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25 Best Heist Games To Play Right Now (2026) | Ranked By Players

  • Writer: Niels Gys
    Niels Gys
  • Oct 31, 2025
  • 16 min read

Updated: Aug 2

Updated monthly based on player activity, community reception, CRIMENET criminal standards, and whether the game still deserves your criminal energy in 2026.

TL;DR For Busy Criminals

If you only have time for the shortlist:

  • Play PAYDAY 2 if you want the ultimate co-op bank robbery simulator.

  • Play Teardown if you think every good plan starts with destroying half the building first.

  • Play Crime Boss: Rockay City if you want criminal empire chaos with ridiculous Hollywood energy.

  • Play Thief Simulator 2 if you want burglary without explaining yourself to a judge.

  • Play One-Armed Robber if you want PAYDAY after someone removed the safety instructions.

  • Play Monaco if you want one of the smartest pure heist games ever made.



Ranked By Active Players, Criminal Energy, And Whether They Still Deserve Your Time

Everybody loves a good heist.

The plan.

The crew.

The impossible target.


The moment everything collapses because someone named “xXShadowWolfXx” ignored instructions and alerted every guard within twelve miles.

Beautiful.


Gaming has always loved crime, but proper heist games are special.

A heist is not just shooting.


A heist needs:

  • planning

  • stealing

  • escaping

  • improvising when everything catches fire

  • preferably blaming someone else afterwards


This ranking is based on:

✅ current Steam player activity

✅ community reception

✅ actual heist fantasy

✅ criminal gameplay

✅ whether it still deserves your time today


Because Steam tags are dangerous.

According to Steam, anything involving picking up an object can apparently become a heist game.

No.

Stealing someone’s sandwich does not make you Ocean’s Eleven.


These are games where theft, crime, infiltration, robbery, or criminal operations are the fantasy.



In This Ranking


Quick Ranking Table

Rank

Game

Why Play It

PAYDAY 2

The king of co-op bank robberies

Teardown

Plan impossible robberies with maximum destruction

Burglin’ Gnomes

Tiny burglars stealing everything possible

PAYDAY 3

Modern crew-based heisting

Crime Simulator

Robbery sandbox chaos

One-Armed Robber

Pure ridiculous bank robbery madness

Crime Boss: Rockay City

Build crews and execute criminal jobs

Thief Simulator

Professional burglary career

Dark Hours

Heists interrupted by supernatural disasters

Thief Simulator 2

Bigger, deeper burglary operations



Criminal Masterminds (#1–5)

#1 PAYDAY 2

Still The King Of Taking Other People’s Money

CRIMENET Verdict: Essential Criminal Behaviour

Some games age gracefully.


PAYDAY 2 ages like a criminal who somehow escaped prison, bought a better suit, and went straight back to robbing banks.

More than a decade later, it is still the heist game everybody is chasing.


Why?

Because PAYDAY understands one simple thing:

A good robbery is controlled chaos.

You enter with a plan.

Disable security.

Control civilians.

Crack vaults.

Grab everything valuable.

Then everything explodes because someone fired a shotgun before anyone was ready.


Perfect.


PAYDAY 2 remains popular because no other game captures the feeling of being part of a professional criminal crew quite like it. Even when that crew behaves like four raccoons trapped inside a jewelry store.



Best For

  • co-op heists

  • bank robberies

  • criminal progression

  • playing with friends


Skip If

You hate depending on teammates with the survival instincts of wet cardboard.


Related


Two masked PAYDAY 2 heisters in suits aiming weapons inside a bank vault during a chaotic robbery, representing the game’s co-op heist action, criminal crew fantasy, and high-stakes bank jobs.


#2 Teardown

The Heist Game Where The Building Is Also A Victim

CRIMENET Verdict: Criminal Engineering

Most thieves ask:

“How do we get inside?”

Teardown asks:

“What if the wall stopped existing?”

Excellent question.


In Teardown, you prepare elaborate robberies using vehicles, explosives, tools, and enough property damage to make an insurance company spontaneously collapse.

The genius is preparation.


Before the timer starts, you create the perfect route.

Break walls.

Move objects.

Plan escapes.

Then execute the job.

Or immediately panic because your brilliant plan had the structural integrity of a chair made from soup.


Either way.

Fantastic.



Best For

  • creative players

  • planning

  • destruction

  • sandbox crime


Skip If

You need traditional guns-and-masks heists.


Related

→ Teardown Review


Explosive destruction of a building in Teardown during a planned robbery, showcasing the game’s physics-based heists, environmental destruction, and creative criminal sandbox gameplay.


