want something gloriously idiotic. This is the one. Rustler is Grand Theft Horse in disguise. It’s a medieval GTA parody where you steal horses instead of cars and get yelled at by guards for parking in a “NO HORSE ZONE.” You can even hire a bard to follow you around playing your personal theme song. It’s mindlessly stupid! It’s great.

PARADISE

This game is a death wish, and we are SO on board with it. PARADISE is a life-sim with one completely insane, guaranteed-to-be-a-bad-idea feature: you can flirt with every NPC using your own voice, and an AI will talk back. Unscripted. Imagine screaming at a virtual hot dog vendor about the meaning of life, and he screams right back.

JOIN US

Forget the mob. It’s time to start a cult. Build a base, make up some rules about aliens, and gather your followers. When people attack, defend your flock with a SNAKE LAUNCHER. No, you didn’t read that wrong. It’s a gun. It shoots snakes. This game’s sanity check bounced months ago.Maybe.

POSTAL 2 Redux

Your mission: –GET MILK–; Your method: make felines temporary silencers, launch yourself into low-earth orbit through a dumpster, and navigate a town where everyone’s made the T-pose official language. POSTAL 2 Redux is the impending remake you never knew you needed — a bug-ridden fever dream in which common sense ghosts out early.

ENDS

Log out of the murder-verse and touch grass. ENDS is the most brutal survival crime game on this list. Your health bar is your bank account. Your main stat is “Reputation” Your toughest boss isn’t a crime lord; it’s a dialogue tree with your disappointed mom. Forget a weapon wheel; your arsenal is three dialogue choices, and one is always “Say nothing.” It’s hardcore mode in its purest form: one wrong choice, and your relationships are permanently wrecked.

Fernando Diaz

Fernando is doing what he always did, sharing his honest opinions about games whenever he can. The difference is now he is writing and not talking about it.

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