Upcoming Games Like Red Dead Redemption 2

As is traditional for Rockstar titles, Red Dead Redemption 2’s legacy endures over the years. The game raised the bar for the genre and the entire medium so high that very few titles since have managed to come close. For the past eight years, RDR 2 has constantly topped the charts of the best video games ever made, including GameRant’s own recent player-voted poll. It’s a rare industry achievement, and its appreciation only grows with time as players continue discovering new details and the care poured into this engrossing Wild West saga.

With all that reputation, players constantly search for new cowboy games like Red Dead Redemption 2 or its spiritual successors. Needless to say, we’ve yet to play anything truly comparable to it (hopefully this November), but what are the closest upcoming alternatives? With strengths like emergent gameplay systems, an epic and emotional story, and lifelike characters, games comparable to RDR 2 in scope, ambition, and detail remain largely scarce. On the other hand, there are plenty of upcoming new Wild West games for 2026, aiming to offer a similar setting, an emphasis on riding and taming horses, a high degree of freedom, as well as exploration and survival in a harsh frontier environment. With that in mind, here are some upcoming 2026 games similar to Red Dead Redemption 2.

Grand Theft Auto 6

Coming: November 19

Of course, we should instantly address the elephant in the room: Grand Theft Auto 6. Currently expected to launch this November on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, GTA 6 fan hype has already reached unfathomable levels as Rockstar remains silent and hasn’t rushed to start the full marketing campaign for its most ambitious game ever — one that will undoubtedly set a whole new bar for the industry, just like RDR 2 did back in 2018.

In terms of technical achievements, world reactivity, scope, detail, characters, and overall freedom, it’s safe to assume that GTA 6 will be a groundbreaking title and the closest pick to Red Dead Redemption 2 in years, despite its modern-day American setting. While GTA games hardly come close to Rockstar’s Western in terms of the impact left by its story and characters, there’s some hope that GTA 6 might break the mold as well, leaning less towards parody and offering a more serious tone — at least to some degree. Whatever the case, fans can also expect the studio to return to the Red Dead series at some point, but it’s better not to expect anything for at least another decade.

The Legend of Khiimori

Coming: Available in Early Access (PC), Console Release Announced (No Date Yet)

The Legend of Khiimori is technically already out — it launched in early access on PC this March and is already gathering positive feedback. Nevertheless, with the final version still ahead of us and console versions also announced, it falls into the “upcoming” category as well. But what is The Legend of Khiimori? In short, it’s RDR 2-slash-Death Stranding, but set in 13th-century Mongolia. The game emphasizes a beautiful historical open-world experience, with systemic gameplay built on survival and exploration, and a huge focus on everything horses: from horseback riding across the wilderness as a courier rider, to breeding, taming, bonding with, and training your steeds.

The Legend of Khiimori’s world is a true feast for the eyes, offering stunning landscapes and diverse biomes with harsh climate changes, while the game’s mount system is surprisingly deep and realistic. It throws in strategic aspects like specialized traits that help players reach new corners of the world more safely, along with resource management and careful preparation for the journey ahead. While not nearly as character-driven or combat-heavy as RDR 2 (although archery plays a huge part in survival), The Legend of Khiimori might be a perfect fit for fans looking to chart the expansive Mongolian landscape on a trusty horse.

Frontier Legends

Coming: PC Early Access Scheduled for This May

Frontier Legends is another game that’s almost here, with its PC early access currently scheduled for this May. Unlike The Legend of Khiimori, though, it’s unknown whether it will be available on consoles later. Most importantly, Frontier Legends looks like the closest pick for RDR 2 fans in a pretty long time, especially for its similar setting and roleplay freedom. Leaning more towards a free-form Red Dead Online structure, it offers the true Wild West cowboy fantasy in an open world, emphasizing horseback adventures, survival, exploration, and crafting.

In Frontier Legends, you create your own character to become a new settler in the West, embracing various roles from hunter, trader, rancher, and builder to explorer, outlaw, or lawman. In addition, you start with a small camp that can later grow into a thriving frontier settlement with a rich management layer. Unlike RDR 2, you are the leader here, so it’s your task to recruit NPC settlers and assign their daily work — almost like Greymane’s camp and dispatch missions in Crimson Desert. Naturally, Frontier Legends allows you to fully lean into exploration and survival in the American wilderness, tame and train wild horses, go treasure hunting, and even explore ancient ruins with their puzzles. Co-op multiplayer is also on the menu, with various community events and challenges planned.

Westlanders

Coming: TBA 2026

At first glance, Westlanders looks almost identical to Frontier Legends, emphasizing survival in the untamed Wild West open world, whether alone or in co-op mode with others. The key difference here is probably the first-person perspective rather than a third-person camera view. Fans of character-driven stories like those in Red Dead Redemption 2 are once again out of luck here, as Westlanders is all about free-form gameplay driven by classic survival genre activities, combining exploration, crafting, management, and building.

Still, even beyond its classic frontier setting and survival elements, Westlanders has some unique hooks to offer. For starters, you’ll get access to a customizable wagon, serving as a mobile “base of operations,” allowing you to freely move around and set up camps or settlements across the entire world, expanding your network across the West. Rather than role-playing as several available professions, the ultimate goal in Westlanders seems more strategic: to innovate, produce, and progress. Players will be able to invent and improve tools, evolve a deep tech tree that unlocks new gear, weapons, and building types, set up and even automate resource harvesting and production, and slowly but steadily transform untamed wilderness into bustling economic hubs — all based on authentic late 1800s technology.

Red Rust Pioneers

Coming: TBA 2026

While story fans are yet again out of luck, there’s absolutely no shortage of new Wild West open-world survival games in the 2026 pipeline aiming to capture the harsh realities of taming the frontier of the 1800s, and Red Rust Pioneers is another offering. Set in 1842 in the West somewhere near the Red Rust Valley, the game brings together survival, crafting, and base-building elements from popular games like Valheim and The Forest, coupled with the rugged beauty (but not the character-driven aspect) of Red Dead Redemption 2.

Your journey in Red Rust Pioneers mirrors the path of real settlers in the American West, who travel by wagon, break camp, and search for the perfect place to build a homestead. There’s no advanced economic layer like in Westlanders, but rather the simple joys of survival in the wilds take center stage, including horseback adventures, hunting, fishing, and farming to make it through the next season and prosper. To top it off, just like Westlanders, Red Rust Pioneers can be played either solo or with up to four other players in co-op multiplayer to split the work and share the adventure while conquering the West together.

The Legend of California

Coming: TBA 2026

The Legend of California appears both fresh and familiar among the Western-style survival titles on this list. However, unlike simply offering more cowboy open-world survival in the frontier, The Legend of California expands its boundaries further by making intense multiplayer action its primary focus, in both PvE and PvP modes, in the best traditions of Red Dead Online. Set on the Island of California during the Gold Rush era, the game is built around challenging multiplayer encounters in an ever-changing world full of distinct biomes and iconic real-world California landmarks to discover.

In The Legend of California, you’ll need to master first-person shooter combat with authentic firearms just to stay alive, while always being ready to face dangerous wildlife, take down hostile encampments for some quick coin, or even defend your territory against other players in optional PvP standoffs. The devs highlight that it’s possible to play the game entirely solo, emphasizing classic survival, crafting, and building mechanics, but what’s the fun in that, especially given the seemingly tight competition from similar new Wild West games? Fierce action and brutal outlaw stories might just help The Legend of California set itself apart from the crowd, so hopefully, the shootouts are as engaging and authentic as establishing your ranch or building and running a gold mine in the untamed wilderness.