#3 Burglin’ Gnomes

Tiny Criminals, Massive Problems

CRIMENET Verdict: Small Crime, Big Chaos

Never underestimate criminals because they are small.


History has proven many dangerous things come in tiny packages.

Wasps.

Angry cats.

People who comment “first” online.


And now:

gnomes.


Burglin’ Gnomes turns burglary into chaotic multiplayer crime where stealing everything that is not nailed down becomes the entire purpose.


Simple?

Yes.


Effective?

Absolutely.


Sometimes you do not need a dramatic criminal empire.

Sometimes you just need tiny thieves causing maximum inconvenience.



Best For

  • funny heists

  • casual crime

  • multiplayer chaos


Skip If

You want serious Heat-style robberies.


Related


Tiny gnome thieves breaking into a house during a chaotic robbery in Burglin’ Gnomes, showcasing the game’s multiplayer burglary gameplay, criminal teamwork, and ridiculous heist chaos.


#4 Crime Scene Cleaner

The Heist Is Over. Now Fix The Disaster.

CRIMENET Verdict: Criminal Cleanup Specialist

Most crime games stop after the robbery.


Crime Scene Cleaner asks:

“Right, but who removes the horrifying evidence afterwards?”

Apparently you.

Congratulations.

You are the person criminals call when everything has gone terribly wrong.


Blood?

Gone.


Bodies?

Handled.


Evidence?

What evidence?


It sounds ridiculous.


Then suddenly you are carefully cleaning rooms at 2AM like organised crime hired the world’s most suspicious janitor.

Brilliant.



Best For

  • simulator fans

  • dark humour

  • crime stories


Skip If

You only want action.


Related:


A crime scene cleaner wearing yellow gloves and a respirator inside a bloodstained room, preparing to remove evidence and clean up the aftermath of criminal activity in Crime Scene Cleaner.


#5 PAYDAY 3

The Heist Sequel That Had To Escape Its Own Launch

CRIMENET Verdict: The Getaway Vehicle Is Finally Moving

PAYDAY 3 had a rough start.

Actually.

Let’s be fair.


PAYDAY 3 launched like a criminal mastermind carefully planning the perfect bank robbery, walking confidently through the front door…

and realising he forgot the mask.

And the getaway car.

And possibly the bank.

It was not pretty.


But underneath the chaos was still the thing that made PAYDAY work:

the heist fantasy.

You case locations.

Control crowds.

Avoid security.

Crack vaults.

Steal everything that looks expensive.

Try to leave before law enforcement turns the building into the world’s angriest fireworks display.


The updates have slowly pushed PAYDAY 3 closer to where it should have been.

It still has a long criminal record to clear.


But in 2026?

The crew is finally getting back together.



Best For

  • modern co-op heists

  • stealth and loud approaches

  • PAYDAY fans

  • tactical robbery


Skip If

You expect thirteen years of PAYDAY 2 content waiting for you.


Related


Masked PAYDAY 3 heisters exchanging gunfire during a bank vault robbery surrounded by stacks of cash, showcasing the game’s tactical co-op heists, criminal crew action, and high-stakes bank jobs.


Professional Crews (#6–10)

#6 Crime Simulator

Pure Criminal Sandbox Chaos

CRIMENET Verdict: Crime Without The Complicated Excuses

Some games spend hours explaining why you are doing questionable things.

Crime Simulator does not bother.

It basically walks into the room and says:

“Here are tools. There are valuables. Try not to get caught.”

Respect.


You rob.

Sneak.

Steal.

Break things.

Escape.

Repeat.


There is no dramatic speech about destiny.

No ancient prophecy.

No chosen hero.


Just people making extremely poor legal decisions for profit.

Finally.

Honesty in advertising.


Crime Simulator works because it understands the fantasy:

Sometimes players do not want to save a kingdom.

Sometimes they want to steal everything inside the kingdom and sell it later.



Best For

  • sandbox robbery

  • co-op crime

  • chaotic gameplay

  • criminal progression


Skip If

You need deep storytelling behind every stolen toaster.


Related


Masked criminals stealing valuables and causing chaos in Crime Simulator, highlighting open-ended robbery and criminal sandbox gameplay.


#7 One-Armed Robber

The Least Professional Criminal Operation Ever Created

CRIMENET Verdict: Beautiful Criminal Failure

Most heist games make you feel like an elite professional.

One-Armed Robber does not.


One-Armed Robber makes you feel like someone hired the cheapest criminals available and hoped enthusiasm would replace competence.

It does not.


That is why it works.

You rob banks.

Grab cash.

