Grand Theft Auto VI is going to be the biggest video game launch of all time, and it's not particularly close. Millions and millions of people are eagerly awaiting their chance to start up the game on Xbox or PlayStation and sink hundreds (or more) hours into Leonida, but there is a very large demographic that Rockstar's game doesn't target: families with kids.GTA 6 is filled with drugs, murder, sex, and pretty much everything else you could think to put in the ESRB rating description for a video game. That means you probably aren't letting your kids play it (seriously, please don't), but there's a good chance they're going to experience some FOMO--especially if they hear other kids at school are playing it (though those kids are probably lying).  So, with that in mind, it's a good idea to have some GTA alternatives ready to go, not only so your kids have something fun to play, but also so you can enjoy a game together. Below are 10 great Grand Theft Auto VI alternatives for kids and families, ranging from games that play like "baby's first GTA" to games that take one element of Rockstar's series and run with it … and one bizarre, family-friendly game that Rockstar happened to make itself.  Lego City Undercover (PS4, Xbox One, Switch, Wii U, PC) Of any game on this list, Lego City Undercover is the one that most resembles Grand Theft Auto in its structure, with access to a big open world and vehicles to drive. Because it's a family-friendly game, however, you play as police officer Chase McCain rather than a hardened criminal, with a particular focus on detective work as you investigate crimes throughout the city. It supports two-person cooperative play, and because there are a whole bunch of movie references intended for parents rather than kids--unless you've shown them Shawshank Redemption already--you may want to pick up the second controller yourself. See at Steam Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2, PC) If you're looking for an open-world alternative to GTA that puts a little more emphasis on combat, then Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is a great choice. Mixing the dark, brooding tone you'd expect from Batman with a bunch of the Lego games' silly gags, its structure opens up after the first few hours, letting you glide around the city or speed down the streets in the Batmobile. What really helps it stand out, however, is the combat, which plays like a simplified take on the Arkham games' system that sees Batman effortlessly comboing and countering big groups of goons. In other words, it's fantastic, and younger players should have a ton of fun beating up the bad guys.  See at Steam Forza Horizon 5 and Forza Horizon 6 (Xbox Series X|S, PC) You won't be hurling people out of their vehicles so you can take their cars for a joyride, but the Forza Horizon games are fantastic not only for offering best-in-class racing, but also because they have collectibles and activities packed into every nook and cranny of their huge worlds. We specifically recommend Forza Horizon 5 and 6 here, not because they're significantly better than their predecessors, but because they're the only ones you can still purchase digitally. Music rights have meant the other entries have been delisted from various digital storefronts, but both Forza Horizon 5 and Forza Horizon 6 will keep your family entertained for weeks, if not months. Forza Horizon 5 is also available on PlayStation 5 in addition to Xbox and PC, with a similar PS5 release coming for Forza Horizon 6 in early 2027.  See at Steam Little Kitty, Big City (PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Switch, PC, iOS, Android) Is this big city as big as Vice City? No, but you're playing as a little kitty. After falling from your high-rise apartment's windowsill, you're left figuring out how to get home via puzzles and exploration. It's certainly not going to give you the white-knuckled adrenaline rush you'd get in something like GTA, but for kids--especially younger kids--who want to get into open-ended games, you can do a whole lot worse than Little Kitty, Big City. Of course, you're also free to customize your kitty, so your kids can make them look just like your real-life pet, assuming you have one.       See at Steam Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis (Xbox 360 with backwards compatibility) If you know, you know. Coming off the release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Rockstar made Table Tennis. There is no murder in this game, unless you count an absolutely one-sided victory against your opponent in ping-pong. While it had fans scratching their heads at launch because of how unexpected it was from a studio known for open-world crime, Table Tennis is actually an extremely fun game that would be a blast for parents and kids to play together. You could make it a unique double feature, with a Forrest Gump viewing as the appetizer--though you'd probably have to skip all the Vietnam stuff, so you'd see Tom Hanks going directly from playing college football to winning the big ping-pong championship in China. And that's all I have to say about that.  