Best PS5 Games to Play While Waiting for GTA 6

The wait for Grand Theft Auto 6 has been brutal. Rockstar Games officially pushed the release to November 19, 2026, giving PlayStation 5 owners roughly ten more months of agony. But here’s the silver lining: your PS5 is stacked with open-world games that deserve your attention right now. Many of the best PS5 games to play available right now showcase DualSense features and PS5 Pro enhancements that’ll make GTA 6 feel even more impressive when it finally arrives.

Make no mistake. The PlayStation 5 is the best platform for open-world gaming. Between the DualSense controller’s haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, and the PS5 Pro’s PSSR upscaling technology, Sony’s console transforms exploration into something you genuinely feel.

These are the best PS5 games to play while waiting for GTA 6, reminding you why you bought PlayStation’s latest and fastest-selling console in the first place.

Why You Need the Best PS5 Controller for GTA 6

Before diving into recommendations, let’s talk about what made Grand Theft Auto special.

The series pioneered the “living world” concept, putting players in dense cities with reactive environments with vehicles that handle like they have weight, and the freedom to create chaos on your own terms. GTA 6 promises all of this in Leonida, a Florida-inspired state featuring Vice City, swampy grasslands, and a map reportedly 70% larger than Los Santos.

That’s dozens of hours holding your controller. For marathon sessions exploring massive open worlds, custom PS5 controllers with ergonomic grips and drift-resistant sticks become less of a luxury and more of a necessity.

The games below will put your DualSense through serious work, so keep that in mind as you build your backlog.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens spread out beneath you as a seamless playground that loads instantly thanks to the PS5’s SSD, giving you complete freedom to explore at your own pace, with activities scattered across every district and a story you can pursue whenever you feel like it.

If that doesn’t sound like a comicbook hero version of Grand Theft Auto, then we don’t know what is.

For those looking to optimize their web-slinging, we’ve put together a complete controller settings guide for Spider-Man 2, covering camera sensitivity, trigger intensity, and button remapping.

Playtime: 20-25 hours main story, 40+ hours for completionists

Ghost of Yotei

Set in Ezo (Hokkaido), the game features sprawling grasslands, snowy tundras, and the kind of exploration freedom that made its predecessor unforgettable

Ghost of Yōtei introduces non-linear storytelling with the “Yōtei Six” bosses that you can confront in any order. Even better is that you can set up camp anywhere across the map, creating that same “make your own adventure” feeling that should feel immediately familiar for GTA fans.

Built from the ground up for the PS5, Ghost of Yotei is an excellent preview of what’s to come for future PlayStation titles, including GTA. Responsive haptic vibrations bring katana combat to your fingertips while PS5 Pro owners get PSSR upscaling, ray-traced reflections, and enhanced shadows from day one. The studio promises “massive sightlines” and environmental details only possible on current-gen hardware.

Playtime: 50+ hours estimated

Death Stranding 2

Hideo Kojima’s sequel might feature the most comprehensive DualSense implementation ever designed. If you’ve never understood what makes PlayStation’s controller special, this game will convert you.

Death Stranding 2 makes you feel everything. Each surface creates distinct haptic patterns as Sam walks. Timefall rain “taps away” at your controller like actual droplets. When Sam starts toppling under cargo weight, the triggers physically tighten to encourage squeezing for balance. Left and right controller sides rumble independently to match Sam’s footsteps. The adaptive triggers respond to cargo weight. Heavier loads create more resistance. Climbing steep slopes increases trigger tension. Even weapon firing provides distinct heft through trigger feedback.

The massive open worlds spanning Australia and Mexico aren’t quite like GTA‘s crime sandbox, but the exploration freedom and environmental storytelling scratch similar itches.

Horizon Forbidden West

One of the oldest and yet still most technically impressive titles on this list, Horizon Forbidden West features one of PlayStation’s largest open worlds. Post-apocalyptic Western America stretches across deserts, jungles, snowy mountains, and underwater sections. Robotic dinosaurs roam ecosystems that feel genuinely alive, demanding the same observational gameplay loop that made you fall in love with Los Santos, Vice City, Liberty City, and more.

PS5 Pro runs Forbidden West at 60fps with Quality mode visuals, improved depth of field, cleaner volumetrics, full-resolution effects for fire and explosions, better shadows, and characters rendering at greater distances. It’s a technical showcase that justifies your early purchase of the PS5 Pro, especially before the price hikes hit.

Multiplatform PS5 Games to Play While Waiting for GTA 6

Not every GTA alternative needs to be exclusive. Some multiplatform titles offer significantly better experiences on PS5 thanks to DualSense integration or PS5 Pro enhancements.

Cyberpunk 2077

Night City might be the closest thing to a GTA-style crime sandbox on PS5. Driving through neon-soaked streets, pulling heists and building street cred, it’s clear that Cyberpunk 2077 shares GTA’s DNA more than almost any other modern game.

The DualSense implementation arrived with patch 1.5 and genuinely transforms the experience. Feel gear shifts and tires gripping asphalt while driving. It’s a game-changer that makes Cyberpunk 2077 feel totally different on PlayStation.

Don’t forget. CD Projekt Red confirmed they have “no plans” for a PS5 Pro patch so you’re getting the standard PS5 experience regardless of hardware.

Hogwarts Legacy

For something completely different, Hogwarts Legacy received one of the most comprehensive PS5 Pro enhancements available. With PSSR active across all visual modes, Hogwarts looks visually different from when it treated Potterheads to their first truly immersive experience inside the world that J.K. Rowling first created in the late 90s. We’re talking about enhanced ray-traced reflections in stained glass and water, ray-traced shadows, and higher dynamic resolution targets. The works!

The DualSense work is equally impressive. Every spell has unique haptic patterns—Accio feels like pulling, Depulso like pushing. Broom flight lets you feel the wind brushing past. The light bar pulses with your Hogwarts house colors. It’s the kind of immersive detail that demonstrates what PlayStation hardware can achieve.

Playtime: 30-40 hours main story, 60+ hours for completionists

Building the Perfect PS5 Controller

Here’s the thing about open-world games: they demand serious controller time. GTA 6‘s inevitable 100+ hours will make you want to invest in the best PS5 controller. If nothing else, our thumbs will thank you for buying proper hardware.

Hall Effect Analog Sticks

Hall Effect analog sticks use magnetic sensors instead, essentially eliminating drift and lasting significantly longer. For games requiring precise camera control during exploration, drift-free sticks are crucial.

If your current DualSense already drifts, professional stick drift repair with Hall Effect or TMR upgrades includes a 12-month warranty. Better to fix the problem now than deal with it mid-heist next November.

Back Buttons

ClickSticks and back paddles let you remap jump, dodge, and interact functions while keeping thumbs on the analog sticks. The competitive advantage in shooters is obvious, but the comfort improvement during long exploration sessions matters just as much.

The TCP Pro Delivers Everything You Need

For players serious about their open-world gaming setup, the TCP Pro PS5 Controller includes ClickSticks, interchangeable analog stick heights, and Digital Triggers out of the box. It’s designed for extended sessions, which is exactly what these games (and a bunch of other games on the PS5) demand.