Grand Theft Auto has numerous game modes that have little to do with stealing cars or committing robberies. After the release of the Cunning Stunts content update in 2016, players had access to a slew of stunt mode events involving jumping off ramps and driving through rings of fire. A collection of vehicles also appeared including nimble motorcycles and blazingly fast super cars perfect for these new death-defying activities.

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Unfortunately, despite Rockstar Games regularly supplementing stunt events with more content, it's not always easy to find multiplayer opponents for these dangerous races. If racing and performing stunts are a GTA Online gamer's passion, they are better served by playing other full-fledged racing and driving games. The best alternatives to Grand Theft Auto's stunt series offer additional events and cars to choose from as well as more humans ready for head-to-head action. Also, the following games provide the same thrills of GTA Online's stunt mode with tracks designed so that only the most skilled racers to can safely navigate them.

Finally, we can race cars again without Pixar getting in the way! Yes, this game has loop-de-loops and cartoon-themed vehicles just like Hot Wheels in real life. Although it was originally released in 2021, Hot Wheels Unleashed just recently got added to Xbox Game Pass in February, giving hundreds of thousands of new players access to this nostalgic title.

Don’t let the bright orange tracks and supersized toy rooms fool you though: this Hot Wheels game can be pretty difficult. Sure, there are lots of kooky and unique raceways just like in a Grand Theft Auto stunt race, but also like GTA V players actually need to be good at racing games in order to be competitive. Braking is essential to drift around corners or avoid fishtailing after sharp turns and the NPC drivers aren’t shy about running players off the road. Tons of other challenges exist throughout the various game modes.

The online community is going strong, meaning getting into games is quick and easy, but if couch-co op is preferred, Hot Wheels Unleashed offers split screen too! As if the included tracks aren't enough, users have created some insane Hot Wheels Unleashed levels to race in complete with never-ending gravity-defying ramps. GTA V fans can get right into a totally realistic race on a totally unrealistic track in a flash with Hot Wheels Unleashed!

This game is pure chaos and it’s so much fun! Turbo Golf Racing is extremely similar to Rocket League, except for a few key elements: players tend to be much less skilled or simply less competitive, and gamers are actively encouraged to do trick shots through a number of mechanics.

For example, there are multiple tracks where if players can get their starting boost and hit their ball just right, it will get caught by boost rings and sent directly to the goal. There are also items to mess up other players, like the rocket, and pop-out wings, so vehicles can glide around for a bit.

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It’s worth mentioning that the levels are very creative and unique. Every season adds new tracks, each with a specific theme. Currently, there’s an Aztec theme giving hard Legend of the Hidden Temple vibes, fun waterfall obstacles, and new skins for the vehicles and golf balls.

It’s similar to the gameplay of the GTA V stunt series, but making a vehicle do awesome airborne tricks and sabotaging other players are some of the best parts that gamers can keep enjoying with Turbo Golf Racing.

Not all of Forza is precision driving in beautiful landscapes; sometimes it’s about having fun in a Hot Wheels-themed DLC. Yes, this game is very similar to Hot Wheels Unleashed, but it’s much more difficult and tailored to players who enjoy racing games even when the track isn’t orange. Fans of racing games don’t need help to win, but that doesn’t mean they don’t want to goof around sometimes.

Related: Best Games Like Grand Theft Auto 5 On Xbox Game PassForza Horizon 5 doesn’t offer any default handicaps like easier racing games such as Mario Kart 8, so players can really improve their speed and overall control in a realistic setting. If players want to get unrealistic without the game becoming too easy, Grand Theft Auto stunt races are a great outlet, but it’s still not the same as a real racing game. Forza Horizon 5 is one of the best racing games ever and with the Hot Wheels DLC, players can take a break from perfect runs across beautiful landscapes to try their hand at daredevil driving.

This DLC gives players 10 new cars, a ton of new maps, and the ability to build their own Hot Wheels tracks using 80 different construction pieces. Forza’s open-world racing game continues to be the best, even when players are killing some time with Hot Wheels.

If you need a reminder about what makes Forza Horizon 5 so popular, read our full review of this comprehensive racer.

