Best Mobile Games Like GTA

Summary

• Payback 2 offers quality gameplay on low-end devices, with engaging missions and police chases.
• MadOut 2 features controller support, various vehicles, and customization options for a GTA-like experience.
• Gangstar Vegas provides a large open-world experience with missions, side quests, and business management elements.

The Grand Theft Auto franchise took the world by storm in 1997 with its first-ever title by DMA Design. From the second installment onward, the series was acquired by Rockstar Games, developer of Red Dead Redemption. There have been five main games in the Grand Theft Auto timeline, as well as several spin-offs, with a sixth game slated for 2025. Although many AAA titles like Call of Duty, Minecraft, and Fallout made the jump to iOS and Android, Grand Theft Auto has yet to gravitate toward that demographic.

But fret not, Grand Theft Auto fans. There are a handful of alternatives that bring vandalism and thievery to mobile devices through copycat games that share in Grand Theft Auto‘s likeness — both visually and thematically. For those who prefer a handheld gaming experience or whose busy schedules only permit on-the-go indulgence, here are a selection of mobile games that follow in Grand Theft Auto‘s footsteps and do the franchise justice as worthy substitutes.

5 Payback 2

A Well-Made Clone That Works On Low-End Devices

• Platforms: Android, iOS
• Developer: Apex Designs
• Release Date: November 20, 2012

The sequel to Apex Design’s Payback was originally released in 2012, but didn’t become free-to-play until the following year. It follows a linear narrative that tasks the player with completing missions in exchange for an in-game currency, which they can then use to unlock further chapters. Mission objectives include assassinating targets, robbing certain establishments or high-profile individuals, or entering races. Like Grand Theft Auto, the police will pursue the player if they commit a crime, until they either lose them or the player submits to an arrest.

Payback 2 is one of the more competent Grand Theft Auto clones —a subgenre in itself. It works well on low-end devices without the capacity or bandwidth to run the game to its greatest potential. It’s surprisingly well-made and the quality exceeds expectations, plus the character customization and fluidity of gameplay ensures the game never gets old.

4 MadOut 2

Controller Support And A Wide Array of Vehicles

• Platforms: Android, iOS
• Developer: MadOut Games
• Release Date: February 21, 2017

The Grand Theft Auto-style free-roam game MadOut 2lets players control a criminal in a Vice City-esque environment to complete various tasks for NPCs. The controls can be a little finicky, but MadOut 2 supports the use of a controller, which makes things a little easier when a character is traveling on foot or by vehicle. Using a controller will make it simpler to configure the button layout, plus the graphics can be optimized using the in-game menu.

MadOut 2 features dozens of weapons and over 30 different types of vehicles, as players work to gather rewards and exchange these for better loadouts. The game was released on Steam in 2017, but the servers were shut down as of 2020 to focus production entirely on the iOS and Android versions of MadOut 2.

3 Vegas Crime Simulator

Perfect For A Jam-Packed Single-Player Experience

• Platforms: Android, iOS
• Developer: Naxeex
• Release Date: June 3, 2015

Vegas Crime Simulator is openly inspired by Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, where players control a criminal operating out of Las Vegas. There are very few limits, so players can essentially do anything they want. They can steal vehicles, kill police officers, incite shootouts, and go around destroying the whole city, if they feel so inclined. In addition to various cars, Vegas Crime Simulator also features many types of motorcycles, tanks, and helicopters, as well as weapons ranging from axes to shotguns. Since the game isn’t multiplayer, it is not possible to interact with other players around the world, and all the content is single-player only.

The graphics are not only beyond expectations, but they help to give Vegas Crime Simulator a hit of nostalgia that’s reminiscent of the older Grand Theft Auto games. Developer Naxeex found such resounding success with Vegas Crime Simulator that it released a sequel, exclusive to Androids.

2 Go To Street

Includes Ads But Features Stunning 3D Graphics

• Platforms: Android
• Developer: Leisure Games
• Release Date: September 30, 2024

Although it takes a few pages out of Grand Theft Auto‘s book, Go To Street is primarily a racing game as opposed to strictly a crime simulator. It captures the essence of Grand Theft Auto 5, as it emulates the many types of races available to undertake in Grand Theft Auto Online. It’s not an ad-free experience like some other mobile games, so if ads are a deal-breaker, Go To Street probably isn’t the go-to choice. However, the game’s overall execution makes up for the occasional disruption. The engaging concept and appealing 3D graphics make players want to invest their time in driving around and completing missions, ads or not.

The main objective of Go To Street is to drive around and finish challenges to collect coins, which can then be exchanged for better vehicles, weapons, and more options for character customization. Like Vegas Crime Simulator, the game also performed well enough to warrant a sequel, which is constantly receiving updates.

1 Gangstar Vegas: World of Crime

Gameloft’s Largest Open-World Game

• Platforms: Android, iOS
• Developer: Gameloft
• Release Date: June 7, 2013

Gangstar: Vegas is the seventh installment in the Gangstar series, but one of the only titles to be brought to iOS and Android. As the name suggests, the game takes place in Las Vegas and follows a martial artist named Jason Malone, who is being hunted down by a mafia boss. Players can not only complete main missions, but also accept side quests like gang wars, bank robberies, and races. Players can also earn money through business management, owning and operating various establishments that return revenue.

Like Grand Theft Auto, the game features casinos, nightclubs, and various bars, the former of which also includes minigames like blackjack and slot machines. Gangstar Vegas was one of the last entries in the franchise to not include microtransactions, which pivoted attention away from providing an enjoyable game and more toward monetizing in-game perks. New Orleans and Rio are good options as well, but Vegas has the closest resemblance to the Grand Theft Auto series.