Grand Theft Auto Online offers plenty of engaging game modes and activities, from thrilling stunt races to tension-filled robberies. Heists in particular seem like the best showcase for many of Grand Theft Auto V's most effective gameplay mechanics. Usually, two to four players must join forces and complete some preliminary objectives before eventually stealing diamonds, artwork, or cash. Currently, there are 10 heists available in Grand Theft Online, with only one solo mission, the Cayo Perico Heist.

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Rockstar Games has gradually added more heists to Grand Theft Auto Online, but new content has slowed with the anticipated release of Grant Theft Auto VI. If heists are your favorite part of the game, replaying the same missions over and over again eventually gets dull. Also, there are titles that devote themselves to simulating every aspect of a robbery in even more excruciating detail than Rockstar's offering. Whether a player is looking for a single-player experience that requires hours of scouting, or a quick action-packed multiplayer session, the following games are excellent alternatives to heists in Grant Theft Auto Online.

The third game in the series, Watch Dogs Legion is an excellent way to get into even more online chaos after a GTA Online session. Although it’s no longer receiving updates, the game can still be a lot of fun for a small group of players, especially if they enjoy immersive missions that take less than an hour on average.

Watch Dogs Legion is best played with three people, as three is the maximum number of players you can have in a party. Also, with the lack of updates, the game has been bleeding its active player count. Despite that, friends can still have a great time while taking down futuristic bad guys.

Watch Dogs Legion is available to play on Steam, Xbox One/Series X|S, PS4|5, and mobile. You can read more about how the gameplay mechanics have changed for the better in our full review of Watch Dogs Legion.

In Sea of Thieves, you won't be roaming city streets looking for the next lucrative heist. Instead, gamers will sail the seas with a crew of fellow pirates, searching for buried treasure. Whether claiming lost treasure is a crime is debatable, but there are plenty of activities in Sea of Thieves deemed illegal in the modern world. Pirates can assault ships passing by in this open-world multiplayer game, shooting them with cannons before boarding and stealing their treasures and supplies.

Much like heists in Grant Theft Auto Online, players join up with crews of up to 4 members, and some planning is needed to successfully complete a quest. It's nearly impossible for a single player to steer a ship while looking at a map and monitoring the sea for potential enemies. Typically, players will assume different roles including manning cannons in order to attack or defend their ship without any delay.

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The type of progression in Sea of Thieves compliments what is primarily a multiplayer-focused experience. If your ship sinks either from attacking pirates or taking on too much water in a bad storm, a player risks losing any treasures or items that haven't been safely banked in an outpost. However, a gamer isn't granted more abilities or access to better weapons as they complete more quests. The game's main goal is to increase your reputation with various trading companies by bringing them rare items, resulting in mostly cosmetic rewards.

Since there are tons of quests to complete and Rare continues to support Sea of Thieves with additional content, the gameplay is much deeper than with heists in Grand Theft Auto Online. The game also provides a very social experience with pirate crew members becoming friends inside and outside of Sea of Thieves. Even so, it's never wise to trust a fellow pirate, who can just as easily betray you for a greater share of the treasure.

This reboot of the classic GTA copycat franchise Saint’s Row brings back everything players originally loved about the series. For true chaos, Saint’s Row 4 is still the best option, but even being an alien-slaying president demi-god isn’t enough to get over the hurdle of the game being almost 10 years old now.

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There isn’t anything surprising about the new Saint’s Row, but not every game needs to be revolutionary. In fact, Saint’s Row combines a number of familiar mechanics from shooters like Uncharted and yes, Grand Theft Auto V. Gamers may not be blown away by the game, but they’ll have fun with the recurring shootouts and general criminal chaos that makes GTA V Online so entertaining.

Despite a less-than-stellar critical reception, Deep Silver is still releasing content for Saint's Row, including The Heist and the Hazardous paid DLC, and a Free Sunshine Springs update.

Crime Boss: Rockay City is a newcomer to the heist gaming scene, with obvious influences from Payday and Grant Theft Auto Online. However, it's a more linear FPS-style game instead of an open-world title where you can spend time simply loitering. The cast of voice actors delivering the often cringe-worthy dialogue includes Chuck Norris, Kim Basinger, Vanilla Ice, and Michael Madsen as the main protagonist, Travis Baker. Madsen in particular is no stranger to 1990s movies filled with crime and violence, and this is exactly the dominant atmosphere in Crime Boss: Rockay City.