Mario Kart may seem an unlikely choice, but there are plenty of stunts to perform in this game, especially once players get into the mini-games. Between boost strips and chaotic items like a literal bomb-omb, players can wreak havoc on each other…just not with helicopters or all-out gang wars.

Mario Kart may have the most fun and unique tracks out of all the games on this list, especially with DLC tracks continuing to release every few months. Despite the simplicity of the game, friends and family still love to play together. The game does a lot of work bridging the gaps between players’ skills, making every race feel really competitive, no matter who’s playing.

The online element is also a ton of fun and typically, despite Nintendo’s aversion to queues, is faster than GTA V at finding a full game. Plus, the mini-games available pit players against each other more directly, encouraging silliness and trick shots. Even though it may be easier than Grand Theft Auto, Mario Kart 8 has plenty to challenge players with.

The OG pro skater is back with the same old tricks, but that doesn’t mean it’s any easier the second time around! It’s an unfortunate fact that many gamers who grew up on Tony Hawk have inexplicably become older, but one plus side to this is that we can all revisit Tony Hawk Pro Skater and have the same experience as last time: falling! A lot!

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Just like when the series first launched, players can improve their button-mashing skills to make their skater persona collect trash, destroy signs, and maybe even get some major air. Players who enjoy the two-wheel vehicle challenges in GTA V will have a great time trying to master the Casper 360 flip or attempting to land that elusive 900 and achieve some sick combo scores.

It also helps that there’s a lot of customization available to make a character fit their player’s personality. Plus, with 19 different levels set in a variety of spaces, players can enjoy some classic skater scenes or explore a city (usually one with a lot of problems). Finally, challenges and collectibles make it easy to keep having fun even once every level has been beaten, so it’s easy to jump right in after a stunt race in Grand Theft Auto V.

Our review of Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 and 2 goes into detail about what the skating game looks like in the modern gaming world.

LEGO 2K Drive borrows a bit from other kart and miniature toy racing games like Hot Wheels Unleashed and the open-world Forza Horizon. Since the 1999 release of Lego Racers, Lego fans have been clamoring for a game that allows players to build vehicles brick by brick, and test them with some extreme racing. The 4 Bricklandia maps LEGO 2K Drive offers upon its release are not connected, but gamers still can explore areas far vaster than found in Hot Wheels Unleashed.

There are plenty of game modes in LEGO 2K Drive to keep players occupied. Competitive racers will enjoy the Cup Series, while other players who crave a cute and engaging Lego script will gravitate toward Story Mode. Gamers will have to drift, use boosts, and defy gravity as vehicles will transform depending on the terrain.

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Races are plenty intense, but LEGO 2K Drive may best resemble stunt mode in Grand Theft Auto when off the track. Bricklandia is a fragile world, and drivers can smash through any number of brick-built obstacles. Players will have to find just the right speed and orientation to fly off ramps in order to claim collectibles like The Spotless Wrench.

Unfortunately, there is no track editor which undoubtedly would result in some crazy stunt-filled racing action. However, in LEGO 2K Drive, players often still spend as much time in menu screens as they do driving. The amount of customization possible with vehicles is impressive, resembling having dozens of Lego kits at home to complete. Players can also tweak the performance of their creations, so quite a bit of strategy comes into play when trying to complete challenges.

While it may seem like a more innocent racing game, the multiplayer action in LEGO 2K Drive can get fairly ruthless, like in Grant Theft Auto Online. Conventional driving isn't going to win many races, so players have to be willing to risk disaster to beat the competition.

Riders Republic is basically the GTA V stunt series as its own standalone game. There’s everything from BMX mountain rides to flight suit challenges, all with online competitions and challenges that keep players entertained even after they’ve mastered every mode. With Ubisoft+ coming to the Xbox in recent months, even more gamers have a chance to pull off some radical stunts.

A bit of a call-back to the plethora of extreme sports games that hit their peak popularity in the 2000s, this game is perfect for players who just want to attempt insanely daring feats. While GTA V stunt races are more often than not done with cars and planes, Riders Republic lets gamers stick to their favorite vehicles without doubling or even tripling their queue time. On Xbox and Playstation, matches can have up to 20 players, but PC gamers can race against up to 50 players at once, which can get chaotic quickly.

