Where have the "GTA clones" gone?

When Grand Theft Auto 3 released in 2001, it carved out its own unique genre. Since then, there have been plenty of other games that have come and gone, trying to connect to the same crowd, but have had trouble with staying power. Saints Row, Just Cause, Driver... all series that have fallen by the wayside in recent times, and nobody else seems to be willing to give the genre a try. So that begs the question, where have all the GTA clones gone?
Comment below your favourite GTA clones! Are there any that stick out in your memory? Let me know!
CORRECTIONS
Nothing yet! If you spot any mistakes in my video then please let me know down below with a comment and a timestamp so I can change the description!
Timestamps
00:00 - Where have the "GTA clones" gone?
02:12 - Driver
06:58 - Saints Row
16:49 - Just Cause
21:19 - Other attempts at "clones"
25:08 - Conclusion
#gta #gtaclones #gta6

[@AIex3199]

I miss GTA Clones. The state of gaming is boring right now. The gaming industry is getting so big that fewer and fewer gaming experiments can get green lit. There's not much variety anymore, everything is starting to feel the same.

[@hkgt333]

play some indie titles

[@gazuhiramiller]

there's still variety dude you just gotta have to look for them

[@ethanreed8400]

His point is you shouldn't have to look for them...

[@benib3311]

@@gazuhiramilleri think he means no variety in terms of triple A games . And i agree to be fair

[@spikepsych]

play Evil West if you want a newer game that feels like its on 360

[@hawken796]

Half the reason this genre died is because everyone kept calling them "GTA Clones". Imagine putting your blood, sweat and tears into a passion project only to be discarded as a second fiddle to something else.

[@JukaDominator]

That's not why, they just didn't sell enough. Nobody cares about that nonsense if it makes money.

[@talpatv512]

​@@JukaDominatorgeee I wonder why they didn't sell enough, surely because people dint give R* the ability to make a monopoly with that one phrase

[@JukaDominator]

@@talpatv512Unlikely

[@RandyOrlok]

should have called them GTA-likes , right ? because now everything is called something-like

[@herekongato]

Thats just stupid, everyone called fps games doom clones back in the day, and we got plenty of fps games today

[@riptkoso5347]

Calling ANY open world game a “gta clone”. Is like calling every action movie a John wick clone.

[@Pet_Hedgehog]

specifically crime open world game, there is an overall similarity between all the listed ones.

[@Zaf_9261]

That's true..

[@Brian-sf6ew]

Stop it. They were clones. They tried to jump on the bandwagon but failed. The only one that made it was Saints Row. Until they put out that last crappy one.

[@CaptainGlack]

Not any open world game. Didn’t mention Fallout, Horizon, the Simpsons Road Rage etc. for a reason. They are not GTA-like. What you’re doing is called “putting words in people’s mouths” Feel free to watch the video all the way through though, or to at least recognise the quotes around “GTA Clones” and figure out what I might mean by that.

[@tonyluengas8160]

That’s silly though GTA was a pioneer of that genre John Wick was not. There were plenty of action films before the wick films that could hold that title.

[@joeburch6754]

I still remember seeing Gat hear you talk for the first time. That hepatitis line has been stuck in my head since before I had an idea of what hepatitis even was.

[@BigBoss_893]

I am a big fan of Sleeping Dogs. I like how it’s more brawler combat than third person shooter, while incorporating the gta style gameplay loop. I also really love how it’s set in Hong Kong. Most games set in real locations are in American cities or London, so Hong Kong feels so unique and interesting. A sequel to that game would be great

[@user-zd1oc3pz8s]

Man I wish they part that game for the Nintendo switch I have it for PS4 great game

[@kamemesg2083]

Albeit it was one of those games that didn't really need a sequel, the story was wrapped up pretty well.

[@Drunken_Hamster]

If The Crew can do "all of the USA" then certainly, especially with today's hardware, there should be a game that can do all of Japan (but like, ACTUALLY all of it). That'd be a cool sequel, I think.

[@azahel542]

@@kamemesg2083 yeah, but just like GTA they could make another in a different location with a different story and characters. Maybe with a cameo or two of some minor character.

[@michaelhunt6920]

Too bad the sequel got canned because United Front got shut down. If you are interested I recommend you find a video or read about it. Real tragic outcome for a team who hadn't even started to tap into their latent potential. The story was basically gonna happen direct after the Cop ending and Wei was gonna have a new partner. That game was just GTA X Yakuza and it's one of the best small time games Square Enix ever backed but they are also the reason for the shut down. Game Industry has always been cutthroat. It's just that now it also produces over budget pos games as the norm and devs went from having insane creative freedom to having to follow the same trends because innovation doesn't make money anymore.

[@RZ_2K]

Mafia 4 is actually in development as of now, and based off the success that mafia 1 definitive edition had, its safe to assume they will have the same mechanics, graphics and gameplay of it but with a shit ton main story mission and side missions sprawled across its open world

[@aussieknuckles]

I hope they improve the shooting and death animations, Vehicle physics are perfect though.

[@StaredownGames]

It seems to progress chronologically. If so, I REALLY hope they don't skip the 70s. The car's/clothes/music. I want the 80s Mafia as much as anyone but I feel like there's potential in the 70s.

[@jackalkabout7978]

@@StaredownGamesI think it was leaked that they were going back in time to 1920s Sicily to explore how Don Salieri became a head mob boss. I would prefer 1970s but the licensing for the music would probably be so expensive

[@arthurmorgan2906]

@@StaredownGames yes we really need that era ffs... the only games that had this era was gta vice city and driver parallel lines, both of them are too damn old now...

