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Grand Theft Auto III

50 Games like Grand Theft Auto III that you should try

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Few titles capture what makes Grand Theft Auto III unique: third-person shooting, dark, oppressive atmosphere and open world exploration. After measuring 16 attributes across over 6,700 games, these are the 50 most faithful alternatives. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Ghostwire: Tokyo and Bully: Scholarship Edition top the ranking, with Grand Theft Auto: Vice City at number one (95/100).

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GenreActionSubgenreOpen World Action
Tags
DarkNarrativeSolo
Year 2001Dev DMA Design

Quick answer

The closest game to Grand Theft Auto III is Grand Theft Auto: Vice City — scoring 95/100 on our similarity scale. Ghostwire: Tokyo and Bully: Scholarship Edition follow close behind.

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Top games similar to Grand Theft Auto III

50 similar games foundUpdated July 2026

Handpicked by our similarity algorithm, these are the titles with the highest gameplay match to Grand Theft Auto III. Each one has been evaluated across 16 real attributes — from combat style and progression mechanics to world structure and visual perspective — so every recommendation is based on how the game actually plays, not just its genre label.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
ActionOpen World Action
SoloMeleeRangedNarrativeDarkOpen WorldSandbox WorldExplorationThird Person
Steam👍 93%· 30KRAWG👍 93%· 3.1KMC94IGDB94· 4
Year 2002Dev Rockstar North · Rockstar GamesPlaytime ~2hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Fits the open-world action games cluster, with third-person shooting, adventure storytelling and shooter

≠ Stands apart with puzzle design and multiplayer gameplay, while skipping deep simulation

Ghostwire: Tokyo
ActionOpen World Action
SoloMeleeRangedNarrativeDarkOpen WorldExploration
Steam👍 83%· 20KIGDB77· 7OC77· 208
Year 2022Dev Tango Gameworks · Bethesda SoftworksOn Xbox · PC · PS5

✓ Same family of open-world action games: adventure storytelling, shooter and strong narrative focus

≠ Stands apart with horror tension, first-person shooting and horror setting, while skipping third-person shooting

Bully: Scholarship Edition
ActionOpen World Action
SoloMeleeNarrativeDarkOpen WorldSandbox WorldExplorationThird Person
Steam👍 84%· 41KRAWG👍 86%· 765MC72IGDB80· 3
Year 2008Dev Rockstar New England · Rockstar GamesPlaytime ~2hOn PC · Xbox · Nintendo

✓ Nearly identical: adventure storytelling, sandbox freedom and deep simulation.

≠ Missing: third-person shooting.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - The Definitive Edition
ActionOpen World Action
SoloMeleeDarkNarrativeOpen WorldSandbox WorldExplorationThird Person
Steam👍 79%· 14K
Year 2021Dev Grove Street Games · Rockstar GamesOn Xbox · PS4 · Android

✓ Fits the open-world action games cluster, with adventure storytelling, shooter and third-person shooting

≠ Its own twist: horror tension and horror setting, while skipping deep simulation

Driver Parallel Lines
ActionOpen World Action
SoloMeleeRangedOpen WorldExplorationThird Person
Steam👍 90%· 1.5KRAWG👍 64%· 106MC61IGDB66· 3
Year 2006Dev Ubisoft · Ubisoft EntertainmentPlaytime ~2hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Nearly identical: racing gameplay, third-person shooting and shooter.

≠ Missing: adventure storytelling.

Far Cry: Primal
ActionOpen World Action
SoloMeleeRangedNarrativeDarkOpen WorldExploration
Steam👍 86%· 40KIGDB76· 20OC77· 113
Year 2016Dev Ubisoft Montreal · Ubisoft EntertainmentOn Xbox · PS4 · PC

✓ Both are open-world action games — sharing shooter, adventure storytelling and strong narrative focus

≠ Its own twist: survival mechanics, first-person shooting and deep RPG systems, while skipping third-person shooting

Disney Infinity 2.0: Gold Edition
ActionOpen World Action
SoloMeleeSandbox WorldOpen WorldExploration
Steam👍 91%· 474
Year 2016Dev Avalanche Software · Disney InteractivePlaytime ~3hOn PC · PS

✓ Both are open-world action games — sharing adventure storytelling, sandbox freedom and sandbox world

≠ Stands apart with multiplayer gameplay, while skipping third-person shooting

Destroy All Humans!
ActionOpen World Action
SoloMeleeDarkOpen WorldSandbox WorldExplorationThird Person
Steam👍 92%· 11KIGDB67· 11OC69· 13
Year 2020Dev Black Forest Games · THQ NordicOn PS4 · PC · Xbox

✓ Same family of open-world action games: adventure storytelling, shooter and third-person shooting

≠ Its own twist: setting scifi, while skipping deep simulation

Vangers
ActionOpen World Action
SoloMeleeNarrativeOpen WorldSandbox WorldExplorationIsometric
Steam👍 93%· 1.4KRAWG👍 77%· 83
Year 1998Dev K-D Lab · KranX ProductionsPlaytime ~1hOn PC · Apple Macintosh · Linux

