Games to play while you wait for GTA 6

Seven picks for console and PC, each matched to the GTA itch it scratches, and a clock that tells you what you can actually finish before November 19.

Here’s the problem with waiting for a game this big: everything else starts to feel like a waiting room. So I stopped looking for a GTA substitute, because there isn’t one, and started asking what I’m actually hungry for. Pick by the itch, not the genre! The Rockstar world-building, the neon, a crime family, two people against everyone. Each of those has a game that scratches it right now, on whatever you already play on.

Then check the clock, because November 19 isn’t moving again. Probably. PC friends, I’m sorry: GTA 6 launches on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S only, with no PC date yet, so your wait is longer and the big ones are fair game. Everything Rockstar has actually confirmed lives in the GTA 6 file.

THE PICKS, BY ITCH

1. 01 The Rockstar touch ▸ Red Dead Redemption 2
2. 02 Going back to Vice City ▸ Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
3. 03 A crime family with a heart ▸ Mafia: The Old Country
4. 04 A neon city that never sleeps ▸ Cyberpunk 2077
5. 05 Satire with a sunburn ▸ Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
6. 06 Two leads, one plan ▸ A Way Out
7. 07 Miami, 1989, in short bursts ▸ Hotline Miami

✿ THE BACKLOG CLOCK

What can you actually finish before the 19th?

Pick your nightly hours, tick what you want to play. Hours are typical main-story times, rounded. Side quests are on you, and so is sleep. The clock counts to the console launch; PC players, yours runs longer.

HOURS A NIGHT

1H2H3H4H

Red Dead Redemption 2 The Rockstar touch 50 H Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Going back to Vice City 19 H Mafia: The Old Country A crime family with a heart 12 H Cyberpunk 2077 A neon city that never sleeps 25 H Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth Satire with a sunburn 45 H A Way Out Two leads, one plan 6 H Hotline Miami Miami, 1989, in short bursts 5 H

YOUR PLAN · 67 HRS YOUR TIME · 92 HRS (46 NIGHTS × 2)

0 50 100 150 200 HRS

Fits, with 25 hours to spare.

ONE SCALE FOR EVERY BAR · DASHED GOLD LINE = YOUR TIME · NIGHTS COUNT TO NOVEMBER 19

1. Red Dead Redemption 2

THE ITCH ▸ THE ROCKSTAR TOUCH

ON ▸ PS4 & PS5 · XBOX ONE & SERIES X|S · PC

2018 · ABOUT 50 HRS

This is the closest thing to GTA 6 you can play today, because it’s the same studio at the same level of obsession. Strangers with whole lives, towns that keep going when you ride out, a world that doesn’t care whether you’re watching. If Leonida is half this alive, we’re fine.

On PS5 and Xbox Series it runs the last-gen version through backward compatibility, capped at 30fps; PC is the best-looking way to play it. A native current-console version has been rumored for years and never confirmed, so don’t wait for it. Fifty hours is the big commitment on this list. Start it first or not at all.

2. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

THE ITCH ▸ GOING BACK TO VICE CITY

ON ▸ PS5 · PS4 · XBOX SERIES X|S · XBOX ONE · SWITCH · PC

2002 ORIGINAL, 2021 REMASTER · ABOUT 19 HRS

GTA 6 is a homecoming. Rockstar first built Vice City in 2002, set it in 1986, and filled it with pastel suits and synth. Playing it now is like reading the book before the movie: the city’s bones, the jokes about Florida, the beach at sunset.

Get it in Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition. The remaster launched rough in 2021 and has been patched a lot since. Go in for the vibe, not the graphics, and you’ll love it.

3. Mafia: The Old Country

THE ITCH ▸ A CRIME FAMILY WITH A HEART

ON ▸ PS5 · XBOX SERIES X|S · PC

AUGUST 2025 · ABOUT 12 HRS

Early-1900s Sicily, a kid who works his way into a crime family, and a story that knows exactly how long it wants to be. It isn’t an open-world sandbox, and that’s a feature this close to launch: a tight twelve hours you will actually finish.

It launched at $49.99, cheaper than most new games. Save it for the nights you want a story, not a map full of icons.

4. Cyberpunk 2077

THE ITCH ▸ A NEON CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS

ON ▸ PS5 · XBOX SERIES X|S · PC · SWITCH 2

2020, REBUILT SINCE · ABOUT 25 HRS

If what you want from Vice City is the glow at 2am, Night City is right there. The 2020 launch was a mess. The game it grew into after years of updates is one of the best big cities in gaming.

The main story runs about 25 hours, and the Phantom Liberty expansion is worth it if you fall in love. That’s the trap, though: this city eats weeks. Set the clock before you start.

Every pick on this list is a rehearsal for one city.

THE REAL FLORIDA BEHIND LEONIDA ▸

5. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth

THE ITCH ▸ SATIRE WITH A SUNBURN

ON ▸ PS5 · PS4 · XBOX SERIES X|S · XBOX ONE · PC

JANUARY 2024 · ABOUT 45 HRS

Most of this one happens in Hawaii, and it’s the funniest open world I’ve played: tourist traps, beach brawls, a food-delivery minigame, a whole side story about fixing up an island. It has the same affection-plus-mockery for American vacation culture that GTA has for Florida.

Fair warning: the fights are turn-based and the story runs long. Start it only if you’re the kind of person who reads every menu. (I am. Obviously.)

6. A Way Out

THE ITCH ▸ TWO LEADS, ONE PLAN

ON ▸ PS4 & PS5 · XBOX ONE & SERIES X|S · PC

2018 · ABOUT 6 HRS

Jason and Lucia are a duo, so practice being one. A Way Out is a prison break for exactly two players, split-screen on one couch or online, and the whole game is built around needing each other.

Only one of you has to own it: EA’s Friend’s Pass lets the second player join online for free. One long weekend, two controllers, done.

7. Hotline Miami

THE ITCH ▸ MIAMI, 1989, IN SHORT BURSTS

ON ▸ PC · PS4 & PS5 · XBOX ONE & SERIES X|S · SWITCH

2012 · ABOUT 5 HRS

Top-down, brutally fast, soaked in synth and neon, set in a Miami that feels like a fever dream. Every level takes a few minutes, which makes it perfect for the nights you only have twenty.

It’s very violent and very hard, in the good arcade way. Finish it with time to spare and the sequel is waiting.

Poppy also went through TmarTn’s hurricanes-and-wildlife breakdown and stamped each point confirmed, reported or guesswork. Her other guides, most of them about collecting rather than waiting, are on her column page.