See at Xbox Store Everything (PS4, Switch, PC) For years, people have said you can do practically "everything" in Grand Theft Auto, but there exists a game already that lets you be everything: Everything. You can be your favorite animal, something as giant as a planet, or something tiny and microscopic. You're free to do pretty much whatever you want within this framework, and though it certainly doesn't have the story or characters you'd get from a more traditional open-world experience, you can spend hours and hours exploring and discovering cool new things to control.  See at Steam Mario Kart World (Switch 2) The first game in franchise history to feature an open world, Mario Kart World combines traditional races with a quirky and secret-filled map to explore. It's pretty enormous, filled with characters who you can watch travel, work, and chill, and it's awesome to be able to see just how all the different racetracks actually connect to each other. With tons of costumes and other bonuses to unlock through racing, exploring, and completing challenges, it's sure to keep your kids busy for a long time--and of course, it's one of the best local multiplayer experiences there is. See at Nintendo eShop Untitled Goose Game (PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC) One of the most enjoyable things you can do in Grand Theft Auto is mess with random people, whether it be on the streets of Los Santos or the beaches of Vice City. Untitled Goose Game puts you in the webbed feet of a very annoying goose who seems to want nothing more than to ruin someone's day. You're tasked with finding creative ways to do this, and they range from stealing stuff to just tossing someone's lunch in a pond. It's a whole lot milder than what you'd see in a GTA game, especially when it comes to the reactions from the human victims. In Untitled Goose Game, they'll just wonder how their day got so bad, but in GTA, they might try to kill you. See at Steam Goat Simulator 3 (PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC) If Untitled Goose Game doesn't provide enough mayhem and destruction for your family's liking, perhaps we can interest you in Goat Simulator 3? The sequel to Goat Simulator (you didn't miss it--there is no Goat Simulator 2), the premise seems like a joke, but that's exactly why it's so entertaining. As a goat, it's your job to basically ruin the lives of everyone around you, whether that be by ramming into them at full speed or completely wrecking what they're working on. You can also just go wild like you're playing the weirdest version of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater ever made, leaping or launching yourself into the air and trying to see how you can break a game that seems designed to be broken.  See at Steam No Man's Sky (PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Switch 2, Switch, PC, iOS) In terms of vastness, few games are going to compare to Grand Theft Auto VI when it comes out … but there is at least one that definitely beats it. No Man's Sky was released over a decade ago and has gradually turned into one of the most feature-rich and impressive open-world (or perhaps open-universe) games of all time. You're free to venture essentially anywhere, landing your ship on foreign planets before exploring to research their flora and fauna. Though it was initially a single-player experience, a robust multiplayer component is now included, and thanks to cross-play, it doesn't even matter what system you have if you want to play with a friend or family member somewhere else. See at Steam

Almost two decades after its controversial acquisition by Electronic Arts, beloved RPG studio BioWare is no more. Though the news hit longtime fans hard, all hope for BioWare’s signature style of narrative-forward RPG is not lost. The studio may be gone, but the creative minds behind Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Knights of the Old Republic, Baldur’s Gate, and more continue to work in the industry--and we’re tracking down the projects where that BioWare DNA lives on. Tracking BioWare’s legacy is a tricky task, as every fan will pinpoint a different period in the studio’s 31-year history as its undisputed golden age. Some may look all the way back to the genre-defining release of Baldur’s Gate 2, even though the studio’s best-selling games were yet to come. The Mass Effect trilogy is undeniably among BioWare’s most iconic releases, but EA’s influence shows itself in Mass Effect 2’s reduced scope and Mass Effect 3’s awkward multiplayer integration. Dragon Age: Inquisition, which was celebrated as BioWare’s most successful launch in history, was developed after a major changing of the guard