The single-player campaign centers around Travis Baker trying to take over Rockay City after the previous crime boss met his untimely demise. Baker is joined by a crew voiced by many popular celebrities as they carefully plan and execute jobs to gain fortune and status. Crime Boss: Rockay City is surprisingly enjoyable even when having to rely often on less-than-helpful AI teammates. However, fans of Grant Theft Auto Online will naturally want to explore the multiplayer modes that the game has to offer.

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Time Mode is a quick way to be matched up with other humans for limited missions with meager but steady payouts. The Urban Legends mode reveals a set of 6 missions loosely held together by a cinematic narrative, many of which were already played in single-player modes. To find success in any of these modes, teamwork is essential, but there tends to be more shooting than strategy. Also, there is a distinct lack of progression, although you can purchase contracts for new heists with the money that you acquire.

Overall, Crime Boss: Rockay City has fallen short of expectations with cliche-filled writing and rather mindless and repetitive gameplay. Still, fans of Grant Theft Online and 1990s crime films may find the game an irresistible combination of nostalgia and intense co-op heists. Crime Boss: Rockay City is currently available for the PC, but will shortly release on next-gen consoles.

Although it’s only available on Steam, Perfect Heist 2 is the ideal way to complete a heist with friends. The blocky graphics and lack of gore may just set a lower bar, but that doesn’t make the game any less appealing.

Perfect Heist 2 is essentially a game of cops and robbers. Players are queued in and assigned to a team. Then comes the heist, where gamers must either steal everything they can or try to stop others from getting away with the gold … or jewelry, or whatever else might get nabbed. This simple, quick, and ultimately fun game is ideal for groups of friends or younger players who may not be quite ready for the intensity of Grand Theft Auto.

As fun as heists in Grant Theft Auto online can be, in real life, it's not always as easy to shoot yourself out of trouble when things go wrong. Thief Simulator paints a more realistic picture of the life of a humble thief of limited means. The jobs aren't glamorous as you are often targeting middle-class homes with enough valuables to sell to a local pawn shop, and have food money for a few weeks. When a player gets caught by the police, neighbors, or homeowners, the only option is to run away as quickly as possible, with the aid of a real jalopy of a getaway car.

With a lack of the violence and killing that often accompanies armed robbery, Thief Simulator is rather idealistic about the devastating effects of crime on society. Still, without deadly weapons, your virtual thief must put a lot of planning into which homes to rob and what the best time to attempt a heist is. As players gradually stage successful break-ins, they are rewarded with more advanced tools and technology for surveillance that allow for safer entries into homes.

Thief Simulator does not ignore the rather mundane details of theft that games like Grant Theft Auto Online glance over. A player only can carry a certain number of stolen goods out of a home, so a thief must quickly decide on what larger items are worth taking. That's only half the battle, however, since after a successful job gamers aren't simply paid out for their efforts. To avoid being hunted down by authorities, stolen vehicles require players to carefully disassemble them before selling the valuable parts online. Mobile phones also need attention before being taken to pawn shops, so the prior owners can't track down thieves.

Sadly, there is no multiplayer or co-op to speak of in Thief Simulator, but sending in a party of 4 armed players to ransack a modest home would seem like overkill. For a good 10 hours, the progression system in Thief Simulator keeps players engaged as they acquire fun toys to help them in their criminal exploits. Then, things tend to get more monotonous with a limited number of streets and areas to explore. Fortunately, Thief Simulator 2 is on the horizon, which could offer an even deeper experience with hopefully improved visuals as well.

Those players hungry for more couch co-op after playing It Takes Two, Unraveled, and other great games for duos will find exactly what they’re after with Operation Tango. Allowing crossplay so friends are never too far away, this game only shows players half of what’s going on. Details on the other half must be communicated between players.

Related: New & Upcoming Video Games With Local Co-op Modes Similar to Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, Operation Tango offers players the chance to pretend to be spies, but without having to literally pull up a boring PDF document. Cooperation is key, so of course things can get stressful quickly. Operation Tango is made for dream-team duos to test their friendship and maybe even save the world!

There’s plenty of subterfuge for players to sink their teeth into in Cyberpunk 2077, and even some heists to pull off. It’s not quite the same as GTA Online’s missions, but the overall vibe of Cyberpunk 2077 is very similar to Rockstar’s open world, without having so much in common as to be boring or repetitive.

