GTA6 arrives on November 19, 2026, which leaves roughly six to seven weeks to fill. Most “games to play while you wait” lists ignore the three things that actually decide whether a pick works right now: whether it runs on the PS5 or Xbox Series X|S you’ll play GTA6 on, how long it takes to finish, and what it costs. This guide is built around those.
Short answer: Mafia: The Old Country is the best pick you can realistically finish before launch, at around 13 hours. Red Dead Redemption 2 is the best preview of how Rockstar builds a world, if you can give it about eight hours a week. Cyberpunk 2077 is the best modern crime city, and Forza Horizon 6 is the pick for Xbox players who mostly want to drive.
How we chose
Every pick runs on PS5 or Xbox Series X|S (GTA6 is console-only at launch), scratches a specific part of the GTA itch, and can be finished, or at least properly enjoyed, before November 19.
GTA6 launches on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S only, and Rockstar hasn’t announced a PC version. That’s why we focused on games you can play on the same console. Story lengths below come from published reviews and guides, and they’re for the main story at a normal pace; side content adds a lot more.
The picks
Best to finish before launch: Mafia: The Old Country
A focused, cinematic crime story set in 1900s Sicily that PCGamesN’s reviewer finished in about 13.5 hours. It’s the one pick here you can comfortably complete with weeks to spare.
Hangar 13 deliberately built The Old Country as a tight, linear story rather than a sprawling sandbox, following a young laborer, Enzo, as he rises through a crime family. That makes it less of a GTA-style playground and more of a playable gangster film, which is exactly why it fits this window: you get a complete crime story without starting something you’ll abandon on November 19.
Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC. Price: launched at $49.99 in August 2025 and is often discounted now.
Check Mafia: The Old Country on Amazon
Best preview of Rockstar’s design: Red Dead Redemption 2
Rockstar’s last big open world is the closest thing to a preview of how GTA6 is likely to feel. The story runs about 45 to 50 hours, which is doable before launch at roughly eight hours a week.
Red Dead Redemption 2 comes from the same studio, and its living world, side characters and attention to detail are a big part of why expectations for GTA6 are so high. GameSpot put the main story at about 45 to 50 hours, so it’s a commitment, but a manageable one if you start now.
One thing to know on current consoles: Red Dead Redemption 2 runs on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S through backward compatibility, capped at 30 fps (frames per second). A native current-gen upgrade has been rumored for a long time, but as of early October 2026 Rockstar hasn’t announced one. (Don’t confuse it with the original Red Dead Redemption, which did get a native PS5 and Xbox Series X|S release in December 2025.)
Platforms: PS4 and Xbox One versions, playable on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S; PC. Price: varies, and it’s frequently discounted.
Check Red Dead Redemption 2 on Amazon
Best modern crime city: Cyberpunk 2077
A dense, neon-lit city full of gangs, fixers and side jobs, which is the closest any game gets to GTA’s urban chaos with a stronger story. Expect roughly 20 to 30 hours if you focus on the story, or around 40 with regular side content.
Cyberpunk 2077 had a famously rough launch in 2020, but years of updates and the Phantom Liberty expansion turned its reputation around. If you skipped it back then, the current version is a very different game. Night City rewards exactly the kind of wandering GTA players enjoy, and its driving, gunplay and side jobs keep the loop varied.
Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC. Price: varies; the Ultimate Edition bundles the base game with Phantom Liberty.
Check Cyberpunk 2077 on Amazon
Best for driving (Xbox and PC): Forza Horizon 6
One of the highest-rated games of 2026, with a Metascore of about 90, set across Japan with more than 550 cars at launch. It’s included with Game Pass, but PlayStation owners will have to wait.
If cruising and racing are your favorite parts of GTA, Forza Horizon 6 is the best open-world driving game available. It launched on May 19, 2026 for Xbox Series X|S and PC. Playground Games has said the PS5 version is coming later in 2026, but there’s no date yet, so don’t plan your next six weeks around it if you’re on PlayStation.
Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PC (PS5 version announced, no date). Price: included with Game Pass Ultimate on Xbox, or PC Game Pass on PC.
The warm-up: GTA V and GTA Online
If you’d rather stay in Los Santos until you move to Vice City, GTA V’s story and GTA Online’s heists are still the most direct way to keep your GTA muscles warm.
GTA V runs natively on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. If you’re jumping back into GTA Online, our guide to making money fast and our heists ranked by payout cover what’s worth your time after this year’s payout changes. On PC, our GTA V mods guide covers what still works after the Enhanced update.
A big one to approach with caution: Crimson Desert
Crimson Desert, released March 19, 2026, shows up on a lot of these lists because its world is enormous. It’s a fantasy game rather than a crime sandbox, though, its reviews were positive but noticeably cooler than for the other picks here (about 77 to 78 on Metacritic, depending on platform), and it’s a very long game. If your goal is to finish something before November 19, it’s the wrong pick.
Also consider
If you specifically want another modern-city crime sandbox, Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition (Hong Kong, with strong hand-to-hand combat) and Watch Dogs 2 (San Francisco, with hacking) are older PS4 and Xbox One-era games that play on current consoles through backward compatibility, and both are usually cheap.
Quick comparison
| Game | Platforms | Main story length | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mafia: The Old Country | PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC | About 13 hours | Launched at $49.99 | Finishing before launch |
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | PS5 and Xbox Series X|S (backward compatible), PC | About 45 to 50 hours | Varies | Rockstar’s world design |
| Cyberpunk 2077 | PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC | About 20 to 30 hours (40 with side content) | Varies | A modern crime city |
| Forza Horizon 6 | Xbox Series X|S, PC | Open-ended | Game Pass | Driving |
| GTA V and GTA Online | PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC | Ongoing | Varies | Staying in the series |
If you haven’t pre-ordered GTA6 yet
The Standard Edition costs $79.99 and the Ultimate Edition $99.99. Anything bought before November 20 includes the Vintage Vice City Pack, and boxed copies contain a download code rather than a disc at launch.
Rockstar opened pre-orders on June 25, 2026, through the PlayStation Store, Microsoft Store, Rockstar Store and retailers including Amazon. The Ultimate Edition’s extra $20 adds in-game vehicles, weapons, clothing and two exclusive side activities. Digital pre-orders can preload from November 12, a week before launch. Boxed copies contain a download code rather than a disc; they become available from November 12, and codes redeemed before launch start preloading then too. Digital pre-orders on the PlayStation Store or Microsoft Store also include a free month of GTA+, which renews at the regular price unless you cancel.
Check GTA VI pre-orders on Amazon
Who this isn’t for
If you only play on PC, GTA6 won’t be available to you at launch, so a “while you wait” list isn’t really the question; our PC vs Console comparison covers the timing. And if you want an exact GTA clone, nothing here is one. Each pick nails a different part of what makes GTA fun.
Bottom line
Short on time? Play Mafia: The Old Country. Want the best preview of what Rockstar does? Start Red Dead Redemption 2 this week. Craving a city to cause trouble in? Cyberpunk 2077. On Xbox and love driving? Forza Horizon 6 is already on Game Pass. Whichever you choose, start now: November 19 will come fast.
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