Best Open-World Games to Play After GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2

If you have finished GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2, start with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt for another long, character-driven journey or Cyberpunk 2077 for a dense futuristic city. Choose Elden Ring if discovering secrets matters more than following a directed story, and Ghost of Tsushima if you want a cinematic historical adventure. There is no single successor that reproduces both Rockstar games; the right choice depends on which part of them you miss.

Choose the kind of open world you want next

GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 are often grouped together because both let you roam through large, reactive spaces. Their appeal is not identical, though. One emphasizes modern criminal satire and rapid movement; the other builds a slower historical journey around characters, place and atmosphere. Your best next game depends on which element you want to preserve.

#	Preview	Product	Price
1		NAMCO - CD Projekt Red - The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt - Complete Edition, Playstation 5 [English Edition]	$37.16	Buy on Amazon
2		The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Complete Edition (Xbox Series X)	$35.00	Buy on Amazon

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• Story and characters: Choose The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Its central premise is an authored journey in which Geralt searches for his adopted daughter, Ciri.
• A city that feels packed and purposeful: Choose Cyberpunk 2077, an open-world role-playing game set in Night City.
• Unplanned discovery and a tougher action game: Choose Elden Ring. You can travel on foot or horseback and decide which mysteries to pursue first.
• A cinematic historical setting: Choose Ghost of Tsushima, especially if landscape, mood and a focused warrior story matter more than a contemporary sandbox.
• Flexible fantasy role-play: Choose The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim if you want to wander, build a character and follow your own objectives. Confirm the current edition and platform listing before buying because the available versions change.

The first four recommendations appear in the official PlayStation open-world guide, while the Witcher and Cyberpunk descriptions come from their publisher. The “best for” labels in this article are practical judgments about fit, not objective scores or claims that one game is universally superior.

At-a-glance comparison

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — best for a long, story-led fantasy journey

If what you miss from Red Dead Redemption 2 is the feeling of living alongside a cast of memorable people, begin here. CD PROJEKT RED describes The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt as a single-player, open-world RPG centered on Geralt’s search for his adopted daughter, Ciri. That premise gives the game a clear emotional spine while leaving room for contracts, travel and side stories across a dark fantasy world.

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Why it follows GTA 5 and RDR2 well

The Witcher 3 is not a modern crime sandbox and it does not imitate the frontier. Its strength is authored continuity: the world, characters and quests are designed to make your time away from the main path feel connected to the larger journey. If you enjoyed RDR2 because small encounters and personal stakes made the map feel inhabited, this is the closest recommendation on the list in terms of narrative ambition rather than setting.

It also works for players who want a substantial game after two major open worlds. The structure supports long sessions in which you can advance the central search, investigate a local problem or simply travel to another part of the map. That flexibility makes it a better fit for story-first players than for someone who wants the map to be an empty playground.

What to expect before you start

• The game is single-player; there is no multiplayer component to plan around.
• Its fantasy tone is considerably darker than a conventional heroic adventure.
• The central story follows Geralt and Ciri, so the strongest reason to play is the journey and its characters, not merely the size of the map.
• The publisher currently identifies a remastered version for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2. Platform names and edition bundles can change, so match the store listing to your hardware.

Who should choose it

Pick The Witcher 3 if your ideal follow-up is a lengthy fantasy road story with a defined protagonist, a serious tone and optional quests that reward attention. Pick something else if your priority is modern vehicles, an entirely self-directed narrative or the most demanding combat on this list.

Cyberpunk 2077 — best for a dense futuristic city

Cyberpunk 2077 shifts the open-world formula from frontier roads and rural landscapes to Night City. Its publisher describes it as an open-world role-playing game set in that futuristic metropolis. The result is a recommendation for readers who want to keep the urban freedom and constant activity of GTA 5 while moving into a very different tone and visual language.

Why Night City is the right kind of change

After spending dozens of hours in Los Santos, another contemporary city can sound too familiar. Night City is useful precisely because it changes the context: the open world is still urban and mission-rich, but the setting is speculative and heavily stylized. You get the density of a city rather than the long-distance travel that defines a frontier game, making it a strong choice when you want to move from one encounter to the next without giving up roaming.

The role-playing format also makes it a natural bridge for players who liked choosing how to approach missions in GTA 5 but now want a more explicit character-building framework. Treat the recommendation as a shift toward a directed RPG in a city, not as a promise that every system works like Rockstar’s sandbox.

