10 Games That Could End Up Better Than GTA 6, From Star Wars Outlaws to Elder Scrolls 6

Grand Theft Auto 6 is going to be the biggest game launch of all time, there's no getting around it. But I don't think that automatically means it's going to be the best game, or that there aren't other open world games out there that could end up being more fun. So I put together a countdown of ten games, in order, that I think could give Rockstar a run for its money.

10. Star Wars Outlaws

It had been a long time since we got a great single player Star Wars game that wasn't made by Respawn Entertainment, and Star Wars Outlaws looked like the open world game a lot of fans, myself included, had been dreaming of for decades. From the sounds of it, this was basically GTA set in the Star Wars universe between episodes five and six. You play an outlaw scoundrel trying to pull off the biggest heists in the history of the Outer Rim, traveling to different planets across the galaxy, both familiar and brand new.

You'd be able to form relationships with various criminal groups throughout the galaxy and decide where your allegiances lie, while approaching combat either loud or stealthy. There was no concrete release date given at the time, but Ubisoft had promised it would drop before the year was over. As I put it then, "this is a day one purchase for me... Star Wars GTA, I mean that's been on my bucket list for a long time."

9. Venom

This might sound like a strange pick compared to GTA, but hear me out. A standalone Venom game was confirmed as part of the massive hack that Insomniac Games fell victim to. Some people were upset about the sheer number of Marvel games the studio is working on, but I actually think Venom is a perfect candidate for its own open world action game. A major part of GTA's appeal is running around an open world being a menace to society, so why not do that as a giant symbiote powered Hulk like Venom.

I'm reminded of the Prototype series here, and if that's the direction Insomniac was going, I was fully on board. Venom was slated for a 2025 release.

8. Control 2

Another comparison that might sound weird, but hear me out again. The first Control game was open world in a more Metroidvania sense, but the sequel was reportedly going to be much bigger in scope, possibly crossing into open world territory. Remedy Entertainment had become a hot commodity after Alan Wake 2 was a surprise hit at the Game Awards, and I was pretty excited to see whether the long awaited sequel to Control would give players a sandbox to go nuts in with all their crazy powers while still looking as visually stunning as the first game.

7. Rise of the Ronin

Rise of the Ronin was a PS5 exclusive from Team Ninja, the same studio behind the Ninja Gaiden games, marking their first attempt at open world gameplay after taking a lot of inspiration from Ghost of Tsushima. The story is set in Japan during the Boshin War, casting you as a warrior for hire interacting with various factions in the conflict and deciding where your allegiances lie. You could slink around the map stealthily or jump into intricate melee combat systems.

It launched on the PS5 on March 22, 2024, and I thought it could be a great open world game to hold players over until Rockstar dropped GTA 6. Rise of the Ronin and GTA 6 are obviously very different experiences, but when it comes to open world games, this one could end up being one of the best.

6. Assassin's Creed Codename Red

Ubisoft was reportedly working on their ninja themed Assassin's Creed game, known at the time under the codename Red, for release at the end of the year. This was going to be the first truly next gen Assassin's Creed game, letting you play as one of two characters, a samurai or a shinobi, venturing around a massive open world recreation of feudal Japan while mastering various weapons and tools in stealth focused gameplay with a lot of interactivity with the map, much like Assassin's Creed Mirage.

It's been reported that the team pulled influence from classic Splinter Cell games to build extremely deep stealth mechanics, leaning into the fact that you're a shinobi warrior. Assassin's Creed Mirage was a little disappointing for many longtime fans, and I personally thought this one might end up being the game that gets everything back on track for the franchise, hopefully reminding players why they fell in love with the series in the first place.

5. Ghost of Tsushima 2

Sucker Punch and Sony hadn't confirmed it, but it had leaked about a dozen times, so it felt like everybody knew it was coming. When it comes to critical praise and fan reception, I think Ghost of Tsushima 2 actually has a legitimate shot at beating out whatever GTA 6 ends up receiving, if both games came out in 2025, which was actually looking more and more like a reality. The original Ghost of Tsushima was critically acclaimed when it launched in 2020, and many considered it the best first party PlayStation game of the PS4 era.

A sequel had reportedly been in development for years, and according to various leaks and sources, it's happening. Job listings at Sucker Punch gave away a bit too much information, and it's believed the sequel takes place during the second Mongol invasion of Japan, basically being the first game again but bigger and better in every way. There's also a movie adaptation reportedly coming the following year.

4. Far Cry 7

Ubisoft hadn't formally announced Far Cry 7, but a ton of information had leaked from credible sources, including Tom Henderson, who I consider one of the most legitimate leakers in gaming history. According to those reports, Far Cry 7 is going to be very different from past entries. Instead of running aimlessly around a giant sandbox doing whatever you want, you'll play as a lone warrior whose family has been kidnapped by a conspiracy group, and you only have 72 in game hours, or 24 real world hours, to run around the map and save them one by one.

You could reportedly tackle the enemy faction any way you see fit and save your family members in any order, but if you lose one, they're dead for that run. The enemy AI has apparently been drastically reworked, allowing you to interrogate enemy leaders and try to pry information out of them about where your family is being held and how best to approach those strongholds. Those enemy leaders can reportedly lie to you and waste your time, so there's said to be a bit of L.A. Noire style lie detection involved. Assuming these reports are legit, I was beyond excited and wanted to see them shake up the formula.

3. Iron Man

An untitled Iron Man game has reportedly been in development at Motive Studios for a while, and I was ready for it. Nothing had been set in stone, but a few details had emerged thanks to job listings and insider reports, suggesting Iron Man is going to be open world to some extent with some level of RPG elements built in, likely for things like suit upgrades and weapons.

I was really hoping for a classic open world action adventure game where you fly around a massive world as Tony Stark, thwarting criminals and upgrading your suit along the way with various XP checkpoints and level ups. The last decent open world Iron Man game was Lego Marvel Superheroes, and honestly those were great, flying around in an Iron Man suit. Given how popular Iron Man mods are in GTA 4 and 5, I think this could do it too.

2. Black Panther

Sticking with Marvel, here's one I don't think enough people were talking about. It was confirmed a while back that a big budget game based on Black Panther is in development at Cliffhanger Games, seemingly set in an open world version of Wakanda. It will reportedly be a single player, story driven game published by EA, and it's been reported that the creative heads of the project are the same ones who brought us Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War, two of the best Middle-earth games ever made.

It's also been rumored that the Black Panther game will have quite a bit of player choice, including story choices and maybe even something similar to the Nemesis system from the Shadow of Mordor series. The developers have confirmed that Wakanda will be fully recreated as a sandbox, going to great lengths to bring all the iconic technology and details to life. This could end up being one of the best open world games of the decade.

1. Elder Scrolls 6

Back in the Xbox 360 days, one of the main competitors of the GTA series was Elder Scrolls. Yes, it's a fantasy RPG and not exactly the same tone, but when it came to big budget open world games, Rockstar and Bethesda were constantly stealing the spotlight from one another. Elder Scrolls 6 has been in development for a long time, and since Starfield officially launched, it's all hands on deck at Bethesda for it.

We don't know anything concrete about Elder Scrolls 6, but with how long the wait has been since Skyrim, fans around the world have been eagerly awaiting the next chapter in the fantasy RPG franchise. It's probably still a few years out, and Bethesda certainly has some lessons to learn from Starfield's shortcomings, but I have confidence they can get it done and make it a worthy successor to Elder Scrolls 5.

Which of these do you think could actually give Rockstar a run for its money?