[@FEDERALBEREAUOFIMCOMPENTRNCE]

if mafia 2 got the treatment mafia 1 had it would’ve been way better than mafia 1

[@DeadSpacedOut]

I'm sure almost nobody even knows what The Saboteur is, but that game was pretty cool and fits into that "GTA clone" type of thing.

[@brokenordinance]

God, I loved that game so much. Singlehandedly taking down Nazis was so badass. Genuinely an underrated classic.

[@ELFORAS888]

Greatest open world game similar to AC ... I miss the non agenda games 😢

[@DeadSpacedOut]

@@ELFORAS888 Non agenda Games? Wouldn't The Saboteur have an agenda against Nazi's or something lol. Everyone's got something against someone.

[@BladeRunner2077]

Hidden gem forsure

[@Meadowolf]

I love how saints row was a actual good street game that was getting to the level of GTA then they went nah we need aliens 😂😂😂

[@wingblade6023]

The reason why Just Cause 3 was even made was because gamers on PC kept it alive, with a multiplayer mod. When modders were creating the multiplayer component for Just Cause 3, the company announced Just Cause 4, and they still refused to implement a multiplayer function, which pretty much killed the passion those modders had for the game. I personally believe that if Square Enix wasn't afraid to compete with GTA Online, we could have gotten an amazing multiplayer experience in the Just Cause series.

[@aircraft2]

Actually JC4 doesn't have a fanmade multiplayer mod because JC4 is horribly coded and a nightmare to work with. It's also just a worse version of JC3 so nobody bothered. Not having multiplayer is missing the big picture as to why JC4 failed (or why the previous 2 games succeeded), sure it was 1 reason but nowhere near the biggest one. Avalanche's deceptive marketing tricked all of us into thinking JC4 would be revolutionary, instead what we got was a terrible game with mountains of missed potential.

[@wingblade6023]

@@aircraft2 You're not wrong, I just pray they don't miss the mark with the 5th entry.

[@WH250398]

Just Cause 4 was also nowhere near Just Cause 3.

[@KingJohnMichael]

Fuck multiplayer

[@wingblade6023]

​@@KingJohnMichael kzbin.info/www/bejne/pojHlWmVj92LbsU

[@DerEchteLinke]

Remember Scareface: The world is yours? And the The Godfather games?

[@user-xj4ef5pv2d]

That game is a gem

[@-James-A]

I still play Scarface on the PC (PS2 emulator, of course) and it's still an amazing game. Small map but the game still holds up.

[@Lowshyne]

Yup that’s definitely my favorite ps2 game right there.

[@robinnautica9773]

Its crazy i looked for a video like this a couple days ago and couldn't find a good one now you upload one and i get it on my recommendation

[@pablorodriguez9672]

How could you forget Scarface and the Godfather games. Those were really good "GTA Clones".

[@Marcus_shawn]

Scarface is actually better than a few GTA games especially vice City

[@XavierXSims]

I'm sure Captain Glack realizes that by now.

[@ZachofPotatoes732]

@@Marcus_shawnmafia 2 and saints row 2 are probably better than gta at the time yet they’re here

[@matthewyocom56]

💯 imagine a New (not remastered) Scarface and Godfather with the graphics and on these new consoles would be dope

[@Lazer-bp9lf]

I'm a big Vice City fan but man Scarface TWIY just rocks and is better than VC in my opinion.

[@ozeppeo]

Sleeping dogs was such a good game. Shame it didn't get a successor

[@alkhoaja]

The combat is so badass

[@jwconglomerate332]

The fact that it actually released was almost a miracle.

[@slaterock4612]

@srmafios Them doing a Sleeping Dogs sequel today will more than likely be another Saints Row Reboot experience. Gotta appeal to the "modern audience" as they always say.

[@rastas_4221]

Bruh, try Yakuza. Yakuza 0 is usually pretty cheap on sale. I thought nothing could match Sleeping dogs, but I think they actually drew a lot from Yakuza.

[@YoungOneYT]

Right !!

[@BMoney8600]

I have been binging your videos lately and I couldn’t agree with you more! Keep up the great work!

[@Simtatic]

Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven was made before GTA 3, the first 3D GTA, so its definetly NOT a clone. It was released later (i dont remember the exact reason), but the two games were developed pretty much at the same time. I am also shocked that you didn't mention the Mafia one Remake, its very well made. They used the base of Mafia 3 (engine and physics) and improved everything possible. I really recommend the game. Its usually on sale for like 15-20$ and even at full price its only 40$! Mafia always went for a more realistic style, both in gameplay and story. It also never played in the current era, always in the past. I think those two franchises kinda go hand in hand because they are both open world 3rd person gangster games, yet very different. I would recommend to all GTA players to play Mafia 2 and Mafia: Definitive Edition (Mafia 1 Remake) and i would recommend to all Mafia players GTA 4 and GTA V.

[@CyanRooper]

The first Mafia game was originally supposed to be a driving game similar to the first Driver game and was set to release in the year 2000 but plans changed along with the game engine being changed due to the previous engine not meeting the developer's requirements, both reasons led to the release date being pushed to 2002, a few months before the release of GTA Vice City. It's why the first Mafia game has such detailed driving physics (the first game can even be played with a force feedback wheel and pedal setup) and the first game was initially developed exclusively for PC which is why it has so many realistic details in it that the GTA games of the time didn't have (as they were developed for consoles first and then ported to PC).

[@Donhuevo367]

Saints row 2, Watch Dogs 1 & 2, Sleeping Dogs, Driver: San Francisco, Just Cause 3, and the Mafia series have got to be some of the greatest things to be produced by the gta clone fenomenon, and its truly a shame that the modern videogame landscape as a whole is just afraid of taking any risks, instead they choose to keep pushing out shallow and un-original videogames with no substance to them.