Base game versus Phantom Liberty

CD PROJEKT RED identifies Phantom Liberty as an expansion for Cyberpunk 2077. The expansion is not required to play the base game. If you are deciding what to buy, first establish whether the listing is for the base game, the expansion alone, or a bundle that includes both. Store names and package contents vary by platform and region.

Who should choose it

Choose Cyberpunk 2077 when your priorities are a concentrated city, a futuristic atmosphere and role-playing decisions. It is less suitable if you specifically want a quiet natural landscape, a historical setting or a game whose main appeal is unstructured discovery without a strong mission framework.

Elden Ring — best for self-directed discovery and a tougher action challenge

Elden Ring is the option for players who do not need the game to explain where to go next. The official PlayStation guide describes traversing its world on foot or horseback while discovering secrets. That emphasis changes the rhythm of an open-world game: instead of treating the map as a route between authored missions, you can treat almost any visible landmark as an invitation to investigate.

How its freedom differs from GTA 5 and RDR2

In Rockstar’s games, the world is often organized around recognizable mission chains and character routines. Elden Ring makes uncertainty part of the appeal. You may notice a distant structure, follow a path because it looks interesting, find a hidden area and only later understand how it fits into the wider world. This is why it suits players who remember the wandering between missions more than the missions themselves.

The game also asks for a different relationship with failure. The “tougher action challenge” label is an editorial fit judgment rather than a publisher statistic, but it is an important buying signal: choose this only if learning enemy patterns, experimenting with your approach and trying again sounds rewarding. If you want a relaxed sightseeing trip, another recommendation will fit better.

Who should choose it

• Choose it if you want secrets, detours and a route that is largely your own.
• Choose it if you are comfortable with combat that demands patience and adaptation.
• Skip it for now if your main requirement is a clearly signposted character drama comparable to Arthur Morgan’s story.

Check the current official game page for the platform and edition you intend to purchase. Availability and bundled versions are practical details that can change independently of the game’s design.

Ghost of Tsushima — best for a cinematic historical adventure

Ghost of Tsushima is the most direct recommendation for someone who wants atmosphere, landscape and a historical setting after Red Dead Redemption 2. PlayStation includes it in its open-world recommendations. Calling it the closest match to Red Dead’s landscape-and-character appeal is an editorial comparison, not a statement from the publisher, but it captures the reason to consider it.

Rank #2

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Complete Edition (Xbox Series X)

• PLAY AS A HIGHLY TRAINED MONSTER SLAYER FOR HIRE: Trained from early childhood and mutated to gain superhuman skills, strength, and reflexes, witchers are a counterbalance to the monster-infested world in which they live.
• Gruesomely destroy foes as a professional monster hunter armed with a range of upgradeable weapons, mutating potions, and combat magic.
• Hunt down a wide variety of exotic monsters, from savage beasts prowling mountain passes to cunning supernatural predators lurking in the shadowy back alleys of densely populated cities. Invest your rewards to upgrade your weaponry and buy custom armor, or spend them on horse races, card games, fist fighting, and other pleasures life brings.
• EXPLORE A MORALLY AMBIGUOUS FANTASY OPEN WORLD: Built for endless adventure, the massive open world of The Witcher sets new standards in terms of size, depth, and complexity. Traverse a fantastical open world: explore forgotten ruins, caves, and shipwrecks, trade with merchants and dwarven smiths in cities, and hunt across the open plains, mountains, and seas. Deal with treasonous generals, devious witches, and corrupt royalty to provide dark and dangerous services. Make choices that go beyond good & evil, and face their far-reaching consequences.
• TRACK DOWN THE CHILD OF PROPHECY: Take on the most important contract of your life: to track down the child of prophecy, the key to saving or destroying this world. In times of war, chase down the child of prophecy, a living weapon foretold by ancient elven legends. Struggle against ferocious rulers, spirits of the wilds, and even a threat from beyond the veil – all hell-bent on controlling this world. Define your destiny in a world that may not be worth saving.

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What makes it a good transition

The game offers a focused warrior story in a cohesive historical landscape. That combination matters if you enjoyed how RDR2 made travel itself feel meaningful. You are not buying another western, and you should not expect the same social or frontier systems. You are choosing a similarly cinematic approach to place: the environment is there to be crossed, observed and tied to the protagonist’s journey.

