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GTA 6 is coming, but another crime game is perfect for the meantime

GTA 6 is still a long way off, but another crime game is coming soon, and it’s the perfect substitute for Rockstar’s next open-world opus.

The Precinct Steam open-world game: A beat cop from new open-world crime game The Precinct

GTA 6 has the weight of the gaming world on its shoulders. Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, Hollow Knight: Silksong, or even, at this point, Half-Life 3 – the next Grand Theft Auto has more anticipation and expectation behind it than any of them. But the upcoming Rockstar epic is still a long way off, and while a return to Vice City is tantalizing, we won’t be going back until some time in 2025. So, what to do while we wait? Well, a new crime game, from the other side of the law, is on its way this year, and it looks like the perfect remedy for the GTA 6 wait time blues.

Perhaps you played American Fugitive, the underappreciated and overlooked Grand Theft Auto-like by Fallen Tree Games. The Precinct is its spiritual sequel, a new crime and open-world game set in a bustling, downtrodden American metropolis during the mid-’80s. You’re a rookie beat cop fresh out of the academy, and determined to clean up the streets while also solving the murder of your father, who was killed while on duty.

Played from a gorgeous isometric perspective, The Precinct is billed as a love letter to classic police thrillers like Bullitt and The French Connection. Expect car chases, shootouts, and fists slamming on desks, and plenty do while we look ahead to the GTA 6 release date. Check out the new trailer below:

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As well as the central missions, The Precinct also features procedurally generated crimes and events for you to tackle, and a variety of different ways to catch your suspect. You can go it alone, pursuing the perp on foot through alleyways and side streets, or – since this is a police game – call in backup, and have the city’s finest deploy roadblocks, tire stingers, and helicopter patrols. Environments are destructible, there’s a dynamic night and day system, and you’re tasked not only with taking on street criminals, but financial and white-collar crooks, too.

We’re still waiting on a full release date, but The Precinct is slated to launch before the end of 2024. You can wishlist it now right here.

Or you can learn everything there is to know about Grand Theft Auto 6 via GTA DB, a comprehensive guide to all the cars, characters, and missions in Rockstar’s next crime caper. Alternatively, get some of the best crime games on PC.

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