[@gazuhiramiller]

does just cause 3 really count though i mean you can commit a grand theft auto sure

[@HCS_Gengarr]

Watch Dogs appreciation W

[@aircraft2]

Just Cause was in its own niche. I don't remember leading a revolution against a dictator in GTA 5.

[@Remix2366]

​@@aircraft2maybe if you count avon

[@Remix2366]

​@@gazuhiramilleryou can steal cars and store them in the garage

[@eleasxrresu8394]

You forgot to mention Scarface: The World is Yours, one of my favorite ones set in Miami. Also Bully somewhat a GTA type game as a school teens replacing cars with bikes etc.

[@CaptainGlack]

Any other time I would probably say I decided not to include it, but the truth is, I *did* forget about Scarface. That game was so so good. I DID avoid Bully though, as to avoid licking Rockstar’s boot *too* clean.

[@eleasxrresu8394]

@@CaptainGlack Great video either way but yes another game released 2006 lol , and since u mentioned Red Dead I thought I’d mention bully but I feel that lol

[@Harkness197]

damn, i hope they release this game to gamepass or remaster it!

[@jayda1k_]

@@eleasxrresu8394The Godfather deserves mention, also 2006.

[@benzym]

how can a R* title be a gta clone ffs, LA NOIRE is a gta clone too then smh

[@tylercouture216]

Thank you for eloquently Describing your childhood experience growing up with different games. You were so descriptive and point was certain things I felt like me. You grew up shoulder the shoulder in the video game world

[@shempmalone9736]

‘GTA clone” is such a close minded term for games that feature an open world that also happen to feature guns and cars. Game could have such a great story that feature a unique set of characters while also having amazing customization options only for it to be called a clone. Ironically GTA 5 over the years became a saints row clone with all its ridiculous vehicles and online updates

[@anotheryoutubeaccount5259]

No?

[@CouldaWouldaShoulda]

gta 5 and online are not really the same

[@LittleOzzyLand]

I hate how people call anything remotely similar to an open world crime game a “clone”. This is why GTA will never have any competition, because of ignorant and shallow thinking groups of people who can’t comprehend that other games can exist in the same GENRE that “popular household” titles do. People fuel their own oppression, giving companies the power to have a monopoly over an entire genre, because they don’t want their ‘favorite game’ to have fair ‘competition’.

[@DontEatGlass]

So you didn't watch then video then?

[@LittleOzzyLand]

@@DontEatGlass So you can’t read then? I said ‘people’ and was speaking in a general sense.

[@michaellee4463]

Same thing happened with Pokémon. There used to be dozens of monster-catching RPGs throughout the 90s and 2000s - most notably Digimon and Yo-kai Watch - keeping Game Freak in check and making great Pokémon games. Ever since those disappeared, Pokémon games have been on a very noticeable decline. Thankfully, the monster-catching genre seems to be making a resurgence - most notably Palworld and Temtem - So maybe we'll get a real Pokémon competitor again

[@dereenaldoambun9158]

DOOM clones in the 90's: First time? 😎😎😎

[@wahhnopfp]

People fuel their own oppression applies to so, so many more facets of life and I wish more people understood this. Well said.

[@KH0LRA]

I loved and enjoyed having more varieties in this genre. Variations do not necessarily have to be a clone, and each managed to shine on its own. I especially miss Saints Row, it was the one I adored as much as GTA.

[@123four...]

Just wanted to say this is a really good video. It feels like it has a real soul behind it, and it's been a while since I've seen a video like that. Keep it up!

[@jamieoconnor1916]

Great video, Captain. respect 🙏 all of these games are spectacular. i absolutely love Saints Row, and 2 thanks for the fantastic memories 😊

[@thanos8914]

If saints row stayed the path of 1-2 It could’ve been a solid series but ofc they fumbled

[@slaterock4612]

Had it not been for THQ being in the red and deciding on how Saints Row 3 should be, the franchise would've been booming. Naw, THQ decided to call the shots and make Saints Row more lighthearted, make Volition kill off Gat, change the production team and so on... And then you find out recently that the Reboot dev team was split on how it should be. Devs on once side wanting to go back to how SR2 was and the other wanting to go the more over the top/modern audience/sitcom style route. It's a hot mess.

[@ZachofPotatoes732]

It really rivaled GTA and then later it threw itself in the dumpster marketing it for kids

[@MerlautZone]

@@slaterock4612 But how does that explain Saints Row IV which was done without THQ?

[@slaterock4612]

@@MerlautZone Technically, it was still under THQ as far as some of the development goes. SR4 was originally dlc for SRTT. THQ's president at the time, Jason Rubin, told Volition to use what they had for the dlc and make it into a full game instead, as they were keeping it over the top. Reason to make the dlc into a full game was due to THQ being in the red financially. So, they filed for bankruptcy and had handed the game over to Koch Media/Deep Silver after they acquired Volition. Koch Media (now known as Plaion) owns Deep Silver. Deep Silver let Volition ended up continuing from where they left off, while keeping the over the top gameplay and story.

[@kenrickeason]

I played Saint Row 3 and 4 on the Switch.. I played Saint Row 3, and it bored me to death.. I played Saint Row 4 and it is as hell.. I never played Saint Row and Saint Row 2 until one day I turned on my Xbox looking for something that was on sale and Saint Row and Saint 2 both were on sale for a $1.50 a piece.. I immediately bought both games.. They are both really good games..

[@ThaSwitcherTayTay]

Fun fact: Ultor from Saints Row is also the same Ultor from the Red Faction games.

