5 Best Rockstar Games That Aren’t GTA

When you look at the lifetime sales of “Grand Theft Auto 5” alone, it’s clear why Rockstar doesn’t bother to publish much else besides “GTA” and “Red Dead Redemption” anymore. Basically, they don’t have to. It’s not unlike how Valve hasn’t seemed particularly interested in making games anymore now that they are raking in the cash from running Steam. But when you look at some of the other games Rockstar has published besides “GTA,” and how awesome many of them are, it’s disappointing that the company has gone all-in on its two biggest franchises over these last 15 years or so.

From another open world adventure that also deserved to be a franchise but never got one, to entries in entirely different genres that Rockstar has completely abandoned, Rockstar actually used to have a pretty diverse portfolio. And a lot of that portfolio was fantastic, which needs to be spotlighted — especially as that part of the company’s output becomes an increasingly distant memory. Although, in Rockstar’s defense, it isn’t the only major publisher these days that only focuses on its absolute biggest hits and has all but abandoned all of its other IP. But that’s a gripe for another day…

Let’s take a look at Rockstar’s five best games that aren’t in the “Grand Theft Auto” franchise.

5. Max Payne 3

Only two months after the release of “GTA 3,” Rockstar published another groundbreaking, generation-defining title: “Max Payne.” Combining “Matrix”-style bullet time slow-mo effects with diving, dual pistol-wielding John Woo action — not to mention a complex, mature noir narrative — the game pushed boundaries for both gameplay mechanics and storytelling. But I argue that “Max Payne 3” proved to be the ultimate realization of all that, bringing in a level of modern polish that the first two entries couldn’t have possibly achieved while having the best story and gameplay variety of the trilogy.

Plus, the third game was the first entry to be developed by a team within Rockstar, with the previous two games coming from Remedy. So it was the first “Max Payne” game to be a Rockstar game through and through, which is the other reason we let this game represent the franchise on this list. Sadly, it would be the last game Rockstar published before going all-in on “GTA” and “Red Dead” for the next 14 years and counting, ports and remasters not withstanding.

Still, this one at least has a happy ending. Rockstar not only gave its blessing to a remake of “Max Payne” and “Max Payne 2” (combined into a single game), but the company seems excited about it and plans to throw the full force of its finances and marketing machine behind the upcoming release. Here’s hoping it sells well enough to inspire Rockstar to start branching out a bit again.

4. The Warriors

2023’s “Robocop: Rogue City” showed what can happen when you let a team who has true respect and admiration for a movie make a game based on said movie, and also allow that game to be a scrappy labor of love in the best possible way. It’s something that doesn’t happen nearly enough, but when it does, the results are magic — as it was when Rockstar put out a game based upon the cult classic action flick “The Warriors.” That remains one of the best movie tie-in games of all time, and a perfect snapshot of the kinds of games Rockstar was still allowing during its 2000s golden era, back before every single game it put out had to be a massive, highly polished, headline-grabbing event.

Smartly making the game a beat-em-up at its core — fitting, since the original movie basically set the template for the entire beat-em-up genre — “The Warriors” instantly grabs you with how satisfying it is to bash heads in. The urge was also resisted to try to make it some huge cinematic experience, mostly letting the gameplay speak for itself with surprisingly sparse cutscenes and unplayable segments. 

Sure, there isn’t the depth or gameplay variety of a “GTA,” but there didn’t have to be. It’s just a fun game based on a fun movie, which is all anyone who would buy a “Warriors” game was looking for. Miraculously, a 1080p up-res of the PS2 version is available for just 15 bucks on the PSN store, which is a steal.

3. Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition

Before bringing “GTA” itself into 3D, Rockstar got its feet wet with vehicular-based gameplay in huge 3D spaces with PS2 launch titles “Smuggler’s Run” and “Midnight Club: Street Racing.” Though both of those franchises got several sequels, it was “Midnight Club” that ultimately had the staying power to actually make the jump to the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 generation — something that only a select few Rockstar franchises can claim. And while “Midnight Club: Los Angeles” was a solid entry, sixth generation swan song “Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition” was the pinnacle of the franchise and remains one of the best open world street racers ever made.

Rockstar pulled out all the stops with “Midnight Club 3.” The cities were massive, the soundtrack had a ridiculous number of songs, and the motorcycles felt better realized than they did in their introduction in the previous game. But what really set the game apart was the mind-boggling amount of customization options offered, which is where the titular partnership with Dub Magazine came into play. You could spend hours tinkering with your cars without even getting behind the wheel and still have a blast. 

The various “Need for Speed” street racing games tend to get the most love from fans of the genre, but “Midnight Club 3” deserves to be in that conversation as well. It definitely makes us wish Rockstar would go back to making actual racing games again rather than only focusing on the racing within the “GTA” series anymore.

2. Bully

Though many of Rockstar’s other games flirted with open-ended gameplay and large explorable areas, it wasn’t until “Bully” that the publisher brought a true “GTA”-style experience to an entirely different franchise. While Bulworth Academy and the surrounding town was much smaller than even “GTA 3,” it was more than made up for in packing that area with finer detail and far less dead space that only existed to pad out the size of the world to feel as big and impressive as possible.

In addition to a better-curated, more tightly polished world, “Bully” was also a better-paced experience overall, especially compared to the “GTA” games of its era. It also has what remains one of the best stories of any Rockstar game, as well as one of the more interesting casts of characters. You get invested in Jimmy Hopkins’ experience at Bulworth, and the friends and enemies he makes along the way, in a manner that you just don’t with a “GTA” game because “Bully” isn’t trying to tell an epic crime saga featuring dozens upon dozens of characters. Everyone has been a kid trying to fit in at school. Most of us have never attempted to build a criminal empire. 

There have been rumors and leaks over the years that point to a “Bully 2” that was in development but ultimately canceled, but nothing was ever officially announced by Rockstar. At this point, a remake of the first game seems more likely that a full-fledged sequel — but even then, don’t hold your breath.

1. Red Dead Redemption 2

It wasn’t until “Red Dead Redemption” that Rockstar finally put out a game that felt like it was trying to be as good as, if not better, than “GTA.” Whether it is better is a matter of opinion, but it’s most certainly at least equivalent in terms of quality. In fact, it’s easy to make the case that “Red Dead Redemption 2” is Rockstar’s finest work to date, with even the best “GTA” game being its runner up. If nothing else, the story and characters of “RDR2” easily top not only any “GTA” game, but most video games, period.

While “Red Dead” was initially looked at as simply “GTA” in the Old West, it quickly proved that it was its own the thing entirely and deserves its place as one of Rockstar’s two main pillars. While fields, forests, mountains, and frontier towns might lack the hustle and bustle of a “GTA” metropolis, the world of “Red Dead Redemption 2” just feels more lived in and alive. It makes even “GTA 5” feel almost like a movie set of a city rather than a real place. And that story — nobody is still saying video game stories can never be as good as movies after playing “RDR 2.”

Needless to say, don’t expect to be playing “Red Dead Redemption 3” for a long time – any significant work on a new “Red Dead” likely won’t even begin until “GTA 6” is completely finished and shipped. And even then, there will be bugs to fix, patches to release, and the next iteration of “GTA Online” to get up and running first.