Ask people what they actually do in GTA and a surprising number describe driving. Not races, not missions — driving. Radio on, no destination, occasionally a police chase.
That's a specific pleasure and there's an entire genre built around it, most of which does it considerably better than Rockstar does.
What you're actually looking for
Not simulation. GTA's driving is arcade-handling — forgiving, exaggerated, weighted toward drama over accuracy. Buying a hardcore racing sim because you enjoy GTA's driving is a common and expensive mistake; the handling models have almost nothing in common and the pleasures are unrelated.
What you want is arcade handling in an open world, ideally with police, ideally with a good soundtrack.
- 01Open-world arcade racers
The direct equivalent. Large drivable maps, arcade handling, structured events you can ignore in favour of just driving. The genre's best entries have far better handling models than GTA and far better roads to use them on.
The closest match to GTA driving, done properly - 02Police pursuit racers
If the chases are your favourite part — and for many people they are — there's a long lineage of games built entirely around escalating police pursuit. Escape, damage, escalating response levels, the whole loop GTA does as a side effect.
Built around the thing GTA does incidentally - 03Arcade racing series with soundtracks
A meaningful part of GTA's driving pleasure is the radio. Several racing series treat the soundtrack as a core feature rather than background, and it changes the experience considerably.
Underrated as a criterion - 04Driving-focused open worlds
Games where the map exists to be driven rather than fought over — long roads, varied terrain, scenery designed for the windscreen view. Less structured, more meditative.
For the aimless-drive appetite specifically - 05Simulation racing
A genuinely different hobby with a genuinely different appeal. Rewarding, deep, and not remotely what GTA's driving is. Only go here if you want to learn braking points, not if you want to cruise.
Different appetite — see our wheel guide first
Do you need a wheel?
No — and this matters, because it's a common and expensive misstep. Arcade racers and open-world driving games are designed around a controller's limited steering throw and heavy assist. A force feedback wheel in an arcade racer adds novelty and frequently makes control worse.
Wheels transform simulation racing, where force feedback carries genuine information about grip. In arcade driving there's much less information to transmit and the handling was tuned for a thumbstick. Save the money.
| What you enjoy | Look for | Skip |
|---|---|---|
| Aimless cruising with music | Open-world arcade racers | Track-based sims |
| Police chases | Pursuit-focused racers | Circuit racing |
| Damage and chaos | Arcade racers with damage models | Simulation titles |
| Car collecting | Open-world racers with deep garages | Single-car campaigns |
| Actual racing technique | Simulation racing | Everything else here |
Driving gear and games
A controller is genuinely the right input for arcade driving. Spend on the game, not the wheel — unless you're moving into simulation, which is a different hobby.
What GTA 6 might change here
Rockstar's handling model has been iterated across every entry and Red Dead Redemption 2 showed a marked shift toward weight and physicality in movement generally. Whether that translates to vehicles is unknown — and it's one of the more interesting things to watch for whenever gameplay footage arrives, since driving is where most players spend most of their hours.
The radio is the other thing. GTA's licensed stations are a substantial part of the driving experience and licensing costs have risen considerably since 2013. It's a reasonable thing to be curious about, and not something any trailer has addressed.
The cheapest way in
Racing games depreciate faster than almost any other genre, because annual and near-annual releases push previous entries down quickly and the used market fills up. A racing game two or three years old is frequently a fraction of launch price and mechanically almost identical to the current one.
For a fifteen-week window, buying one generation behind is close to free entertainment.
What holds up
- Arcade racers do GTA-style driving considerably better than GTA does
- Police pursuit games build a whole loop around GTA's best incidental feature
- Racing games depreciate fast — last generation's entries are very cheap
- A standard controller is the correct input; no hardware purchase needed
What doesn't
- Simulation racing is a different hobby with a different appeal entirely
- Buying a wheel for arcade driving usually makes control worse
- Structured racing events won't suit players who just want to cruise
- Licensed soundtracks vary and some older entries have lost tracks
The verdict
BUY an open-world arcade racer, one generation behind. That's the closest match to what people actually enjoy about GTA's driving, and buying a two-year-old entry costs a fraction of the current one for a near-identical experience.
Don't buy a wheel. Arcade handling is built around a controller and force feedback makes it worse, not better. If you find yourself wanting simulation racing instead, that's a genuinely different hobby — read our wheel guide before spending anything.