[@uhhcallmejefe]

That dumbass term is the reason we dont get them anymore

[@dereenaldoambun9158]

DOOM clones in the 90's: First time? 😎😎😎

[@uhhcallmejefe]

@dereenaldoambun9158 yeah and that term died off and we still get FPS, this term is still commonly used and we don't get open world crime sandbox games anymore

[@jammin2575]

And there were Battle Royals clones after PubG, Sandbox clones for Minecraft and Soulslike clones after The Demonsouls games. It’s happens with EVERY successful new genre type, don’t play like it’s only GTA that did this. As has been stated Doom made FPS and there were “clones” of that in the 90s but it also lead to games like Half Life and Deus Ex that innovated because they wanted to make something new with the genre. The reason as was made clear in the video, no has the money or resources of Rockstar, it’s a hard genre type to get right and make money on, when GTA had spent up to 5 years + in some cases on any one game. They craft each one so that on it’s release nothing is close to them tech and gameplay wise. Hopefully there is another Just Cause or Mafia game that can do something different, apparently at least one of the previous employees of Rockstar is working on a game in a similar vein. So maybe there’s more on the horizon….

[@drfirebone1-936]

I know man just look at saints row what happened

[@unknowperson4342]

I hate the "Gta Clone" term it's not clones it's Gta Competitors look what happened Saints Row series it lost that true identity of being a good gangster game all due to the people that were calling it a "gta clone"

[@unknowperson4342]

And I like Gta Games and Saints Row 2 equally

[@orynx2835]

Exactly what I am saying, the GTA community its just dumb. They see a game in the same category ( open world crime game ) and they say " uMhn ThAts A GtA CloNe , YoU shOuLdnT PLaY ThAt " They don't understand that if rockstar had competition they wouldn't milk the same GTA over 10 years , they would pay more attention to make their games better

[@arthurmorgan2906]

@@orynx2835 very well said. They ruined competition and milkstar has monopoly for so many years. This is the result. We have nothing. Monopolized market is the worst kind of thing in capitalism.

[@orynx2835]

@@srmafios maybe but I still enjoy GTA

[@orynx2835]

@srmafios well why don't you do it? Honestly I really want something new from rockstar and I don't see so far any way they changed it . The only GTA that felt kinda different was GTA V with that movie like story. GTA 6 from the trailers to the leaks looks enough GTA to me .

[@mysockssmelly]

There's also an unmentioned impact of the "GTA clones" which is that it kept Rockstar working hard to give us new GTA games. What happened when there was no more competition to be concerned about? Well, Rockstar just milked the same GTA game for over a decade. It's no coincidence that the golden era (2000s) of GTA from a player's perspective also coincided with a time when there were decent alternatives to GTA. The clones had their place and we need them back now more than ever. My personal favorites were True Crime NYC, Scarface and the Getaway games.

[@-SoonerorLater]

Yeah sure if you just ignore Just Cause 3, the Watch_Dogs games, the 2 Mafia games that came out after GTA V, any of the BS Ubisoft released, or literally any of the other open world titles that game out between 2013 and now. So yeah, ignoring all the evidence that contradicts your comment heavily then sure, that’s why R* only made one GTA in 10 years and not, you know, shark card greed and them being able to capitalize off stupidity.

[@chriscormac231]

Godfather also competed

[@vinesauceobscurities]

​@@-SoonerorLater None of these games left enough of an impression in the 2010s to be genuine threats to R*'s sandbox design. Just Cause, Saints Row, Watch Dogs, Far Cry, and Assassin's Creed peaked in the early-to-mid 2010s and either suffered from quality decay into the late-2010s and 2020s or had no further games released. Mafia 3 was praised for its writing but also maligned for its simplistic sandbox design, and Mafia 1: DE, while well reviewed, does have significant downgrades from the original 2002 game and isn't talked about anymore despite the amount of craftsmanship put into it, with 2K content with not even giving the game DLCs like its predecessors. There's no direct rivalry like you used to see in the 2000s (think the jabs at GTA, Driver, True Crime and Getaway from 2001 to 2004). So while sandbox games are still release in numbers, all competing devs have been keeping to themselves and making more lighthearted tributes at best. It compelled no one to do better and as a result this style of sandbox stagnated throughout the 2010s and early-2020s, while Rockstar, well ahead in the race, comfortably falls back to a Bethesda-like business strategy milking one game for over a decade because consumers now have limited alternatives outside GTA. The only outliers are RDR2 and maybe Cyberpunk 2077.

[@user-zd1oc3pz8s]

Ohh True Crimes?? I remember playing that game I used to have both of them man those games were fun but now I got this game called Sleeping Dogs and it's like those games and it's fun

[@Lazy_ness]

The watchdogs series of games came and went during all that time 💀

[@vassmontenegro1232]

Nice video! i would personally love to see more and long GTA 5 videos from your channel.

[@Sthomp10]

well done, i thoroughly enjoyed this.

[@Jess.400]

Technically máfia is a sister game because it’s under the same parent company

[@Nomad-bl4yw]

Are games boys or girls 🤔

[@jasonmcfidgityfigMDXLIV]

@@Nomad-bl4yw genderfluid

[@MerlautZone]

Mafia is GTA & Red Dead's cousin Vinny. 🕴

[@NotKnafo]

no rockstar do not deserve to monopolize on the open world crime games genre

[@shady8261]

They've earned it. It's not like they kept buying studios making these type of games and just shut them down. They're not Disney. They're just making the best ones.

[@Wind-Bound]

​@@srmafios They have objectively earned it. It isn't R* fault that the competition kept getting tripped over by thier own shoes. R* never engaged in practices in hopes of getting a monopoly. They got it out of sheer dumbness of their competition. Ubisoft EA or Activision can make thier own crime Sand Box game they have the resources, so why aren't they doing it then. Because they kept fucking it up, only R* knows how to make a successful crime Sand Box game. Don't you think any of the previous publishers would kill for a chance to even have 50% of the success that the GTA franchise has? Of course they would. But they can't do it.

