Games like GTA for kids: open worlds that are actually OK for them

🚗 What kids actually want from GTA

🎮 This guide is part of our GTA hub: every mainline game ranked, plus our GTA 6 parents’ guide.

Every Grand Theft Auto game since the early 2000s has been rated M for Mature 17+, and GTA 6, out on November 19, 2026, carries the same Mature 17+ rating. With the release getting closer, more kids are asking for it, and more parents are looking for a way to say “not yet” without just saying no.

The trick is to ask what they actually want. For most kids it is not the crime, the strip clubs or the torture mission. It is four things: a big city, fast cars, the freedom to go anywhere, and the chance to cause a bit of chaos. All four exist in games rated E to T.

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🔞 What the M rating on GTA actually covers

Before looking for alternatives, it helps to know what the rating is about, because “it’s just a car game” is the argument most parents hear. The ESRB rates GTA 5 Mature 17+ for blood and gore, drug use, intense violence, nudity, strong language, strong sexual content and use of alcohol. In Europe the same game carries PEGI 18. Neither label is a cautious guess: they describe what is in the missions, and the game being more than ten years old does not make any of it milder.

The online mode is a second question on top. GTA Online puts players together with strangers, and the ESRB rating does not cover what other players say or do. That is why a “just the story” deal rarely holds once friends are involved. Our parents’ guide to GTA 5 goes through the missions and the online side in detail.

None of this means a kid who asks for GTA is doing anything wrong. They want what the trailers show: a city, cars and freedom. The rest of this guide is about giving them that.

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📊 The picks at a glance

The ESRB column is the official US rating. “Our age” comes from our own reviews. Three of these, Forza Horizon 5, Zelda and Spider-Man, have all been played in our house.

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🧱 LEGO City Undercover: the closest thing to GTA

If you want one game that feels like GTA without being GTA, this is it. LEGO City Undercover gives you a whole open city to drive around, cars to commandeer, chases, side missions and secrets everywhere. The twist: you play Chase McCain, an undercover police officer, and everything you do is played for laughs.

It is rated E10+ and works from about 8 if your kid can read the menus. It is an older game, re-released for current consoles, and the Switch version is the easiest to find.

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🏎️ Forza Horizon: when it is really about the cars

For a lot of kids, GTA is a car game. If that is your kid, Forza Horizon 5 is the answer: an open world the size of a small country, hundreds of real cars, races everywhere and no penalty for driving off the road through a field. It is rated E, and we put it at 6+, because the assists make it playable for even the youngest drivers.

Forza Horizon 5 runs on Xbox and PC. If you are on Xbox Series X|S, Forza Horizon 6 moves the series to Japan.

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🦇 LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight

The newest open-world LEGO game. LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight gives younger players Gotham to explore, gadgets, vehicles and the trademark LEGO slapstick. We put it at 7+. Like all LEGO games, it also works as couch co-op with a parent, which most GTA alternatives do not.

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⛏️ Minecraft: chaos on their own terms

It sounds like an odd pick, but for many kids Minecraft scratches the same itch as GTA: a world where they decide what happens. They can build a city instead of driving through one, blow things up with TNT and play with friends. It is rated E10+, and it runs on almost every device in the house, from Switch and Xbox to tablets and PC, which makes it the easiest one to start.

The online side needs a little setup. Our Minecraft parents’ guide explains child accounts, Realms and servers.

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🗡️ Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom: the most freedom of all

If what your kid loves is “you can go anywhere,” no game delivers that like Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. The world is enormous, and you can build your own cars, boats and flying machines out of whatever you find. It is rated E10+, and we put it at 10+.

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🕸️ Marvel’s Spider-Man: the city, for older kids

For 12 and up, Marvel’s Spider-Man is the best GTA substitute there is. It gives you a huge, detailed New York to move through freely, crimes to stop instead of commit, side missions on every block, and web-swinging that makes simply getting around the city fun. It is rated T, and we put it at 12+.

The series has three games: Marvel’s Spider-Man, Miles Morales and Spider-Man 2. All three get a 5 out of 5 from us. Our series review explains where to start.

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🤖 Horizon Zero Dawn: open world with a story

For a teen who likes the story missions in GTA as much as the free roaming, Horizon Zero Dawn is a strong pick: a big open world, a great lead character and fights against machine dinosaurs instead of people. It is rated T, and we put it at 12+.

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🌐 When the real wish is “online with my friends”

For many kids the push for GTA comes from the schoolyard. The game they talk about is often not GTA itself but the clips, and the friends they want to play with are already somewhere else: in Roblox or in Fortnite. Both have city maps, vehicles and role-play modes, and both are social in a way most of the single-player picks above are not.