following the departure of studio founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk. Even then, 14 years before the studio’s eventual closure, anxiety about EA’s stewardship of the company was high. In a 2016 interview, BioWare General Manager Aaryn Flynn told Game Informer that, following the departure of the studio’s founders, the team felt the need to prove “we weren’t going to follow the apocryphal stories of EA crushing every other studio it buys under its thumb.” The studio itself was an ever-changing Ship of Theseus of creative talent, facing EA-mandated layoffs, subsidiary studio closures, staff departures, and the occasional return. The good news for fans of BioWare--no matter which era they hold dear--is that many of those creatives are still out there developing games with distinctly BioWare flair. Arcanaut Studios If you’re looking for the project with the most direct BioWare lineage, look no further than Arcanaut Studios’ Star Wars: Fate of the Republic. As well as being an explicit spiritual successor to BioWare’s iconic Star Wars RPG, Fate of the Republic is helmed by Mass Effect director Casey Hudson, with a team full of BioWare vets--including people who worked on the original KOTOR. Alongside Hudson, Arcanaut’s ex-BioWare talent includes: Senior technical designer Dan Fessenden, who worked on both KOTOR and The Old Republic as a programmer Chief technical officer Ryan Hoyle, who was a programmer on KOTOR and most of BioWare’s games from Neverwinter Nights all the way through to Dragon Age: Veilguard Director of external development Melanie Faulknor, who was a project manager on The Old Republic, as well as multiple Mass Effect and Dragon Age titles  Director of production Caroline Livingstone, who worked as a voice director at BioWare on the Mass Effect and Dragon Age games, as well as others as early as Jade Empire We’re still facing a long wait for Fate of the Old Republic, though Hudson has promised that it will definitely be out before 2030. Of course, Old Republic fans can still enjoy the BioWare-developed MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic, which was saved from BioWare’s fate when EA handed management of the online game over to Broadsword Online Games in 2023. The MMO even has a new expansion, Masters of the Force, releasing soon. Archetype Entertainment The other AAA studio carrying BioWare’s banner is Archetype Entertainment, the Wizards of the Coast subsidiary that tapped a number of notable BioWare alumni. Archetype’s BioWare veterans include: Former studio head James Ohlen, who was the lead designer on BioWare’s Baldur’s Gate games, as well as KOTOR, Neverwinter Nights, and Dragon Age: Origins Creative director Jesse Sky, who worked as the lead designer on The Old Republic post-launch VP and general manager Chad Robertson, who worked at BioWare as a head of technology and studio director Lead writer Drew Karpyshyn, who was the lead writer on KOTOR and Mass Effect 1 and 2 Archetype is currently working on Exodus, an epic sci-fi project that’s showing more than a little Mass Effect influence in its design and worldbuilding. Though the timing may just be coincidence, Exodus released a new tease just after the BioWare shutdown was announced. Though Exodus is rarely mentioned without some comparison to Mass Effect, early previews suggest the game has what it takes to move out of the shadow of BioWare’s sci-fi behemoth to stand on its own two feet. Set to release on April 7, 2027, Exodus feels well-timed to take some of the sting out of Mass Effect’s cancellation. Ohlen stepped back from Archetype after a major Exodus reveal at The Game Awards, with the former studio head saying he felt his work on the game was complete. Ohlen has shifted his focus back toward tabletop gaming, and his TTRPG company Arcanum Worlds also boasts a number of ex-BioWare employees, including Karpyshyn, Sky, and writer Brent Knowles. Beamdog One of the earliest BioWare spin-off studios, Beamdog was founded in 2009 by BioWare co-founder Trent Oster and former BioWare lead programmer Cameron Tofer. The studio has employed a number of ex-BioWare talent over the years, including Knowles and writer David Gaider. The studio has stayed close to its roots through much of its history, publishing remasters of BioWare’s classic RPGs including Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2, and Neverwinter Nights. Beamdog published an original roguelite based on '80s fantasy cartoons called Mythforce in 2023, though the game received mixed reviews.  