GTA 6 is One Year Off, Solid Alternative Can be Played Now

If you’re struggling with the wait for GTA VI, this alternative from 2012 might be the thing to keep you occupied.

Last month, Rockstar Games announced that it was delaying the release of Grand Theft Auto VI to 19 November 2026, with fans now having to wait an extra six months for the game.

While the news comes as a blow to GTA fans, there do exist a few alternatives that might be a good shout to play while you wait.

One alternative in particular is Sleeping Dogs, a game released by Square Enix in 2012 and is essentially “GTA: Hong Kong”.

In Sleeping Dogs, you play as Hong Kong police officer Wei Shen, who goes undercover to infiltrate the Sun On Yee Triad organisation.

Sleeping Dogs sports a lot of the features and mechanics you’d find in a Grand Theft Auto game, including driving, shooting, chases, fighting, and side activities within the open world.

With the game being set in Hong Kong, a lot of it pays homage to Hong Kong cinema, with martial arts and car chases being a big part of the gameplay. While there are guns and shooting in the game, hand-to-hand combat is also a huge part of the combat sequences.

If you’d like to pick up Sleeping Dogs, the Definitive Edition is available on all current-gen systems besides Nintendo Switch. On Steam right now, you can pick it up for £15.99.

Sleeping Dogs, Square Enix

Sleeping Dogs' Origins As A 'GTA Clone'

Sleeping Dogs was originally devised as a spin-off from the True Crime series, which were one of the original “GTA Clones” that came about following the success of GTA III.

However, the series turned GTA’s premise on its head by swapping out your role as a criminal to one as a police officer.

Sleeping Dogs was originally being developed as the third True Crime game, with the working title True Crime: Hong Kong. However, Activision cancelled it in 2011.

Not long after the cancellation, Square Enix bought the rights and changed the name from True Crime: Hong Kong to Sleeping Dogs. The game dropped all connections to True Crime, becoming its own thing.

Although Square Enix initially had plans to turn Sleeping Dogs into a franchise, it cancelled both a sequel and spin-off that were in development in the mid-2010s.

A live-action film adaptation with Ip Man star Donnie Yen in the lead role was also in production, but was cancelled sometime between 2018 and 2025. It was then revived earlier this year with Marvel actor Simu Liu producing and starring.