With over 250 square kilometers to explore, Riders Republic is designed for replayability. Weekly challenges help set new goals and each vehicle has its own set of goals that players can try to accomplish. Tons of fun and able to be played online, Riders Republic is the most similar game to the Grand Theft Auto Online stunt series.

Trackmania is one of the longest-running current racing franchises, first appearing on the Windows platform in 2003. The latest iteration of the game arrived in 2020, as either a free-to-play or subscription-based PC title. Recently, Trackmania was released for PlayStation and Xbox consoles, so more players could join in on the straightforward, but surprisingly challenging racing action.

Racers will have to experience plenty of air time and master jumps and ramps in order to find success in Trackmania. Unfortunately, the stunt mode that existed in the 2016 Trackmania Turbo has yet to make it into the latest version of the game. Even so, thanks to the comprehensive editor in Trackmania, there is a constant flow of some incredibly difficult-to-master tracks requiring unorthodox driving to navigate.

In GTA Online, the multiplayer action is head-to-head, but in Trackmania, players are either racing time records in single-player modes or facing off with the ghosts of other drivers. Multiplayer opponents are driving in real-time, but players can't make physical contact with vehicles and knock them off courses. That comes as a relief for Trackmania players, as it's difficult enough to maintain driving lines with cars moving at breakneck speeds.

Gamers can download Trackmania for free and drive on premade courses and compete in some seasonal campaigns. Otherwise, paying either $10 a year for Standard Access or $30 a year for Club Access unlocks features like the full-fledged track editor and allows entry into official Trackmania leagues. Thrill-seekers who flock to the stunt modes in GTA Online may find the racing more organized but not any less dramatic in Trackmania.

Unlike many other alternatives to the stunt mode in GTA Online, Need for Speed Unbound is a game that also embraces the criminal element of street racing. Since 1994, Need for Speed titles have encouraged gamers to take control of the most powerful sports cars in the world, and drive them as fast as possible avoiding the police on city streets and highways. Forza Horizon has a fairly well-developed street racing series, but strangely, cops are nowhere to be found in the game.

The Heat system is the essential gameplay mechanic in Need for Speed Unbound. As players cruise around Lakeshore City at illegal speeds, they gradually gain notoriety among the police force. Participating in street racing events only raises a heat level more, as does the danger of cops targeting you and confiscating any cash that you haven't already banked. A higher heat level allows players to gain access to more lucrative racing events, so the goal is to find the right balance between earnings potential and the risk of arrest.

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In a game called Need for Speed, it's critical that players feel like they are driving well above speed limits. Fortunately, as gamers step on the gas pedal of Porsche or Mercedes-Benz sports cars, the approaching scenery and traffic come and go in a blur. GTA Online fans can relate to the thrill of potential collisions that could cost a gamer a day's worth of winnings.

Multiplayer action is also intense in Need for Speed Unbound but rather bare bones and doesn't carry over progression from the single-player campaign. Regardless, with many story mode events centered on stealing cars and having cars stolen from you, Need for Speed Unbound scratches the same virtual law-breaking itch as Grant Theft Auto V.

Another unlikely choice, players who enjoy airplane, helicopter, and stunt challenges might prefer cranking up the difficulty and venturing into true flight simulation. While flying races are extremely fun, sometimes it’s nice to simply get some practice flying in.

Sure, there are some flight challenges in the Grand Theft Auto campaign mode, but they’re designed for people who don’t normally play flight simulator games. That works well for most people, but there aren’t many of these flight challenges available either, so once they’ve been completed, players must get queued into a flight stunt race. Or, they can boot up good old Microsoft Flight Simulator!

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Microsoft Flight Simulator comes with 29 planes to choose from, plus at least five more if players get one of the deluxe editions. That’s more than enough for players to explore literally the entire world through various missions, routes, and challenges. It’s certainly not a Grand Theft Auto game, but players who enjoy virtual flying will have plenty of fun, even if they don’t get to steal their plane first.

GameRant's full review of this landmark simulation game explains how Microsoft Flight Simulator makes stunts feel as realistic as possible.

