Most developers would probably think twice before releasing a new open world crime game on the same day as GTA 6. The team behind Phantom Vice Auto has chosen a very different strategy.

The upcoming PC game is currently scheduled to enter Steam Early Access on November 19, 2026, putting its release directly alongside Grand Theft Auto VI.

The timing alone would be unusual. The similarities make it considerably more interesting.

From its name and criminal setting to its driving, gunplay and urban open world, Phantom Vice Auto wears its Grand Theft Auto influences openly. The result is one of the strangest games scheduled to arrive during the GTA 6 launch window.

Phantom Vice Auto Shares GTA 6’s November Release Date

According to the game’s Steam page, Phantom Vice Auto releases November 19, 2026. That is also the scheduled launch date for Rockstar’s GTA 6.

There is one major difference between them, however.

GTA 6 is launching on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. Rockstar has not announced a PC release date. Phantom Vice Auto, meanwhile, is specifically heading to PC through Steam.

That gives the smaller game an unusual position. It is not realistically competing with Rockstar in scale, budget or public attention. Instead, it arrives as a curious alternative for PC players who will not have access to GTA 6 at launch.

Whether that timing helps the game or completely buries it remains to be seen.

The GTA Influence Is Difficult to Miss

The similarities go well beyond the release calendar.

Phantom Vice Auto takes place in Phantom City, which its developer describes as a neon soaked metropolis shaped by corruption, betrayal and struggles for control.

Its story follows three antiheroes. One is a streetwise hustler, another is a disgraced former agent, while the third is described as a mercenary.

Players will drive through an open city, use firearms, complete criminal missions and explore freely. Promotional footage also shows familiar third person action game conventions, including vehicle sequences and urban shootouts.

Even the title immediately invites comparison with Rockstar’s franchise. The use of “Vice” and “Auto” makes the inspiration particularly difficult to overlook, especially when GTA 6 returns to Vice City.

Still, Phantom Vice Auto is a separate project from an independent developer. There is no indication that Rockstar or Take Two is involved with it.

It Is Launching in Early Access

Another important distinction is the condition in which Phantom Vice Auto will arrive.

The November release is an Early Access launch, not the game’s final version.

Developer Brgames İnteractive says the core systems are complete but intends to continue refining mechanics and adding content with feedback from players. The studio currently estimates that Early Access will last approximately six to 12 months, although that schedule could change.

The current version is described as including core story missions, free roaming, vehicles and open world gameplay.

Future development plans include additional missions, story material, vehicles, character progression and online features. Graphical improvements and optimization are also planned before the full release.

That is an important qualification when comparing it with GTA 6. Rockstar’s title represents the culmination of years of production by one of the largest development operations in the industry. Phantom Vice Auto will arrive as an unfinished game that its creators intend to expand over time.

Phantom City Promises Its Own Criminal Playground

Despite the obvious comparisons, Brgames İnteractive is pitching several systems for its own fictional city.

The developer describes a world involving criminal organizations, government conspiracies and media manipulation. Players are expected to undertake dangerous jobs while navigating different factions within Phantom City’s underworld.

The Steam listing also advertises both single player and online functionality, including PvP and cooperative multiplayer.

On the technical side, the developer lists support for technologies including NVIDIA DLSS and AMD FSR. Ray traced lighting, dynamic reflections and other graphical features are also advertised.

Those are developer claims rather than an indication of how the final game will perform. Since Phantom Vice Auto has not launched, its technical quality and overall scope cannot yet be independently judged from a finished public version.

The GTA 6 Comparison May Be Part of the Attraction

Launching alongside Grand Theft Auto VI guarantees one thing: Phantom Vice Auto will attract attention it might otherwise struggle to receive.

The strategy comes with an obvious risk.

November 19 is likely to be dominated by GTA 6 coverage across gaming publications, streaming platforms and social media. A smaller open world crime game could easily disappear beneath that attention.

At the same time, the absence of a GTA 6 PC version creates an unusual opening.

PC players looking for something new on the same date will technically have an open world crime game available to them. Phantom Vice Auto appears positioned to take advantage of that contrast, whether deliberately or simply through an unusually convenient release schedule.

Phantom Vice Auto Is Not Really a GTA 6 Rival

Calling Phantom Vice Auto a direct GTA 6 competitor would overstate the situation.

The two projects exist on completely different scales. Rockstar is preparing one of the industry’s largest releases, while Brgames İnteractive plans to launch its project unfinished through Early Access and develop it alongside its community.

What makes the situation interesting is not genuine competition. It is the extraordinary overlap.

The name evokes Grand Theft Auto. The setting revolves around an open criminal city. Cars and firearms are central to the action. Both games are currently scheduled for November 19.

And while console players head to Leonida, PC players still have no confirmed date for Rockstar’s game.

That leaves Phantom Vice Auto occupying a peculiar corner of the 2026 release calendar.

It almost certainly will not replace GTA 6 for players waiting on Rockstar’s eventual PC version. However, launching a GTA inspired open world game on the exact day Grand Theft Auto VI arrives is certainly one way to get noticed.