Compared with Elden Ring, the experience is more directed. Compared with The Witcher 3, the setting is historical rather than fantastical. Those distinctions make Ghost of Tsushima the middle path for a reader who wants exploration without abandoning a readable story.

Who should choose it

Pick it if your ideal next game is a polished historical adventure with strong visual identity and a clear central character. It is not the first choice for players who want the broadest character-build experimentation or a city packed with contemporary activities. Confirm the current platform-holder listing for the edition sold in your region.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim — best for flexible fantasy role-play

Skyrim remains a sensible wildcard for readers who define “open world” as the freedom to ignore the intended order of events. You can approach its fantasy setting as a main-quest campaign, a sequence of local adventures or a personal role-playing experiment. That flexibility is the recommendation’s main value, not a claim that it is the newest or most technically current option.

Why it belongs on a post-Rockstar shortlist

GTA 5 and RDR2 give you a protagonist with a prescribed identity. Skyrim shifts more responsibility to the player: you decide what kind of character to inhabit and which threads deserve your time. If you finished the Rockstar games wishing you could ignore the central plot for longer and simply build a life around the world, this is the strongest fit among the fantasy choices.

A current official edition and platform matrix for Skyrim was not established in the available official material. Before purchasing, check the listing for your console or PC, confirm which edition is included and verify whether any desired content is part of that package.

Decision paths for different kinds of GTA 5 and RDR2 fans

If story is the non-negotiable

Start with The Witcher 3. Its central search for Ciri gives the world a clear narrative purpose. Choose Ghost of Tsushima instead if you want that focus in a historical setting rather than dark fantasy.

If you want another city

Choose Cyberpunk 2077. Night City provides the urban density that makes it the natural alternative to returning to Los Santos, while the role-playing structure gives your decisions more weight than a simple sightseeing sandbox.

If you want to get lost

Choose Elden Ring for discovery built around uncertainty and secrets. Choose Skyrim if you want the same broad freedom but prefer to define your character and objectives more explicitly.

If you want the closest mood to a cinematic historical journey

Choose Ghost of Tsushima. The comparison is about landscape, character focus and presentation, not shared mechanics or setting.

If you want the most substantial fantasy follow-up

Choose The Witcher 3 for an authored campaign or Skyrim for player-directed role-play. The former is the safer recommendation when you want a strong central story; the latter is better when your own choices should determine the shape of the adventure.

How to check the right version before buying

Open-world games often have remasters, expansions and platform-specific packages. Use this checklist before you click purchase:

1. Identify your platform: write down the exact hardware family, not just the console brand. The current Witcher remastered listing, for example, names PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2.
2. Read the edition name: distinguish a base game from a remaster, complete edition or bundle.
3. Separate expansions from the base game: Phantom Liberty is an expansion associated with Cyberpunk 2077; it is not the base game itself and is not required to start the base game.
4. Check regional availability: storefront catalogs, physical formats and upgrade rules can differ by country.
5. Confirm included content: do not assume that a similarly named listing contains every expansion or current-generation upgrade.
6. Check the date of the store page: platform support and bundle contents are volatile, especially for remastered releases.

What not to expect from these recommendations

• No game here reproduces both the modern criminal sandbox of GTA 5 and the historical character drama of RDR2.
• A large map does not automatically mean the same kind of freedom. Elden Ring prioritizes discovery, while The Witcher 3 prioritizes a directed journey.
• A historical setting does not make Ghost of Tsushima a western substitute; the comparison is about cinematic landscape and character focus.
• An expansion should not be treated as a prerequisite. Start with the base game when you want to decide later whether additional content is worthwhile.
• Platform and edition information can age faster than a recommendation. Verify the current publisher or platform-holder listing at the time of purchase.

Final recommendation

For most players coming directly from both GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the best first stop because it combines a substantial open world with a clearly authored journey. Choose Cyberpunk 2077 instead when a futuristic city is the priority. Choose Elden Ring for discovery and demanding action, Ghost of Tsushima for a cinematic historical adventure, or Skyrim when unrestricted fantasy role-play matters most.

Quick Recap

SaleBestseller No. 1

NAMCO - CD Projekt Red - The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt - Complete Edition, Playstation 5 [English Edition]

1205504; High-quality material; Durable; robustness

$37.16

Bestseller No. 2

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Complete Edition (Xbox Series X)

$35.00

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

Cyberpunk 2077Elden RingGhost of TsushimaGTA 5open-world gamesRed Dead Redemption 2SkyrimThe Witcher 3