[@BlueEyedVibeChecker]

I do find it odd that people call them GTA clones when Drive released on PlayStation before GTA even touched the 3D scene, and Shenmue was a 3D sandbox RPG also before GTA went 3D after it. They weren't cloning something that wasn't a thing when they released, and the top down GTAs beforehand were commercially terrible sellers, not something anyone wanted to clone.

[@dereenaldoambun9158]

Rockstar deserved the monopoly because every other devs suck a$$ in developing crime-like open-world games!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤

[@shinobimsh5687]

​@dereenaldoambun9158 and fanbase like you deserve gta 5 for 15+ year without any sequel

[@gorillaguy042]

Though Sleeping Dogs was a spiritual successor of True Crime series, the franchise can continue in two major ways- 1. The protagonist Wei Shen was an undercover cop from San Francisco Police Department who investigated the Triads in San Francisco before the events of sleeping dogs. So a prequel set in San Francisco featuring Wei Shen is possible. 2. Though the first game wrapped the story of Wei Shen, they can continue with a new protagonist following the aftermath of the first game and can include Wei Shen as a guest character.

[@amostlynottoxicdude8002]

I love your videos. Please keep pumping then out

[@geetanshusaini3684]

Just cause is a masterpiece series its not a GTA clone . Especially just cause 2

[@stobeznog878]

Avalanche is currently working on an open world coop game called contraband, a game that was teased 3 years ago and still nothing is known about the game, so im thinking just cause will come after that, which might still be years away

[@Ccccc-mi3tr]

The market killed them. All the gta fanboys calling any game that tried to enter the genre a ‘clone’ when many of them were fantastic games with their own thing going on.

[@K1ng_Solo]

The “Like a maniac” segment was funny. New subscriber, it’s the little things

[@WroahmerON]

Pretty difficult to compete with R*'s multi-billion-dollar prowess and decades long legacy of having the best criminal open world experiences. If there is someone out there to match them, they would need to be at least of the same calibre, or make this kind of game in a completely unique and creative way.

[@d88787]

Ubisoft could compete if they didn't have their heads up their asses

[@JayBirdPrince]

31 minute video by one of my new favorite creators, hell yeah! I am truly inspired by your recent success, looking forward to seeing the growth of your channel over the course of the year!

[@pyroAdapt]

The people who unironically called these games GTA clones were so stupid. By their logic basically any game with their person driving and shooting was automatically a GTA clone. The worst part about those people is that they weren't just spreading harmless stupidity. They actually had an impact. It's because of those people that the creators of Saints row basically took a sledge hammer to the franchises knee caps and butchered it til it was completely unrecognizable and we see where that franchise ended up... I know there was more factors to that situation as well but honestly I put 99% of the blame on those people who perpetuated this ridiculous idea about saints row being a GTA clone. It had its own style and identity and did things GTA didn't.

[@Disambiguation144]

Great video, just subbed. THANKS

[@scatan6922]

This is a straight banger of a video. You are definitely on your way up, keep up the great work 👍🏼💯

[@emmanuels.688]

To me, Urban Chaos was the push towards 3D GTA style games. Came out in late 1999, GTA 2 was still topdown view, and here we have a 3D game where we play as a cop, commandeering cars and enjoying a map, walking around, smashing bad guys' faces or casually shake it at the club.

[@michaelhunt6920]

I just recently tried Urban Chaos out. Has to be one of the most impressive PS1 games. I really like the vibe it gives off and the gameplay feels really good for a game of it's time. I wish game devs could have that level of creative freedom again. What I'd really like to see is a sequel to State of Emergency. That would be sick.

[@jammin2575]

Yeah Urban Chaos is an interesting idea for a GTA type game, I spent a fair amount of time running around in that game trying stuff out. It is very limited by the tech of the time and would have been better served if it had another year in development and then released on PS2, although that would have put it in the path of GTA 3 so that would have killed it anyway.

[@chrisward978]

Great concept for a video. Well executed too.

[@that_camo_bronco_guy]

Thank you for this video, just got done replaying sr2 on pc (holy game crashes even with the patches) and own most of these on pc as well (originally owned on xbox) ill be replaying most of these soon, great video! (Also i surprisingly enjoyed the new saints row, but 1 and 2 will always be my favorite)

[@areafurrynone1913]

I happened to discover the Mafia series and man they were awesome. Mafia 3 was definitely my favorite setting. There’s something refreshing about how the game isn’t hesitant to show how awful racism was in the 60s down south, something that my grandparents had to live through. Definitely excited for Mafia 4 whenever it’s coming out.

[@JayJay-gh7or]

Mafia 3 is so cold, my favourite of the three. I didn't play the first two until the remakes/remasters, copped those badbois hard copy with the special case. Three's setting and absolutely banging soundtrack really drew me in and it had some solid characters to boot. Lincoln Clay is too cold with it, taking that post Vietnam conflict PTSD to tear down the Mafia. What an experience!

[@Jolgeable]

I remember the time when there were Doom Clones. Then came the era of GTA Clones. Today we are in Souslike era. Rockstar is a money machine, but FromSoftware has been more influential over the industry, recently.

[@MRTOWELRACK]

Funnily enough, Demon's Souls started as an Elder Scrolls Oblivion clone. During production trouble, Hidetaka Miyazaki came on and actively questioned industry tropes. Early on, many observers pegged Souls games as being hard for the sake of being hard, but that's not the intention. There are so many mechanics that are interesting in their own right. I love how influential Souls has been on the industry.

