GTA VI vs Cyberpunk, Starfield, Elden Ring and RDR2

Which open world is GTA VI chasing?

GTA VI lands on 19 November 2026 into a genre it helped invent, but one that has changed a lot since GTA V. Cyberpunk, Starfield, Horizon, Elden Ring and Rockstar's own RDR2 have all raised the bar in different ways. Forget "which game wins?" The better question is: what kind of open world is GTA VI trying to be?

The comparison set

The closest reference points are:

• Cyberpunk 2077 for dense modern city design.
• Starfield for the contrast between scale and authored content.
• Horizon Forbidden West for visual polish and activity structure.
• Elden Ring for discovery-led exploration.
• Red Dead Redemption 2 for Rockstar's own simulation standard.

Each game solves a different problem. GTA VI's edge is not RPG depth or fantasy combat. It is a contemporary crime world with vehicles, crowds, radio, police, satire and systemic chaos.

Cyberpunk 2077

Cyberpunk 2077 is the cleanest city comparison. Night City is dense, vertical and visually packed. GTA VI's Vice City looks broader and more regionally varied, with a whole state around it rather than one huge urban stack.

Where Cyberpunk is likely stronger:

• RPG builds.
• Dialogue choice.
• Cyberware and combat systems.
• Dense vertical districts.

Where GTA VI may be stronger:

• Driving.
• Police chases.
• Water traversal.
• Ambient city behaviour.
• State-wide variety outside the city core.

Starfield

Starfield shows the risk of scale without enough handcrafted density. It has enormous scope, but much of its exploration relies on repeated structures and procedural worlds.

GTA VI appears to be taking the opposite approach: fewer spaces, more detail per space. Judge Leonida by its memorable places, not its map size.

Horizon Forbidden West

Horizon Forbidden West is polished, controlled and visually consistent. It is also built around a different kind of open world: machine combat, traversal tools and marked activities.

GTA VI will probably feel less controlled. Its magic comes from traffic, crowds, weather, vehicles, law enforcement and unscripted moments.

• Horizon is strong at authored combat encounters.
• GTA is strongest when the world reacts to player trouble.

Elden Ring

Elden Ring is the least direct comparison, but it changed what many players expect from discovery. It gives less explicit guidance and rewards curiosity.

GTA has usually been more readable: markers, missions, shops, icons and scripted objectives.

The big question is whether GTA VI hides more of its best material off the obvious route. If it does, a good map becomes your best friend.

Red Dead Redemption 2

RDR2 is the real internal benchmark. Rockstar already proved it can build a world with strong weather, wildlife, NPC routines, slow travel and ambient detail.

GTA VI has a different pace. It has cars, phones, police footage, social media satire, dense roads, beaches, ports, wetlands and city nightlife.

Can Rockstar keep RDR2's world detail while returning to GTA's speed? That is the challenge.

What GTA VI needs to nail

To feel like the next step, GTA VI needs to deliver:

• A city that stays interesting after the first week.
• Regional variety that is more than scenery.
• Better interiors and businesses than GTA V.
• Police and wanted systems that feel less predictable.
• Water, wetlands and roads that all matter.
• A story that makes Lucia and Jason more than marketing images.

What could disappoint players

The biggest risks:

• A large map with too many empty roads.
• Side activities that feel shallow.
• Online monetisation overshadowing single-player.
• Too few interiors.
• PC plans staying unclear for too long after the console launch.
• Mission design that has not moved beyond old Rockstar patterns.

The bottom line

GTA VI will be judged against the best open worlds of the last decade, but it does not need to copy them. Its lane is different: a modern crime state with dense urban systems, long drives, police pressure, radio identity and satire. Get those right, and it will not need RPG skill trees or a procedural galaxy to stand out.

Sources

1. Rockstar Games official GTA VI site and trailers.
2. CD Projekt Red Cyberpunk 2077 release and Phantom Liberty material.
3. Bethesda Starfield release and post-launch material.
4. Guerrilla Games Horizon Forbidden West material.
5. FromSoftware Elden Ring material.
6. Rockstar Games Red Dead Redemption 2 material.