That makes them the honest alternative for some families, with one big difference to everything on our list: the content comes from other players, and the chat and the shop need settings. Fortnite is rated T. Our guides to Fortnite and Roblox explain the age accounts, the chat options and the spending controls, step by step.

If your kid wants the shared experience but you are not ready for open online play, the LEGO games and Minecraft on a private world with invited friends are the middle ground.

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🔒 Lock the age rating on the console

Whatever you pick, set the age limit on the console itself. Then the GTA question is answered by the system, and you are not the one checking every download. All three platforms have it built in:

• Nintendo Switch and Switch 2: the free Nintendo Switch Parental Controls app restricts games by age rating, limits play time and controls communication with other players.
• Xbox: the Xbox Family Settings app sets content limits by age, approves friend requests and can require an adult to approve purchases.
• PlayStation: the family management settings in the PlayStation account set an age level for games and apps, control communication and set a monthly spending limit.

A child account with an age limit blocks Mature 17+ games from the store and from the disc drive. It also stops the “a friend lent me the disc” route. It takes about ten minutes to set up, and it is worth doing before the GTA 6 launch rather than after.

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📅 GTA 6 is coming: what changes on November 19

GTA 6 comes out on November 19, 2026, for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, and it is rated Mature 17+ like every GTA before it. For parents, the launch mostly means more trailers, more clips on YouTube and TikTok and more kids in class talking about it. The game will not be any more suitable than GTA 5.

What helps is having a plan before the launch week: the console limit above, one or two of the games from this guide ready to go, and a clear answer about when the M rating stops being a no in your house. Our GTA 6 parents’ guide covers what is known about the content and the online mode.

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🤔 How to pick the right one

Ask your kid what they want to do in GTA, and listen to the answer:

• “Drive fast cars”: Forza Horizon.
• “Drive around a city and do missions”: LEGO City Undercover, or Spider-Man for 12+.
• “Do whatever I want”: Minecraft or Zelda.
• “Play with my friends”: Minecraft, or a LEGO game on the couch with you.
• “Play the story missions”: LEGO Batman for younger kids, Horizon Zero Dawn or Spider-Man from 12.
• “Because everyone has it”: that one is harder. Our guides to GTA 6 and GTA 5 help with that conversation.

For more open-world and story games for older teens, see our best story-driven games list.

📌 FAQ – Frequently asked questions

What game is like GTA but for kids?

LEGO City Undercover is the closest match: an open city, cars to drive, chases and missions, but you play a police officer and everything is LEGO. It is rated E10+. For older kids, Marvel’s Spider-Man (rated T) gives them a huge city to explore.

What age is GTA rated?

Every recent GTA game is rated M for Mature 17+ by the ESRB, and GTA 6, out November 19, 2026, carries the same Mature 17+ rating. Our parents’ guides to GTA 5 and GTA 6 explain what that covers.

Is there a kid-friendly version of GTA?

No. Rockstar has never made a version of GTA for younger players, and the online mode has the same rating as the main game. The kid-friendly options are other games that borrow the open-world idea.

What is a good open-world game for a 10-year-old?

LEGO City Undercover, Forza Horizon 5, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Minecraft all work well at 10. LEGO City Undercover and Zelda are rated E10+, Forza Horizon 5 and Minecraft E and E10+ respectively.

What is a good GTA alternative for a 12 or 13-year-old?

Marvel’s Spider-Man and Horizon Zero Dawn, both rated T. Spider-Man is the closest to the feeling of a GTA city: a huge, detailed New York to move through freely, with side missions everywhere.

Are racing games a good GTA substitute?

For a lot of kids, yes. If what they love about GTA is the cars, Forza Horizon gives them a whole open world to drive through, with hundreds of real cars, and it is rated E.

Can I block GTA on my kid's console?

Yes. Nintendo, Xbox and PlayStation all let you set an age limit on a child account: the Nintendo Switch Parental Controls app, the Xbox Family Settings app and the family management settings of the PlayStation account. With a limit below 17, Mature games like GTA are blocked in the store and from disc, so a borrowed copy will not start either.

Is GTA 6 OK for kids?

No. GTA 6 comes out on November 19, 2026, for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S and is rated Mature 17+, like every GTA before it. The open-world games in this guide give younger kids the city, the cars and the freedom without the M rating.

More on GTA: Is GTA 6 OK for kids? · Every mainline GTA ranked · All our age guides