[@craigsampson3386]

I remember when Halo 1 was called a Quake clone lol

[@kamemesg2083]

Which kind of sucks, crime games are imo the best the industry ever made.

[@Miuranger1]

FromSoftware games also probably cost less too, Which probably is the reason why there's here's dark souls clones everywhere.

[@dereenaldoambun9158]

Meanwhile in 2024, we got genshin clones! 💀💀💀💀

[@Dragonfury3000]

The problem is calling them GTA clones. You don't call battlefield or call duty doom clones. Also driver 3 was a good game but the on foot gameplay was what made it a bad experience.

[@punisha4032]

Driver 3 is horrible compared to the previous and the next installments

[@Dragonfury3000]

@@punisha4032 like I said, the driving gameplay was top tier in 3.the on foot sections in the campaign made the game worse.

[@MarioGoatse]

The way you say genre as Zhan-rah is cracking me up lol. I am enjoying the video though. Thanks!

[@DaemonWolf.]

Another thing we need in GTA 6 for the love of Sam and Dan Houser is bringing the gore into the game like how it was in rdr 2 except even more improved and crazy just do something to get Jack Thompson upset again Rockstar.

[@jammin2575]

Except Dan Houser has left, so has Leslie Benzie and Lazlow Jones. They were the trifecta of what made GTA interesting, so not sure how good GTA6 will be. Also with the online mode being the big money maker, Take Two will be pushing for a lot of content to be in that mode.

[@TrueEnspyre57]

Jak and Daxter is another clone to add to the list, considering that Naughty Dog literally changed the sequel from a light-hearted platformer to a mature, open-world game with guns to chase after GTA III's success.

[@ItsYaBoySnowbounder]

This was a well informed and a great video! Im glad you mentioned plenty of games which seem to use the same formula from the gta series, but not specifically call them clones, like most would. Its cool to see how each and everyone of these games had their own go at becoming a masterpiece of a video game. GTA, which shaped the open world sandbox genre, seems to be the only game which I know of that is maintaing its title of that. Nonetheless, im glad this video explained what GTA clones truly means. Also, thank you for saying Just Cause 3 was a gem, as it is one of my favourite games, with the others being Titanfall 2 and, you guessed it, GTA 5.

[@steffenjensen3851]

Really great video you deserve more subs

[@SDRIFTERAbdlmounaim]

8:10 you totally fooled me here 😂 i expected you to say Mayhem 👀

[@riqodinero]

The fans killed them all the talk of "GTA Clone" forced many studios to destroy gaming leaving the mess we have today and Ultimately giving the industry to rockstar on a silver platter

[@dereenaldoambun9158]

DOOM clones in the 90's: First time? 😎😎😎

[@GeteMachine]

You can also than IGN with help on that, because they tend to have influentially bad takes in their game reviews and the ones who only shill the most biggest budget title of the time, as the standard over anything else. Then they tried to claim Saints Row 4, was one of the greatest Open World games of all time. Pff.

[@colinwatt9387]

Don't forget about The Saboteur.

[@rw_2019]

Very interesting and well made! I will definitely subscribe

[@summererrors]

dope vid, glad you didnt rip sr4 into shreds like most because the games actually pretty good (n this is coming from a person that grew up with 2 and still sees that as one of the best games ever made n i still play it from time to time). I think you did a good job mentioning pretty much every atleast somewhat memorable “gta clone”. very well made vid and you should really finish jc2, that game kicks ass. anyways, best of luck with the content and stay safe.

[@kylesoler4139]

Just bought Driver Parallel lines because of you. Played Driver SF in the past and enjoyed it. The great thing about "GTA Clones" is that there's a lot of overlap in the community. I loved SR2 as an older kid but I also liked GTA.

[@KonaSquid]

Sleeping Dogs is one of the best ones ever, and actually better than GTA in some ways. Mafia 2 as well (and the remake of 1.)

[@chaosfire321]

A fun out of the way example of this kind of game might be the 2007 Transfomers Autobots/Decepticons games for Nintendo DS. These were a fully 3D open world game where you could climb, jump and fly up/past every building, bridge and skyscraper. You could play as each of the movie characters depending on your faction, but what really made the game was the custom bot you controlled. The game world was filled with 50(?) different scannable vehicles to use for alt-modes, ranging from cars and buses to helicopters, not to mention a ton of hidden easter egg vehicles to hunt for. And you could freely change your vehicle mode whenever you want by just rescanning a different car. Easily one of the best Transformers games of all time.

[@JaysasterGaming]

Driver Parallel Lines is my favorite Driver games

[@Andy_77799]

Absolutely. It was one of my most memorable childhood video games.

[@arthurmorgan2906]

That thing would deserve massive remake... but ubisoft is way too dumb now to realise that...

[@arthurmorgan2906]

@@srmafios no I mean normal remake expanded and enhanced. That game would have massive potential. No one would be forcing you to play it ffs. You can play original anytime... thanks for your opinion. I didnt ask for it and I dont care.. but I get it you just needed to nag..

[@arthurmorgan2906]

@@srmafios aint you a man of words. Mafia definitive edition was quite solid. It aint that black and white like you try to say. I didnt see anything woke there. The original is still there. People can play both. it has impression of nagging. Also I really aint in the good mood today. I dont worship anyone for me it's just one of the fictional characters. Im ending this conversation. Thanks for understanding. Have a nice day...

[@arthurmorgan2906]

@@srmafios ok

[@SDRIFTERAbdlmounaim]

having clones of *Something* is both disgusting & flattering to the source material 😂

[@collencal4662]

Like those doom clones

[@adedhuman9582]

Imitation is the best form of flattery

[@Pusfilth]

@@adedhuman9582it’s not at all if you really think about it, it’s just disrespect

[@mindeyethemasterscreen2712]

Wolfenstein was before Doom ​@@collencal4662

[@MrHoxworth]

FPS games used to be called DOOM clones, sometiems games are so influential they spawn a new genre

[@bauer9101]

I preferred Lincoln Clay to all the main characters in GTA V.