Summerfall Studios On the indie side of the industry, Dragon Age lead writer Gaider co-founded Summerfall Studios in Melbourne, Australia in 2017, following his departure from Beamdog. Summerfall released Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical in 2023, with a DLC, Stray Gods: Orpheus, following in 2024. The Greek mythology-themed game featured a BioWare-esque dialogue wheel, allowing players to influence the direction of musical numbers in real time. In 2025, Summerfall released a roguelite deckbuilder called Malys. Yellow Brick Games Mike Laidlaw, who served as creative director on the Dragon Age series, founded indie studio Yellow Brick Games in 2020, which released its debut game Eternal Strands in 2024. Citing games like Shadow of the Colossus, Breath of the Wild, and Tears of the Kingdom as inspirations, Eternal Strands features an intricate physics-based combat system. Inflexion Games Inflexion Games is another studio with BioWare heritage, having been founded by former BioWare GM Aaryn Flynn. The studio’s debut game is Nightingale, a survival game set in a unique Victorian-inspired gaslamp fantasy setting, which tasks players with adventuring out into the inhospitable Faewilds. Nightingale released into early access in 2024 and has been generally well received by critics and players in its beta form, though it has struggled with player retention.  Earlier this year, Inflexion revealed it has been working as development partner on Conan Exiles Enhanced, which resulted in Nightingale being sidelined for the foreseeable future. North Mist Studios Other post-BioWare projects are still in their early days, with a few indie studios setting up to release their first games. One of these is North Mist Studios, a collaboration between former BioWare writers Mary Kirby and Sylvia Feketekuty, and cinematic director Sarah Hayward. Far from following a traditional game development pipeline, North Mist Studios has been developing the world for its first game project, The Concierge--a spy-thriller office drama about Canadian assassins--through a series of narrative podcasts. While development on the game is coming along slowly, North Mist recently announced that it had secured funding to prototype a smaller game in the same universe called Alone With The Deep, based on its horror audio drama Kinbasket. North Mist has asked for patience from fans waiting for The Concierge while it takes on the side project. “By taking on a much smaller game like Alone With The Deep, we can use it to grow our team, our fan community, and get more funding opportunities to make The Concierge into the best version of itself it can be,” an update on the studio’s Patreon reads. Studio Reset https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_BV5YG1Ozk Earlier this year, the latest coalition of former BioWare devs announced Studio Reset, founded by a trio of BioWare veterans who worked across the Mass Effect and Dragon Age series.  The studio’s founders are:  Creative director Kaelin Lavallée, a lead narrative designer on Dragon Age Inquisition and Mass Effect Andromeda with credits stretching back to Dragon Age Origins  Design director Kris Choneberg, a level designer who worked on Mass Effect 2 and 3 after starting as an intern on the first Mass Effect Art director Francis Lacuna, who worked on the Mass Effect and Dragon Age games as an artist for 14 years Studio Reset is currently working on its debut game The Eventide, describing it as a narrative-forward “neon-noir supernatural mystery.” The Reset team is small by design, with the aim to keep its development intentional and player-focused. Worlds Untold Mac Walters, the writer who brought Garrus Vakarian to life in Mass Effect 1 and 2, founded the studio Worlds Untold in 2023, with financial backing from NetEase. Worlds Untold had started teasing a new sci-fi intellectual property when NetEase pulled funding in 2024--in the same week as Hudson’s former studio Humanoid Origin faced the same fate. Worlds Untold has been quiet since 2024. However, it still has a website and social media pages. “While we're pausing for now, this isn't goodbye--there's more to come, and we look forward to sharing the next chapter with you when the time is right,” Walters wrote on the studio’s LinkedIn page at the time. BioWare’s Legacy While this is just a selection of studios and projects that can be traced directly back to BioWare, the studio’s impact on the games industry as a whole can be seen across the RPG space--even on games with no ex-BioWare staff. The industry is full of creatives who grew up on games like Baldur’s Gate, Knights of the Old Republic, Dragon Age, and Mass Effect, and brought that influence into their own work. If you want concrete evidence of BioWare’s legacy outliving its own messy history, look no further than the incredible success of Larian Studios’ Baldur’s Gate 3. BioWare’s influence is plainly visible throughout BG3, in the way it combines its epic fantasy story with the more personal narratives of relationship building.  “BioWare led the way in making RPGs big,” Larian boss Swen Vinke said in a recent post, reacting to BioWare’s closure. “It's almost unimaginable that we're now entering an era where the name BioWare won't show up anymore when discussing upcoming RPGs.”