✓ Same family of open-world action games: racing gameplay, adventure storytelling and sandbox freedom

≠ Its own twist: deep RPG systems, horror tension and punishing difficulty, while skipping third-person shooting

Control
ActionOpen World Action
SoloMeleeNarrativeDarkOpen WorldExplorationThird Person
Steam👍 86%· 60KIGDB83· 15OC84· 183
Year 2019Dev Remedy Entertainment · 505 GamesOn Xbox · PS4 · PC

✓ Same family of open-world action games: adventure storytelling, shooter and third-person shooting

≠ Where it differs: brings horror tension, first-person shooting and Metroidvania exploration, while skipping deep simulation

Just Cause 2
ActionOpen World Action
SoloMeleeRangedOpen WorldSandbox WorldExplorationThird Person
Steam👍 91%· 51KRAWG👍 64%· 1.4KMC84IGDB85· 4
Year 2010Dev Square EnixPlaytime ~3hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Fits the open-world action games cluster, with third-person shooting, adventure storytelling and shooter

≠ Where it differs: brings multiplayer gameplay, while skipping deep simulation

Mafia II (Classic)
ActionOpen World Action
SoloMeleeRangedNarrativeOpen WorldSandbox WorldExplorationThird Person
Steam👍 94%· 58KRAWG👍 88%· 2.2KMC77IGDB73· 6
Year 2010Dev 2K Czech · 2K GamesPlaytime ~13hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Fits the open-world action games cluster, with third-person shooting, adventure storytelling and shooter

≠ Where it differs: brings puzzle design, stealth mechanics and fantasy world, while skipping deep simulation

Grand Theft Auto IV
ActionOpen World Action
SoloMeleeRangedNarrativeDarkOpen WorldSandbox WorldExplorationThird Person
Steam👍 83%· 195KRAWG👍 96%· 103MC95
Year 2010Dev Rockstar Toronto · Rockstar GamesOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Fits the open-world action games cluster, with adventure storytelling, third-person shooting and shooter

≠ Where it differs: brings multiplayer gameplay and co op, while skipping deep simulation

Crimson Desert
ActionOpen World Action
SoloMeleeOpen WorldExplorationThird Person
RAWG👍 77%· 21IGDB86· 4OC79· 136
Year 2026Dev Pearl AbyssOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Both are open-world action games — sharing adventure storytelling, open world exploration and melee combat

≠ Stands apart with fantasy world, while skipping third-person shooting

Clutch
ActionOpen World Action
SoloMeleeRangedDarkOpen WorldExplorationThird Person
Steam👍 73%· 252MC51IGDB80· 1
Year 2009Dev Targem Games · Game Factory InteractivePlaytime ~1hOn PC

✓ Both are open-world action games — sharing racing gameplay, deep simulation and dark, oppressive atmosphere

≠ Its own twist: horror setting and post-apocalyptic world, while skipping third-person shooting

Complete list of Grand Theft Auto III alternatives

The full catalog of games sharing gameplay DNA with Grand Theft Auto III, ordered from highest to lowest similarity score. Use the filters above to narrow down by genre, setting or game mode and find the alternative that best fits your playstyle.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the best game similar to Grand Theft Auto III?
The closest game to Grand Theft Auto III is Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, scoring 95/100 on our similarity scale. They share 14 gameplay attributes, including third-person shooting, adventure storytelling and shooter. It's the most faithful alternative currently available.
What are the top games like Grand Theft Auto III?
The three closest games to Grand Theft Auto III are: 1. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (95/100, 14 shared attributes) 2. Ghostwire: Tokyo (95/100, 9 shared attributes) 3. Bully: Scholarship Edition (94/100, 11 shared attributes). All share Grand Theft Auto III's most important gameplay attributes, ranked out of 50 candidates across 16 dimensions.
Is Ghostwire: Tokyo similar to Grand Theft Auto III?
Yes, very much so — Ghostwire: Tokyo scores 95/100 similarity to Grand Theft Auto III. They share 9 attributes, including adventure storytelling and shooter. It's one of the most direct alternatives available.
What Third-Person Shooter games are similar to Grand Theft Auto III?
The best Third-Person Shooter games similar to Grand Theft Auto III are Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - The Definitive Edition, Driver Parallel Lines and Destroy All Humans!. All share the Third-Person Shooter genre alongside other key Grand Theft Auto III attributes like third-person shooting, adventure storytelling and shooter.
How is similarity to Grand Theft Auto III calculated?
We compare Grand Theft Auto III against every game in our catalog using 16 gameplay attributes: genre, atmosphere, world structure, play modes, combat style, and more. Each category is weighted differently — genre matters more than visual style, for instance. The result is a 0-100 score reflecting how closely a game replicates the Grand Theft Auto III experience, not just whether it shares the same genre label.