[@anotheryoutubeaccount5259]

Wha... how??

[@junior_g36c8]

This video was awesome. Do a part 2 and include The Saboteur.

[@esodn762]

I love GTA clones specially if they have some kind of unique setting like Mafia and Sleeping Dogs had, but I guess the idea of competing with GTA it's just too much of a risk for developers nowadays.

[@joey_youtube]

Great channel. Glad I came across it. Gonna binge a bunch of your videos 🩷

[@gflippa7017]

One of the reasons they died was because rockstar meatriders kept calling them clones, no one calls call of duty a medal of Honor clone or insomniac’s Spider-Man games a Batman Arkham clone.

[@Andrewtate200]

They died because they were shit.. Accept the fact and stop crying And The few ones that were good made good sales and money😂

[@jonbradbury6967]

Some ones you missed. EA's The God Father. CDPR's Cyberpunk 2077. Radical Entertainment's Scarface: The World Is Yours. Sony's The Getaway. Realtime World's Crackdown. Pandemic Studios' The Saboteur. And Betagames Group's early access 171.

[@carsoncrews]

Please tell me how just cause was ever a gta clone😭😭

[@NewOrderOfAlexandria]

I think Cyberpunk 2077 outshined GTA in some ways as it was a full blown rpg like Skyrim but with carjacking, a wanted system in a criminal world. (Something I wish Saints Row did instead of going whacky). Another way games can stand out is by making a retro crime game, going back to basics, giving us a more arcade experience. One where it's about blowing things up for money and plays like GTA 3 with modern graphics. There was recently a 2D open world crime game called Maniac which was a lovely letter to the original games, where it was all about open world chaos.

[@AhmadWahelsa]

Cyberpunk in some ways reminds me of GTA San Andreas (and older GTA games), basically from the amount and variety of stuff to do, the best we get in modern GTA is just these Stranger and Freaks missions, and nope, these "details" don't count, i want content, writing, narrative, not to stare horse balls 24/7 or watch NPCs talking, I hope Cyberpunk stays for a long time, yeah it's not perfect, atleast unlike Ubisoft, 2K or Volition where they are too scared to even make these type of games.

[@kamemesg2083]

Cyberpunk was an open world game masking as an rpg. Just because weapons have stats and you have (inconsequential) dialogue options doesn't mean its an rpg. And I say this as someone who really enjoyed Cyberpunk.

[@NewOrderOfAlexandria]

@@kamemesg2083 it has a ton of endings, different characters builds and even the story prologue changes based on life path (sure it's just dialogue options after that, but it mixes repeat play throughs up) to be fair, the middle section of cyberpunk is pretty much the same story wise (only you can romance different characters). I just wish GTA had dialogue options and built on SA's body building and melee style mechanics. Even the stats such as respect and six appeal added to the immersion. Cyberpunk now let's me buy different homes for V to live in and so on. It's an RPG lite akin to Fallout 4 then. Just wish Saints Row added these things. SR2 had crib customisation on top of car and character editor. I want the Sims meets Skyrim in a modern day crime setting and Cyberpunk is the closest we ever got.

[@AhmadWahelsa]

@@NewOrderOfAlexandria Wasn't they added crib / safehouse customization in 1.5? you can buy 4 ownable houses and customize it with 10 different color scheme.

[@AhmadWahelsa]

@@kamemesg2083 As the guy above me said, it's closest thing to a modern day game with RPG and sandbox elements, yes i know there's Deus Ex, but it's not open world, modern day city crime RPG is still and quite literally uncharted territory, hell even crime RPG itself is uncharted territory too, most of RPGs only goes as far as "you do anything for the greater good", i want something like robbing king's palace or raiding villages.

[@Jakraff-oi3wc]

Your channel is criminally underrated.

[@CaptainGlack]

Thank you kindly 🤠

[@Lgx-ie4if]

Genuinely one of my favourite channels to watch, hope he gets a LOT more attention

[@SlayerDUDE1993]

give it a time bruh

[@haniibriche6537]

This video brought me so many memories

[@Zaf_9261]

open world gaming was a new concept in that era and the only reason other games are called clones is due to the fact that gta was first to fully develop a full working model( gta 3 ) which was also popular among the masses with even better successors like gta vc ans san Andreas Edit : Although gta has first developed it ......that does meant that others can't use that tech

[@jimmyagnew2184]

Driver 2,s video editor was cool,and the way the cars would go flying out through there when you blew them up was awesome

[@manteiv]

My favourite GTA clone was True Crime New York City on PS2. Such a gem and a classic that deserves a remaster or remake.

[@SonicAdventureEnjoyer]

I liked LA better (cuz I'm west coast myself lol) but new York SLAPPED. I remember it like yesterday on PS2

[@manteiv]

@@SonicAdventureEnjoyer The realism and details on that game was insane for a PS2 game. Even the story was awesome to play through. LA was cool though but New York City was incredible.

