Best Rockstar Games That Aren't GTA: Our Top Picks

For a lot of people, Rockstar Games comes down to stealing cars. That forgets half its story. Before and between the GTA games, the studio crafted a cult western, a bullet-time crime thriller, a 1947 murder investigation, and a schoolyard game that became legendary. Here’s our ranking of the best Rockstar games beyond GTA, and what links them directly to the saga.

The same DNA as GTA

If these games speak to GTA fans so strongly, it’s no accident: they share the same technical recipe. The in-house RAGE engine (Rockstar Advanced Game Engine), debuted on GTA IV in 2008, also powers Red Dead Redemption, Max Payne 3, and later Red Dead Redemption 2. Euphoria physics, those procedural body reactions that make every fall and every impact unique, was also born with GTA IV before flowing into 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.

Red Dead Redemption, the real masterpiece

If a single non-GTA Rockstar game is worth the detour, it’s Red Dead Redemption 2. Its western epic, its world alive to an extreme, and its writing make it one of the peaks of video games, period. To gauge what separates Rockstar’s criminal frontier from its urban playground, check out our GTA VI vs. RDR2 comparison.

Rockstar’s dark side

Far from the Los Santos sun, Rockstar has always cultivated a taste for the dark. Max Payne 3 is its quintessence: a bullet-time gunplay of choreographed violence, the first entry developed in-house after the trilogy Remedy started. L.A. Noire pushes investigation all the way to the suspect’s face 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, to the point of being banned in several countries.

A long-awaited remake

The best news for the nostalgic 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, entirely 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 non-GTA catalog still has a future ahead of it, while the main franchise prepares its big comeback with GTA VI on November 19, 2026.

To wrap up, here’s our full ranking of the best Rockstar games beyond GTA, from the absolute masterpiece to the cult curiosity.

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 opening weekend in entertainment history after GTA V. It's the peak of Rockstar's catalog outside Grand Theft Auto.

Will Bully get a sequel?

No sequel has shipped to date. Bully 2 reportedly entered preproduction at Rockstar New England, but the project never officially materialized. The original Bully (2006) remains a one-off cult classic.

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