With GTA 6 still one of the most anticipated games in the world, there is a good chance you’ve already played through Grand Theft Auto V more times than you care to admit. Rockstar’s next open-world crime game is getting closer, but that doesn’t mean there is nothing else worth playing from the studio in the meantime.
Rockstar Games has created far more than Grand Theft Auto. Over the years, the developer and publisher experimented with westerns, racing games, beat-’em-ups, school-life adventures and cinematic action games. Some of those franchises have been left behind as Rockstar concentrated on GTA and Red Dead Redemption.
That’s a shame, because several of these older games still hold up remarkably well.
If you’re looking for something to play while waiting for GTA 6, here are five Rockstar Games worth checking out.
5. Max Payne 3
If what you really want is Rockstar’s trademark cinematic action rather than another enormous open world, Max Payne 3 is an easy recommendation.
Released in 2012, Max Payne 3 took the series’ signature slow-motion gunplay and pushed it into a much more polished third-person shooter. Bullet time, diving gunfights, dual-wielding weapons and destructible environments make almost every firefight feel deliberately choreographed without becoming completely passive.
The story also gives the game a very different tone from GTA.
Max is older, damaged and far removed from the glamorous criminal worlds usually associated with Rockstar. Much of the game takes place in Brazil, giving it a distinctive visual identity while maintaining the bleak noir atmosphere that defines the character.
The result is an intense, linear experience that is almost the opposite of the enormous sandbox GTA 6 is expected to be.
That’s exactly why it’s worth playing.
Max Payne 3 doesn’t ask you to spend dozens of hours managing an open world. It puts you into a series of increasingly brutal situations and lets its excellent shooting mechanics do the work.
Why play it before GTA 6?
If you’re interested in Rockstar’s approach to third-person combat, cinematic presentation and mature storytelling, Max Payne 3 remains one of the studio’s strongest examples.
It is also a reminder that Rockstar was once willing to experiment with completely different types of games.
4. The Warriors
Long before Rockstar became synonymous with massive open-world productions, the company released games that were considerably smaller in scope.
The Warriors, released in 2005, is one of the best examples.
Based on the cult 1979 film, the game turns the movie’s street-gang premise into a beat-’em-up adventure. Instead of attempting to create another sprawling GTA-style sandbox, Rockstar focused on delivering straightforward, satisfying combat.
That simplicity is actually one of its greatest strengths.
The Warriors is built around fighting, exploration and progression rather than complicated menus or enormous systems. You can play through missions with other members of the gang, use different fighting techniques and explore a stylized version of New York’s criminal underworld.
It also demonstrates something that is increasingly rare from major publishers: a willingness to make a game simply because the concept works.
There was no need to turn The Warriors into a 100-hour live-service experience.
Rockstar understood what the source material was about and built the game around it.
Why play it before GTA 6?
If modern open-world games have started feeling too large and overloaded with systems, The Warriors offers a much more focused experience.
It is also a fascinating look at Rockstar’s 2000s-era design philosophy, when the company was experimenting with several different genres and licenses.
3. Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition
Rockstar isn’t usually the first developer people mention when talking about racing games.
That’s unfortunate because Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition remains one of the most memorable open-world street racers of its generation.
Released in 2005, the game combines high-speed street racing with large urban environments and an unusually deep vehicle customization system.
Cars can be extensively modified, and motorcycles are also part of the experience. The game gives players plenty of reasons to spend time working on their vehicles before even entering a race.
That customization is a major part of Midnight Club 3’s appeal.
The game also has the kind of freedom that would later become a defining feature of Rockstar’s larger open-world titles. Instead of simply selecting a race from a menu, you’re thrown into large city environments where speed and exploration are closely connected.
The soundtrack and overall presentation further reinforce its early-2000s street-racing identity.
It’s very much a product of its era, but that’s part of the appeal.
Why play it before GTA 6?
GTA has always treated driving as a major part of its gameplay, and Midnight Club shows what happens when Rockstar makes driving the entire game.
If you’re particularly interested in the vehicles and open-world exploration side of GTA, this is one Rockstar series worth remembering.
It also makes you wonder why Rockstar hasn’t returned to dedicated racing games in so long.
2. Bully
Bully might be the Rockstar game most deserving of another chance.
Released in 2006, Bully took many of the ideas Rockstar had developed through Grand Theft Auto and moved them into a completely different setting: a troubled teenager navigating school life.
You play as Jimmy Hopkins, a rebellious student attending Bullworth Academy.
Instead of building a criminal empire, you’re dealing with rival groups at school, teachers, friendships, pranks, classes and the everyday chaos of teenage life.
The world is much smaller than a typical GTA map, but that isn’t necessarily a disadvantage.
Bullworth Academy and its surrounding areas are densely packed with things to do. The smaller scale allows the game to feel more focused, while the school setting gives it an identity that separates it from Rockstar’s crime games.
The characters are also one of Bully’s biggest strengths.
Because the story revolves around school life rather than a massive criminal operation, relationships with individual characters have more room to matter.
The result is a Rockstar game that feels surprisingly personal.