[@5uper5kill3rz]

I too spent many hours as a kid playing Driver 3, I was nowhere near old enough to play GTA San Andreas and given GTA's negative press at the time, my parents did not allow me to get it but Driver 3 slipped under the radar, I frankly didn't even realise how broken the game was until I was in my 20s, I just remember many happy hours exploring the map and driving different cars, although I did play GTA at my cousins

[@driftbeattheyeet9204]

Driver series will never be a clone to GTA, they're just so diffrence than GTA in so many aspects

[@JonnyHorseman]

Kinda makes me sad that you didn't mention the Mercenaries or Crackdown games imo

[@jammin2575]

I was gonna put up a comment about the ignorance of no Crackdown mention (considering SR 4 was definitely taking the superpowers from that and Hulk Ultimate Destruction) Crackdown 1 and Mercenaries 1 were brilliantly crafted games for their times, the sequels were absolute abominations unfortunately and killed those franchises, although Just Cause definitely took cues from Mercenaries 😊

[@MelodicVirus]

@@jammin2575 Crackdown 2 wasn't bad though it was indeed a letdown, the third game was inexcusable though

[@hellenharryinthenetherland8655]

I wished red faction guerrilla was mentioned 😢

[@RockingChode]

Am I the only one that misses the True Crime games!!! 😢

[@yevgenydevine]

I've played the first True Crime and it was absolutely amazing.

[@RockingChode]

@@yevgenydevine wait till you play true crime New York City . Buggy as hell but still 👌

[@-James-A]

You mean "True Grime"?

[@jonahc2807]

I was 12 when Watch Dogs came out and my parents weren't going to but GTA 5 for me. At first I thought I wasn't going to like it but I ended up absolutely no-lifing the fuck out of that game. Watch Dogs, Far Cry 4, Wolfenstein, Advanced Warfare, Second Son. Fuck man that was a good year.

[@Rolly2234]

The Getaway being from London holds weight for me

[@Sportify365s_]

Sleeping dogs was great the hand to hand combat was amazing

[@_Lictor]

I have a feeling we might see a revival of the GTA clone genre around when GTA 6 comes out

[@JoCoHo]

We traded in GTA clones for GTA re-releases

[@AdamKlownzinger]

Umm…Just Cause is not a GTA clone. Why are all open world games considered “GTA clones”? This shit, calling every open world game a GTA clone, itself is a reason that these games went away. Nobody gave them the fucking respect that they deserved.

[@equanimity92]

A little surprized not to hear it mentioned but The Yakuza series, for me, is a great Open World series that some think of as "GTA from the East" and is really the only Open World series that has always had the best Hand to Hand combat we have ever seen in sandbox games.

[@weed75black35]

I believe it's more an RPG than it is a GTA clone, because if you consider Yakuza a GTA clone it opens the door up for games like Cyberpunk 2077

[@CaptainGlack]

I did consider including it, but those games aren’t really full open worlds, and they are in a class of their own.

[@may292]

I swear if i see anyone else call yakuza a gta clone im going to have a stroke. Its not like gta in any way

[@josephnjenga7179]

​@@may292so are most "gta clones"

[@Wierie_]

i loved playing driv3r as a kid on my older brother's ps2 :)

[@RADIOSUICIDIO]

I've seen this genre grow since the very first Grand Theft Auto, and I'm yet to see a single game that realizes my expectations about an open world city: something that feels dangerous and immersive instead of a vaguely interactive sandbox that's just an explosive background for a sociopath's power fantasy. Some kind of noir-ish detective game that plays both like Hitman and the OG Driver games, with a stealth/dialogue focus and a branching narrative that goes on with or without your intervention

[@akechipride1580]

i feel like what really did gta clones in was the death of mid budget titles. nearly every game nowadays is an indie title, second party, or a AAA release. and with the death of the studio behind hi-fi rush, we're probably not gonna be nearly as many getting second party games for a while

[@FuckYouTube385]

We technically did get somewhat of an evolution of the Driver series. The next installment of the driver's games was turned into Watch Dogs 1. Watch Dogs 2 even has a nod to Driver San Francisco. Some elements such as controlling vehicles, are present in Watch Dogs 2. And it's easy to see that sort of sandbox progression from one franchise to the other. Is it a perfect installment. No. Not really. But it's probably the closest thing to Driver we got in this universe.

[@HCS_Gengarr]

I had NO idea Watch Dogs was a product of Driver San Francisco. I knew about the reference in WD2 but that's it. That's cool actually.

[@aussieknuckles]

Watch Dogs driving is horrible compared to Driver though

[@Andrewtate200]

Exactly.. But after watchdogs2 Ubisoft is going backwards in graphics😂

[@hardVatsuki]

@@HCS_Gengarr yeah, devs initially were developing new driver game, it turned to be a game with codename 'nexus' and then they picked name 'watch_dogs' for their new game. there's still unused tanner model in wd1, though it has no facial rigging (means his face is 😐all the time) and has few bugs on his model. you can see him in e3 2012 demo at the very end, there's two of e3 2012 demos, watch "11. Watch Dogs Ubisoft E3 2012 Press Conference" one.

[@Don_Ramiro]

@@hardVatsukiIn the video you say, it´s the character at 14:10, with the red shirt?

[@TOLBOSS]

Great video, just missing one more hidden gem 💎 Scarface 😎😎

[@Memoquin]

I think Just Cause is the odd one out. That’s very much it’s own thing and GTA Online has turned into it.

[@omglol8425]

Real

[@ShaunTheDonJon]

Feels more like a 'Far Cry' clone to me.

[@K1ng_Solo]

People can say what you want , but Saints Row while unique in its own right is a GTA clone but a beautiful one. Like The Carnage to Venom And in the child prospering in the way that the parent hasn’t, it may not be more successful, but still successful

[@jasperalmoore]

True Crime: Streets of LA was so good. I remember renting it after someone told me that it was similar to GTA. I wasn't expecting much, but man I had so much fun with that game!

[@Thatkidgamer2Xbox]

Saints Row was beautiful ✌🏾

[@Wertyber]

Rockstar's only competition is themselves

[@Theorblessone0319x.]

Nice video!

[@user-vl2ig6bz6c]

Crackdown 1 was a pitifully underrated classic.