Few racing games transform as much as Dirt 5 did from one edition to the next. While Dirt 4 was more about realism and simulating authentic racing, Dirt 5 is an arcade game at its core. Still, the game's new more forgiving physics engines allow players to perform wild stunts similar to those in Grand Theft Auto.

There are multiple game modes in Dirt 5 worthy of attention, including a somewhat shallow but entertaining career mode that showcases race types like Rally Raid, Sprint, and Stampede. However, for stunt racers, Gymkhana events and Playgrounds are where they will spend most of their time. Gymkhana is a mode that originated in Dirt 3 and requires players to string together combo moves involving jumps, drifts, and doughnuts to score points.

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Playgrounds is perhaps the most surprising addition to the Dirt series. In this mode, designers have a bevy of textures and objects to work with in order to create some devastatingly dangerous stunt courses. Within days of Dirt 5's release, there were already thousands of user-created courses to download with event types like the traditional Gymkhana, Gate Crasher, and Smash Attack. These tracks demand precise launch angles to leap over cavernous openings, as well as advanced drifting skills to glide around tight corners. There is also a hefty amount of strategy involved, as the expansive arenas require knowing exactly which direction to go in to avoid disaster.

Sadly, Playgrounds and Gymkhana doesn't allow for head-to-head multiplayer action like in GTA Online. Instead, players attempt to top high scores and times in a worldwide ranking system. Multiplayer in general was a sore spot for Dirt 5 when it debuted, with very limited game modes available and a lack of ability to customize events. The situation has improved somewhat, with cross-play across many platforms available, and party modes with mini-games like Vampire and King.

Make sure to read our full review of Dirt 5 to see what more the game brings to single-player and multiplayer arcade racing fanatics.

Steep was one of the last good extreme sports games until Riders Republic arrived, and players have continued to enjoy it for years since. Despite the game having been released in 2016, it still has unique offerings that are hard to find anywhere else.

Similar to Riders Republic, the game features a smattering of extreme sports, albeit with a much longer roster. The game includes skiing, snowboarding, paragliding, and wingsuit flying, with DLC expanding these options to include more niche versions of each sport, such as rocket-powered wingsuit flying and sledding. Performing tricks is a rather complicated process, so gamers will want to set aside plenty of practice time.

Unfortunately, the online scene is about as active as GTA V Online’s stunt series, but it’s still easy enough to meet up with friends for private races or to complete challenges solo. Regardless, players can get into exactly whatever they want to race with, rather than hoping for a lobby that suits them.

Why Leave Grand Theft Auto Online's Stunt Mode in the Dust?

If you can't find enough opponents for GTA Online stunt races, there are plenty of other games that allow you to cheat death alongside thousands of other racers. The racing genre is enormous with options that offer the ability to perform spectacular tricks on skateboards and snowboards or outrun the police in souped-up sports cars.

Forza Horizon 5 is one of the most diverse racing titles ever devised, boasting street-racing modes and expansions like Hot Wheels complete with crazy ramps and jumps. Still, racing games like Forza Horizon, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Lego 2K Drive don't exactly encourage criminal activity. If breaking every traffic law is more your style, Need for Speed Unbound is an obvious next destination for fans of GTA Online's Cunning Stunts content.

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Of course, you don't need to be behind the wheel of a sports car to overcome the forces of gravity. Microsoft Flight Simulator presents the most realistic way yet to simulate dramatic barrel rolls and dives in stunningly detailed small plane models. Meanwhile, Riders Republic gives players the opportunity to become birds with flying wingsuits or ski down the most treacherous winter terrain.

Whichever game is the most logical next step for you after GTA Online's stunt mode becomes stale, enjoy the more in-depth but equally nauseating racing action of these other titles. MORE: Nintendo Characters Who Could Join The Race In Mario Kart

FAQ:

Q: How do I play the stunt events in Grant Theft Auto Online?

A: If you have purchased Grand Theft Online and downloaded the Cunning Stunts content, look for pink Stunt Series markers when cruising around Los Santos. If you enter one, you will be transported to a stunt racing event.

Q: What are some advantages to other stunt games over Grant Theft Auto Online?

A: Alternative racing and driving games are designed specifically for stunt racing and often have more tracks, cars, and online competitors.