There have been years of rumors surrounding a potential Bully 2, but Rockstar has never officially announced a sequel. That makes the original even more interesting for players discovering the studio’s back catalog today.
Why play it before GTA 6?
Bully is perfect if you’re curious about what Rockstar could do when it shrinks the scale of an open world instead of making it bigger.
It demonstrates that a compelling setting doesn’t need hundreds of square miles of map space.
Sometimes a smaller world with stronger characters and more concentrated activities can be more memorable.
And if GTA 6 eventually makes you wish Rockstar would experiment with another smaller-scale open-world game, Bully is probably the clearest example of what that could look like.
1. Red Dead Redemption 2
If you only have time for one Rockstar game before GTA 6, Red Dead Redemption 2 should be at the top of your list.
Released in 2018, Red Dead Redemption 2 is arguably Rockstar’s most ambitious game outside Grand Theft Auto.
It follows Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang during the final years of the American frontier. Rather than simply using the Wild West as a backdrop for shootouts, Rockstar builds an enormous world around the period.
Forests, mountains, deserts, towns and settlements all feel different, and the game puts enormous emphasis on making the world feel alive.
That’s where Red Dead Redemption 2 differs from many other open-world games.
You aren’t constantly being pushed toward the next objective.
You can ride through the wilderness, encounter strangers, hunt, explore abandoned locations, interact with towns and simply spend time with the gang.
The deliberate pacing won’t appeal to everyone, but when it works, it creates an unusual sense of immersion.
And then there’s the story.
Arthur Morgan’s journey is one of Rockstar’s most character-focused narratives. The relationships between Arthur, Dutch and the other members of the gang gradually change as the story progresses, giving the game’s enormous world an emotional center.
Why play it before GTA 6?
If you’re excited about GTA 6 because you want to see what Rockstar can do with a modern open world, Red Dead Redemption 2 is the best available demonstration of the studio’s attention to detail.
It shows how Rockstar can make an open world feel like more than a collection of missions and activities.
The game also provides a useful comparison point for GTA 6.
If Rockstar can bring the environmental detail, character writing and systemic interactions of Red Dead Redemption 2 into a modern crime setting, GTA 6 could represent another significant evolution for the studio’s open-world formula.
Which Rockstar Game Should You Play First?
It depends on what you’re looking for.
If you want the best overall experience, go with Red Dead Redemption 2.
If you want a smaller and more focused open world, play Bully.
If you’re interested in racing and vehicle customization, try Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition.
If you want fast-paced cinematic action, Max Payne 3 is the obvious choice.
And if you’re interested in Rockstar’s more unusual experiments, The Warriors is worth checking out.
The interesting thing about this list is how different these games are.
That’s something worth remembering when talking about Rockstar today.
Rockstar Was Once Much More Experimental
Rockstar’s modern reputation is largely built around two franchises: Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption.
That’s understandable. Both series have become enormous successes, and GTA V in particular has generated an extraordinary amount of revenue through its long-running online component.
But looking back at Rockstar’s older catalog reveals a much more experimental publisher.
The company released racing games, beat-’em-ups, noir shooters and unconventional open-world adventures alongside GTA.
That variety has largely disappeared.
Today, every new Rockstar project carries enormous expectations, which makes experimentation much harder. A new Midnight Club or Bully could be exciting, but those projects would have to compete for resources with Rockstar’s biggest franchises.
GTA 6 is therefore more than just another sequel.
It represents the next major evolution of the formula Rockstar has spent years refining.
And while we wait to see what the studio does next, its older games provide plenty of reasons to look beyond GTA.
Final Thoughts
GTA 6 may be the game everyone is waiting for, but you don’t have to spend the wait replaying GTA V.
Rockstar’s back catalog contains several games that still offer something different.
Red Dead Redemption 2 remains the obvious heavyweight, while Bully shows how effective Rockstar’s open-world formula can be on a smaller scale. Max Payne 3 delivers excellent cinematic shooting, Midnight Club 3 demonstrates Rockstar’s forgotten talent for racing games, and The Warriors represents a period when the company was willing to make games simply because an interesting idea was worth exploring.
Whether Rockstar eventually returns to any of these franchises is another question.
For now, they’re reminders that the studio’s history extends well beyond Grand Theft Auto.
And with GTA 6 getting closer, there’s arguably no better time to discover the Rockstar games that came before it.
FAQs
Red Dead Redemption 2 is the strongest overall choice. It combines an expansive open world, detailed environments, memorable characters and a heavily story-driven experience.
Yes. Bully remains one of Rockstar’s most distinctive games because it applies the company’s open-world design philosophy to a much smaller school setting.
Yes. Max Payne 3 was developed by Rockstar Studios and published by Rockstar Games in 2012. It is the third entry in the Max Payne series and the first one developed internally by Rockstar.
Rockstar has not released a new mainline Midnight Club game since Midnight Club: Los Angeles. Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition remains one of the most highly regarded entries in the series.
Rockstar has never officially announced Bully 2. Rumors surrounding a potential sequel have circulated for years, but they should not be treated as confirmation of an active project.
If you want to experience Rockstar’s open-world design at its best, start with Red Dead Redemption 2. For something shorter and more focused, Bully is an excellent alternative.
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