Creators of Mad Max just dropped their new open-world GTA 6 rival on Xbox and PS5

Grand Theft Auto clones were all the rage back in the early 2010s yet the trend has died down in recent years — and Rockstar certainly hasn't filled the gaps with a release of its own.

With GTA 6 just over a month away, however, now might be the best time to dive into one game that might have passed you by this year, with Samson – developed by people behind the Mad Max and Just Cause games – potentially scratching your open world itch.

While it released on PC in April earlier this year, the game is finally making its debut on console this week, meaning that Xbox and PlayStation fans can dive straight in with no hesitation.

Don't expect it to match the scale and budget of Rockstar's upcoming release, of course, as that's arguably unrivalled in the history of the industry — yet you might find that it's everything you needed to get through the next few weeks as anticipation can often make time move slower than ever.

Why Samson is perfect for GTA fans

Developed by Liquid Swords – which was founded by Christopher Sundberg, who in turn created Avalanche Studios – Samson reaches for that classic crime-ridden open world formula that has dipped out of the limelight in recent years.

While its launch on PC might not have gone perfectly – with the game unfortunately marred by glitches and bugs – the developers have since taken the time to refine the experience ahead of the console debut, with countless performance improvements and quality of life fixes added, as per GAMINGbible.

Samson focuses heavily on hand-to-hand combat, contrasting the more gun-based action of the GTA series (Liquid Swords)

The game itself follows Samson McCray who returns to his native Tyndalston, mixing with some incredibly dangerous people amid a wider blackmail-ridden plot, and it's up to him to power his way through any problem that comes his way.

Unlike a lot of open world experiences, Samson ditches gun-based combat in favor of hand-to-hand action, giving this a unique and intimate feel that you might not have experienced in any other game like this.

The best news is that it's out now, with a release date of September 21 for both Xbox and PlayStation alike.

What other GTA-like games are there?

Outside of Rockstar's other titles like the Red Dead Redemption series – which are both definitely worth playing – there has been a lack of true GTA rivals in recent years, with many of the best options releasing around a decade ago.

Mafia: The Old Country is another great option if you're looking for something like GTA to play (Hangar 13/2K)

More recent efforts that stand out include any of the Mafia series – including Mafia III, which recently got a remaster, and Mafia: The Old Country, which came out last year – alongside any game in the Watch Dogs series too.

Many also loved the Saints Row games, especially as they took a more light-hearted approach to the open world formula, often even directly mocking GTA in various ways, and Sleeping Dogs is also considered by many to be an underrated hit that didn't sell as well as it deserved to.