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is a faithful remake, but that doesn't mean it can't pack a few surprises. Between updates and modernizations, and just the way some new systems interact, there are a fair number of secrets and strange interactions to uncover throughout the land of Hyrule. Some of these were there in the original and have been kept intact, while others have been updated to have slightly different effects. Then there are some that are new to this version of the game, ready for curious adventurers to uncover. We've rounded up 25 of them below, and there are surely still many more to discover. For example, the Easter egg you can see through the window of Hyrule Castle has been changed slightly, and the Mask of Truth gives us extra insight to the inner lives of Hyrulians. That leads to a shocking revelation about one NPC in particular that I won't spoil. "For fans, to play this remake is to remember over and over again why you fell in love with Ocarina in the first place, and to see the brilliance with fresh eyes," says to our Ocarina of Time review. "For newcomers, this is now the definitive way to experience this all-time classic, and it’s a can’t-miss Switch 2 exclusive for everyone else." Ocarina of Time currently sits at a 96 on GameSpot sister site Metacritic, making it the highest-reviewed game of 2026 so far.

Ocarina Of Time Remake has a vast amount of both old and new secrets. We uncover many of them, including a jump mechanic that's actually an old demo mechanic, hidden dialogue dependent on your approach with a NPC, and a brand new detail that turns one of the guards into a complete jerk. Ocarina Of Time Spaceworld Demo Jump Button-https://youtu.be/AQ_z62W1w_4?si=qpTxRYzF4VnzxsDi&t=260

Modern Warfare 4 has integrated with Warzone for Season 1, bringing new maps, modes, and game mechanics to Call of Duty's battle royale. The season introduces a brand-new training mode called Rally Point, which oddly enough, also lets players buy the game-ending nuke killstreak that's normally reserved for multiplayer. This is the first time Warzone has let players buy a nuke, but this seems like an odd choice for a training ground designed to allow players the space to learn, as sweaty players are joining the lobby just to nuke them. Warzone's Rally Point takes place on the new Zodiac Resurgence map as a casual game mode with a mix of 20 players and bots. There is no time limit or circle collapse, so it doesn't play quite like a traditional match, but it means players are free to take their time and explore the entirety of the map. Respawns are also unlimited, so everyone can die and respawn as much as they want. Profanity warning for the video clip shared below. https://twitter.com/charlieINTEL/status/2118753959037034541 In the Season 1 blog post, Activision describes Rally Point as a "training ground experience" for Warzone, and it encourages players to explore and learn within this new mode. "Rally Point aims to be an experience that allows players to experiment with Call of Duty: Warzone’s mechanics and systems, while also providing unique elements to play around with," the publisher said. Activision's description makes Rally Point sound like a mode designed to onboard new players, or allow returning players to more freely learn the movement and new mechanics added with Modern Warfare 4's integration. However, Warzone's Buy Stations allows players to purchase a game-ending Tactical Nuke killstreak for the steep price of one million dollars. Players can also use Buy Stations to purchase more practically priced items, such as self-revives, perks, and typical Warzone killstreaks, but adding a nuke into a training mode seems like an oversight. A $1 million price tag isn't easy to achieve in Warzone, even if a full squad combines their cash, but it is a possible purchase given that the matches can seemingly go on indefinitely. Matches are already filled with Call of Duty's most skilled players, gunning down those new and exploring players in order to achieve an elusive Warzone nuke. Rally Point doesn't have a level cap, so anyone is free to play in this new training ground on Zodiac, but hopefully the developer can remove or adjust the mode to allow more peaceful exploration. In addition to this new mode, Warzone added DMZ's Hajin as the new big map for standard battle royale. Season 1 also includes new maps and modes for multiplayer, and DMZ has the brand-new X01 map and plenty of new DMZ Orders to complete.