Fight security.

Escape with friends.

Usually after everything has gone catastrophically wrong.


This is not Ocean’s Eleven.

This is Ocean’s Four Idiots Trying To Carry A Money Bag Through A Door.


And honestly?

Sometimes that is exactly what a heist game needs.



Best For

  • funny co-op

  • bank robberies

  • chaotic sessions

  • friends who ruin plans


Skip If

You demand serious tactical realism.


Related


Cartoon criminals robbing a bank vault in One-Armed Robber while money flies through the air, highlighting the game’s chaotic co-op heists, ridiculous robberies, and criminal teamwork.


#8 Crime Boss: Rockay City

The Criminal Empire Movie That Became A Game

CRIMENET Verdict: Ridiculous In The Best Possible Way

Crime Boss: Rockay City feels like somebody locked every 90s crime movie inside a room and told them to fight.


The result?

Explosions.

Famous actors.

Betrayals.

Robberies.

Criminal crews.

An almost dangerous amount of attitude.


Is it subtle?

Absolutely not.

This game does not whisper.

It kicks open the door wearing sunglasses indoors.


But underneath all that chaos is a real heist game.

Recruit criminals.

Build your crew.

Plan jobs.

Steal valuables.

Expand your empire.

Become the biggest name in Rockay City.


It had a messy start, but after updates, Crime Boss became exactly what it always wanted to be:

criminal junk food.

And sometimes junk food tastes fantastic.



Best For

  • criminal empires

  • crew building

  • co-op heists

  • crime movie fans


Skip If

You want quiet, realistic crime drama.


Related


Crime Boss Rockay City crew members posing above the city skyline, representing criminal empire building, organized crews, chaotic robberies, and Hollywood-style heist action.


#9 Thief Simulator

The Game That Turns Burglary Into A Career Choice

CRIMENET Verdict: Professional Bad Decisions

Thief Simulator understands something many crime games forget:

The best thieves do homework.

Annoyingly responsible.


You watch houses.

Study schedules.

Find security weaknesses.

Sneak inside.

Steal valuables.

Disappear.


It turns burglary into a puzzle.

A deeply illegal puzzle.

But still a puzzle.


The fun comes from preparation.

The perfect plan.

The perfect timing.

The perfect escape.


Until the owner unexpectedly comes home and you are hiding behind furniture like the world’s worst interior decoration.

Brilliant.



Best For

  • stealth

  • planning

  • burglary fantasy

  • patient players


Skip If

Your preferred strategy is entering through walls using explosives.


Related


A burglar sneaking through a house during a nighttime robbery in Thief Simulator, showcasing stealth gameplay, lockpicking, home invasion planning, and professional theft.


#10 Dark Hours

The Heist Where The Building Fights Back

CRIMENET Verdict: Robbery Meets Absolute Disaster

Most heists have problems.

Security guards.

Cameras.

Police.


Dark Hours looked at that list and decided:

“Needs monsters.”

Fantastic.


You and your crew break into locations looking for valuables.

Normal criminal behaviour.

Then something horrifying arrives and suddenly the robbery becomes slightly less important than staying alive.

It is basically a heist plan being interrupted by a horror movie.


Steal loot.

Avoid danger.

Escape.

Preferably with everyone alive.

No promises.



Best For

  • co-op horror

  • heist fans wanting something different

  • chaotic teamwork


Skip If

You think robberies already have enough problems without supernatural nightmares.


Related


A dark mansion robbery scene in Dark Hours with a mysterious creature emerging from the shadows, showcasing the game’s mix of co-op heists, supernatural horror, stolen treasures, and survival gameplay.


Specialists & Sneaky Bastards (#11–15)

#11 Thief Simulator 2

The Professional Burglar Career Nobody Should Put On LinkedIn

CRIMENET Verdict: Grand Theft House

The first Thief Simulator proved something surprising:

Apparently stealing televisions requires patience.


Who knew?

Thief Simulator 2 takes that idea and expands it into a bigger criminal playground.

You are not some chaotic lunatic kicking doors open and hoping nobody notices.


No.

You are a professional.

Which somehow makes the whole thing worse.


You study targets.

Watch routines.

Disable alarms.

Pick locks.

Upgrade tools.

Break into increasingly secure locations.

Then carefully leave with someone’s expensive belongings while pretending this was a normal business transaction.


It is slower than most heist games.

But that is the point.

The robbery starts before you ever enter the building.

The real weapon is preparation.


Well.

Preparation and a suspiciously large backpack.



Best For

  • stealth fans

  • burglary planning

  • solo thieves

  • slow-burn crime


Skip If

Your idea of stealth is exploding the front door and blaming physics.


