Best Rockstar Games Besides GTA: Our Top Picks

By Alfred from GTA Zone · Published June 2, 2026 · 4 min read

Cinematic Rockstar-poster-style illustration: a lone outlaw in a long coat and hat, seen from behind on a desert ridge at sunset, looking out over a western canyon that fades in the distance toward an urban skyline, amber and blue light — Illustration: GTA Zone

For a lot of people, Rockstar Games boils down to stealing cars. That forgets half its story. Before and between the GTAs, the studio made a cult western, a bullet-time crime thriller, a 1947 detective case and a schoolyard game that became legendary. Here’s our ranking of the best Rockstar games besides GTA, and what ties them directly to the series.

The same DNA as GTA

If these games speak so directly to GTA fans, it’s no accident: they share the same technical kitchen. The in-house RAGE engine (Rockstar Advanced Game Engine), which first appeared back in 2006 on Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis but was popularized by GTA IV in 2008, also powers Red Dead Redemption, Max Payne 3 and then Red Dead Redemption 2. Euphoria physics, those procedural body reactions that make every fall and every impact unique, was likewise born with GTA IV before spreading to Red Dead and Max Payne 3. It’s the same technological lineage that leads all the way to GTA VI, as we explain in our GTA IV retrospective.

Game	Release	Studio	Metacritic
Red Dead Redemption 2	2018	Rockstar Studios	97
Red Dead Redemption	2010	Rockstar San Diego	95
L.A. Noire	2011	Team Bondi	89
Bully	2006	Rockstar Vancouver	87
Max Payne 3	2012	Rockstar Studios	87
Midnight Club: Los Angeles	2008	Rockstar San Diego	82
Manhunt	2003	Rockstar North	75

Red Dead Redemption, the real masterpiece

If a single Rockstar game outside GTA is worth the detour, it’s Red Dead Redemption 2. Its western epic, its world that feels alive to an extreme degree and its writing make it one of the high points of gaming, period. To measure what separates Rockstar’s criminal Wild West from its urban playground, check out our GTA VI vs RDR2 comparison.

Western-poster-style illustration: a lone outlaw in a long coat, on horseback at golden dawn along a misty valley, mesas and pine ridges in the distance — The frontier of Red Dead Redemption, the western playground where Rockstar transplanted its open-world formula. Illustration: GTA Zone

The official Red Dead Redemption 2 trailer, unveiled by Rockstar. Source: Rockstar Games

Rockstar’s dark side

Far from the Los Santos sun, Rockstar has always cultivated a taste for the dark. Max Payne 3 is the purest example: bullet-time gunplay with choreographed violence, the first installment developed in-house after the trilogy Remedy began. L.A. Noire pushes the investigation right onto the suspects’ faces thanks to MotionScan facial capture, in a 1947 Los Angeles rebuilt down to the bone. And Manhunt remains the most disturbing game ever to come out of Rockstar North, the very studio behind GTA, so much so that it was banned in several countries.

Neon-noir illustration: an antihero in a trench coat mid bullet-time dive, firing two pistols in the rain, shards of glass and muzzle flashes in slow motion, a rooftop at night, amber and cyan lights — Max Payne's desperate bullet-time, the signature of Rockstar's dark side. Illustration: GTA Zone

A long-awaited remake

The best news for the nostalgic crowd comes down to two words: Max Payne. In April 2022, the Finnish studio Remedy, the series’ original creator, announced a remake of the first two Max Payne games, combined into a single title on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series, fully funded by Rockstar and built on Remedy’s Northlight engine. The project was still in full production as of 2025, with no release date announced, but with a collaboration described as close between the two studios. A reminder that Rockstar’s catalog outside GTA still has a future, while the main franchise gears up for its big return with GTA VI on November 19, 2026.

To wrap up, here’s our complete ranking of the best Rockstar games besides GTA, from the all-time masterpiece to the cult curiosity.

1
Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018)

The absolute peak of Rockstar's catalog outside GTA. Released on October 26, 2018, powered by a RAGE engine refined to the point of obsession (baked lighting, volumetric weather, Vulkan rendering on PC), it scored a 97 out of 100 on Metacritic and, as of Take-Two's earnings call on May 21, 2026, has sold more than 85 million copies, making it the third best-selling game in history, ahead of Wii Sports. Its opening generated $725 million in three days, the biggest entertainment weekend behind GTA V. We break down the numbers in our RDR2 sales analysis.
2
Red Dead Redemption (2010)

The western that started it all. Developed by Rockstar San Diego on RAGE and Euphoria, it's Rockstar's first big open-world epic outside GTA, and a critical tidal wave crowned with multiple Game of the Year titles. John Marston, the closing of the frontier, an ending that sticks with you: it's the brilliant rough draft of everything RDR2 perfected eight years later.
3
Max Payne 3 (2012)

Rockstar's most intense crime thriller. The first Max Payne developed in-house after Remedy's installments, it pushes Euphoria physics and the RAGE engine in service of bullet-time gunplay with a rare, choreographed brutality, set against a sweltering São Paulo. Metacritic 87 on PS3 and PC. Good news for fans: a remake of the first two Max Payne games by Remedy, funded by Rockstar, is on the way.
4
L.A. Noire (2011)

The catalog's oddball. Developed by Team Bondi and published by Rockstar, this detective thriller set in 1947 Los Angeles bet everything on MotionScan, a 32-camera facial-capture technology that made every interrogation readable on the suspects' faces. Metacritic 89, an unmatched film-noir mood, and one of the biggest technical gambles Rockstar ever attempted.
5
Bully (2006)

GTA in short pants. From Rockstar Vancouver (and renamed Canis Canem Edit in Europe), Bully transplants the sandbox formula into an American boarding school: classes to skip, bullies to beat down, girls to win over. Metacritic 87, more than 1.5 million copies sold, and a cult status that hasn't faded. A Bully 2 preproduction existed at Rockstar New England, but it never came together.
6
Manhunt (2003)

The cursed game from Rockstar North, the very studio behind GTA. Released on PS2 in 2003, this grim stealth game where you execute gangs under the eye of a snuff film set off a worldwide scandal, bans and a media trial. Metacritic 75, but a radical edge that still fascinates. For strong stomachs only.
7
Midnight Club: Los Angeles (2008)

Rockstar San Diego's forgotten racer. Released on October 20, 2008, this open-world arcade racing game set in a day-and-night Los Angeles delivered a punchy sense of driving and a feel for the city that fed the studio's automotive DNA. Metacritic 82 on PS3. Rockstar has never returned to the series since, much to the dismay of speed fans.

FAQ

What's the best Rockstar game that isn't GTA?

Red Dead Redemption 2 is the consensus pick: 97 out of 100 on Metacritic, more than 85 million copies sold, and the biggest launch weekend in entertainment history after GTA V. It's the peak of Rockstar's catalog outside Grand Theft Auto.

Will Bully ever get a sequel?

No sequel has been released to date. Bully 2 entered preproduction at Rockstar New England, but the project never officially came together. So the original Bully (2006) remains a cult one-off.

Is the Max Payne remake confirmed?

Yes. In April 2022, Remedy Entertainment announced a remake of Max Payne 1 and 2, combined into a single game on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series, funded by Rockstar. The project runs on Remedy's Northlight engine and was still in production as of 2025, with no release date announced.

Which Rockstar games use the same engine as GTA?

Red Dead Redemption, Red Dead Redemption 2 and Max Payne 3 run on the RAGE engine, the same one powering GTA IV, GTA V and GTA VI. Red Dead and Max Payne 3 also use Euphoria physics, which debuted with GTA IV in 2008.