2025’s Open World Games: Can Any Challenge GTA 6?
Rockstar's Vice City return looks unbeatable despite a crowded release schedule.
- GTA 6 expected to dominate 2025 despite strong competition from other open-world games.
- Competitors like Death Stranding 2, Mafia: The Old Country, and Dune Awakening offer unique experiences but don’t match GTA 6’s real-world appeal.
- Rockstar’s legacy and GTA 6’s massive fanbase guarantee it will likely be the top open-world game of the year.
Twelve years. 6 billion in sales. Countless memes. After all that, Grand Theft Auto 6 is inching closer to release, finally. Expected to drop in 2025, you’ll be tossed back into the chaotic streets of Vice City—Rockstar’s version of Miami, where the sun is hot, the crime is hotter, and you’ll be playing as not one, but two protagonists. Dual trouble. Sounds good already, right?
At this point, you might know that 2025 is shaping up to be a massive year for open-world games. GTA 6 won’t be alone on the shelves, and it’s not like Rockstar’s sitting there twiddling their thumbs, hoping the hype alone carries them. There’s some stiff competition. But is it enough to shake the king of open-world gaming? Not really.
READ ALSO:
Let’s get this straight: GTA 6 isn’t some underdog. It’s the juggernaut people have been drooling over for more than a decade. Even with a lineup full of contenders, nothing is really standing in its way.
Other Open World Games Coming in 2025
Here’s what GTA 6 will be up against:
- Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
- Assassin’s Creed: Shadows
- Fable
- Mafia: The Old Country
- Tom Clancy’s The Division: Resurgence
- Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2
- Avowed
- Atomfall
- Dune Awakening
That’s a long list of potential time sinks, but none of these titles are going to make Rockstar nervous. Each of them might offer some cool fantasy or sci-fi escape, but GTA 6 is something else. It’s modern, gritty, and grounded in a world where you can live out your wildest criminal fantasies.
Mafia: The Old Country might come the closest to competing, with its 20th-century Italian Mafia vibe. Cool, but not modern cool. It’s going for a whole different feel. It’s a period piece, not a full-blown free-for-all like GTA 6 will be. Dune Awakening? Sure, you can mess around in the sandy hellscape of Arrakis, but nothing’s going to feel quite like wreaking havoc in a futuristic Vice City.
Why Rockstar Isn’t Worried
GTA 6 is bigger than just another release. It’s the type of game that defines a generation. It’s one of those games that gamers will make time for, no matter what else is out that year. Doesn’t matter if five other big titles drop on the same day—people are going to line up for this one.
The secret sauce? Rockstar has carved out a niche that no other open-world game can touch. While others are out there offering up fantasy lands, futuristic dystopias, and blood-sucking vampire worlds, GTA 6 sticks to what it does best: the real world, with a big dose of crime, satire, and chaos. It’s an itch no other game can scratch.
Yeah, there are some interesting games coming, but GTA is in a league of its own. It’s the open-world game that every other title wants to be, but never quite manages to hit the same level. Rockstar knows this. They’ve got the name, the clout, and the players’ loyalty. Records will get shattered, again. No question about it.
2025 might be stacked, but there’s only one king in this genre, and the crown isn’t going anywhere.
A custom DualSense controller inspired by Stellar Blade showcases the fan’s passion for the game, earning praise from the PlayStation community.