Players who enjoyed GTA V’s single-player campaign and generally like the cooperative heist missions will probably find a lot to love about Cyberpunk 2077’s campaign. Although it was a bit buggy at launch, plenty of people are enjoying the game now, and it frequently goes on sale, making it a great time to jump in. While not strictly a thief or heist game, the single-player Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the best open-world crime games available, with plenty of nefarious missions to complete.

If you still aren't sure that Cyberpunk 2077 is worth a purchase, consider reading our in-depth review.

Teardown manages to capture the satisfying feeling of planning and completing a heist but takes a much different approach than Grand Theft Auto Online. Players don't simply enter a building with guns blazing, but instead must meticulously plan how to demolish structures and rearrange objects to gain access to targets. Teardown is as much a deconstruction simulator and puzzle game as a heist game, but the end goals are similar. There is even the opportunity to steal some cars along the way or blow up safes and vaults to access their contents.

Offering a straightforward single-player campaign, in Teardown, players will progress through a series of missions requiring finding the safest and most direct route to an objective. To accomplish these goals, gamers gradually step up from sledgehammers and fire extinguishers to shotguns and bombs. If you trip an alarm, players only have 60 seconds to escape to a getaway vehicle before the authorities arrive and the mission fails.

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Unfortunately, there is no multiplayer mode in Teardown, but developers are hard at work adding this functionality as soon as possible. The game excels as a solo sandbox experience, but the environments lack human interaction and there is only a bare-bones plot connecting each single-player mission. A thriving modding community provides a never-ending supply of maps and structures to interact with. Still, if you play Grant Theft Auto Online for the social aspect, then Teardown is probably not your ideal game. However, the lighting effects make full use of ray tracing, and seeing sunlight poke through newly demolished structures almost makes planning a heist all the more rewarding.

Teardown is currently a PC exclusive, but as was just announced, the game is heading to consoles in late 2023. To find out more about how further updates could enhance Teardown, read our review of the game.

Even though this title is a bit older, it’s pure heist magic. Payday 2 is the best online heist game like GTA V overall. Players gather a team, make a plan, and literally just perform bank heists and robberies in wealthy locations. Of course, there are also all the other fun activities gamers love about GTA V heists, like explosions, shooting, and driving getaway cars. There are fun costumes and a wide selection of weapons with it simple to set up new matches with friends or with random players.

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With Payday 2, there are tons of missions players can get in on, plus a handful of DLCs that continue to be reasonably popular. While the announcement of Payday 3 earlier this year has basically put an end to new content, gamers can still be excited about what’s coming next.

Which Heist Game Should Steal Your Time?

Clearly, if stealing all types of valuable loot is your gaming passion, there are more games than Grand Theft Auto Online that warrant consideration. The settings for a wide range of crimes extend far beyond contemporary city streets, from the dangerous waters in Sea of Thieves to the seemingly peaceful neighborhoods in Thief Simulator. Some of these titles include single-player campaigns where players gradually level up and gain new skills and tools to complete bigger heists. Other titles are more about meeting a band of virtual criminals online, and learning how to best utilize each team member's strengths.

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While it's currently a solo-only experience, the sandbox Teardown demonstrates how the heist genre can be innovated. About more than just shootouts, players demolish buildings and then plot routes gain to valuables. If action and violence are more your style, Crime Boss: Rockay City is a 1990s-themed FPS shooter heist game, where players take no prisoners on their way to becoming a mob boss.

If you are burnt out on repeating the same heists in Grand Theft Auto Online or can't find any worthy crew mates, any of the above games will provide many more hours of compelling criminal exploits.

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FAQ:

Q: How does a player join a heist in Grand Theft Auto Online?

A: To join a heist, a player must be at least rank 12 in Grant Theft Auto Online. Otherwise, a gamer needs an invitation from a higher-level player. If qualified, a player can then access the quick job menu on their phones, select a heist mission, and wait for a call from Lester.

Q: What do other heist games offer that Grand Theft Auto Online does not?

A: Some heist games appeal to gamers searching for single-player experiences with methodical planning necessary before a heist. Other titles emphasize co-op multiplayer where communication and teamwork is more of a factor. Also, certain games allow players to experience the life of a criminal in very different time periods and locations than the city streets of Grand Theft Auto Online.