Rockstar Games is widely regarded as one of the best video game developers out there. The studio has risen to fame and unprecedented success thanks to its work on Grand Theft Auto and the Red Dead Redemption games, some of the most revolutionary and best-selling open-world games ever made. They bundle incredible stories with near limitless gameplay opportunities, leading players to play them for hundreds of hours. Of course, now that we are in 2026, all eyes are on Grand Theft Auto VI, and it is expected to be one of the most ambitious games ever produced. With that said, these two franchises have often overshadowed Rockstar’s other works.
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We decided it was time to shine a light on Rockstar’s other great games outside of GTA and Red Dead. This list will only comprise games developed by Rockstar itself, so don’t expect LA Noire, as it was largely developed by Team Bond with some assistance provided by Rockstar.
5) Manhunt
Rockstar Games is well-known for making games that tow the line of being highly inappropriate with excessive violence, sexual content, and much, much more. Manhunt took it to the brink with a disturbing story about a death row inmate who is forced to brutally kill psychotic criminals on camera for snuff films. It’s a wild game and one that received a lot of heat, even getting banned in some territories for some time.
Its sequel was even more controversial, initially garnering an AO rating in the United States, which would’ve effectively banned it from all major retailers and platforms like Xbox and PlayStation. Rockstar eventually re-edited the game to censor some of the more objectionable content and was granted an M rating, allowing it to release as normal. Nevertheless, it still caught a lot of flack in the mainstream news and amongst politicians who were repulsed by the level of violence in the game, especially as the Wii version allowed you to mimic the actions, such as stabbing someone.
However, the first Manhunt is the superior game and remains a really fascinating and sadistic horror game that showed Rockstar was capable of more than open-world games. It’s still one of the effective displays of violence in a video game because it isn’t meant to be purely fun. It’s meant to invoke disgust and horror rather than glee. It’s a means to an end for someone desperate to survive. The Manhunt franchise was iced after the third game, and honestly, it’s probably for the best we didn’t get a third game with more realistic graphics.
4) Midnight Club: Los Angeles
The Midnight Club franchise remains one of Rockstar’s most underrated. It gave Need for Speed a run for its money by emulating street racing culture with flashy cars, incredible real-life cities, and great music. Midnight Club: Los Angeles is the last game in the series, something that is somewhat disheartening, but also understandable after Grand Theft Auto exploded into superstardom while being able to retain a lot of the identity of Midnight Club through in-game street races, car collections, and car meet-ups with other players.
Nevertheless, Midnight Club: Los Angeles was a strong racing game that took place in one of America’s most well-trodden cities. The car controls were tight and the races were suspenseful, but nothing beat driving around this version of Los Angeles. While it’s not totally one-to-one, if you know the city, you’ll be able to locate its various landmarks with ease and navigate around it. Unlike GTA, Midnight Club: Los Angeles leveraged real brands across not only vehicles, but also for stores and billboards around the map, making it all the more immersive. It’s an underrated racing game, and if you’ve never played it, it remains available as a backward-compatible game on Xbox.
3) The Warriors
The Warriors is a video game adaptation of the cult-classic 1979 film of the same name, following the titular gang battling other deviants in New York City through massive brawls. Given there is no gunplay, Rockstar had to really beef up its melee combat and it absolutely did. You can grapple with enemies and beat them into submission the ground, throw them into the environment, and utilize weapons to deliver ferocious attacks. It’s bloody and depraved in all the best ways.
The game also does a fantastic job of not only recreating the film’s story, leveraging actors like James Remar, but it expands on it with a good chunk of the game taking place before the events of the film. It’s one of the best movie tie-in games out there and once again highlighted Rockstar’s ability to do more than GTA.
2) Bully
Bully was an extremely novel concept about a teenage hoodlum who gets sent off to a preppy private school. His rebellious nature leads him to warring with various factions of students, pushing back against oppressive teachers, and causing all kinds of chaos around Bullworth Academy. Rockstar has created many great games, but Bully remains one of its best, and it felt like we only scratched the surface of what was possible with this concept. A sequel was in development at some point, but it was cancelled. However, some fans hope that maybe Rockstar will return to this series after GTA 6.
1) Max Payne 3
Max Payne 3 is not only one of Rockstar’s best games, but one of the best third-person shooters ever made. After Remedy made the first two Max Payne titles, Rockstar Games took over development duties for the third game and took Max all the way to Brazil in his most dramatic adventures yet. It’s a dark game that takes you to the depths of hell and back, but it’s wickedly satisfying to play thanks to Rockstar’s masterful shooting gameplay and controls.
It’s a very fluid shooter thanks to extremely refined movement. Of course, you can dive and twirl through the air, which is fantastic and leads to some really cool moments, but being able to pivot Max’s hips so he can aim at enemies to the side without breaking his forward stride is just as good. It flows exactly as it should and is one of the most intuitive shooters I have ever played.
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Image Courtesy of Netflix