Related


A burglar holding a crowbar and flashlight during a nighttime break-in in Thief Simulator 2, showcasing stealth gameplay, house robberies, security bypassing, and professional theft.

#12 PAYDAY: The Heist

The Original Bank Robbery Blueprint

CRIMENET Verdict: Criminal History Lesson

Before PAYDAY became a giant criminal playground…

There was this.


The original job.

The first mask.

The first vault.

The first moment someone shouted:

“Everybody stay down!”

And immediately everything went wrong.


PAYDAY: The Heist is smaller than its sequel.

Less content.

Fewer systems.

Less madness.


But the core idea was already brilliant.

Four criminals.

Impossible jobs.

Overwhelming police response.

A desperate escape.


Simple.

Effective.

Violent.

It created the formula that PAYDAY 2 later turned into an unstoppable robbery machine.


Old?

Yes.


Still important?

Absolutely.



Best For

  • classic heist fans

  • PAYDAY history

  • focused robberies

  • co-op veterans


Skip If

You want the massive content library of PAYDAY 2.


Related


The original PAYDAY crew wearing iconic clown masks and suits surrounded by flying cash, representing PAYDAY: The Heist’s classic co-op bank robberies, criminal teamwork, and high-intensity heist action.


#13 Thief

The Master Thief Returns

CRIMENET Verdict: Steal Everything, Touch Nothing

Not every criminal walks through the door with explosives.

Some prefer style.

Silence.

Planning.

And making rich people slightly less rich.


Thief puts you in the boots of Garrett, a professional thief who understands an important rule:

If everyone knows you were there...

you were bad at your job.


You sneak through shadows.

Avoid guards.

Steal valuables.

Break into impossible places.

Disappear.


While it had a mixed reception compared to the legendary originals, the fantasy still works.

You are not a warrior.

You are not a hero.

You are the reason wealthy people buy better locks.



Best For

  • stealth

  • patient players

  • classic thief fantasy


Skip If

You want loud robberies and endless gunfights.


Related


A hooded master thief reaching from the shadows in Thief, representing stealth gameplay, silent infiltration, high-value robberies, and the fantasy of becoming a professional burglar.

#14 Just Another Night Shift

The Smallest Heist War Ever

CRIMENET Verdict: Minimum Wage Meets Maximum Crime

Every robbery has two sides.


The thief:

“I need to steal this.”

The security guard:

“I absolutely do not get paid enough for this.”

That is Just Another Night Shift.


A tiny battle between criminal ambition and someone just trying to finish their shift.

One player sneaks around stealing.

The other tries to stop them.


Simple idea.

Immediate chaos.


It turns a small robbery into a ridiculous game of cat and mouse where both sides are convinced the other person is the problem.

Which is basically every workplace meeting ever.

Just with more theft.



Best For

asymmetric multiplayer

quick matches

funny stealth


Skip If

You want huge cinematic robberies.


Related

→ Just Another Night Shift Review


A thief sneaking away with stolen loot while a security guard gives chase outside a mansion in Just Another Night Shift, showcasing asymmetric robbery gameplay, stealth, and criminal cat-and-mouse chaos.


#15 Operation: Tango

The Spy Heist Where Communication Is Everything

CRIMENET Verdict: Trust Issues Simulator

A good heist needs teamwork.

Unfortunately.

That means trusting another human.


Dangerous.

Operation: Tango builds everything around cooperation.


One player acts as the agent.

The other becomes the hacker.


Together you infiltrate secure locations, bypass systems, steal information, and complete impossible missions.


The real challenge?

Communication.


Because nothing tests friendship like someone saying:

“Press the button.”

And discovering there are seventeen buttons.


It is stylish.

Clever.

And one of the best teamwork-based heist experiences around.



Best For

  • two-player co-op

  • spy fantasy

  • communication puzzles


Skip If

You hate relying on another person.


Related

→ Operation Tango Review


Two agents working together during a high-tech mission in Operation: Tango, showcasing cooperative spy gameplay, hacking, infiltration, teamwork, and futuristic heist operations.


Cult Classics Still Worth Stealing (#16–20)

#16 SteamWorld Heist II

Space Pirates Discovered Crime Also Works In Turn-Based Form

CRIMENET Verdict: Tactical Robbery With Extra Bolts

Most heist games involve masks.

Vaults.

Getaway vehicles.


SteamWorld Heist II looked at that formula and asked:

“What if everyone was a robot pirate instead?”

Fair enough.


In SteamWorld Heist II, you command a crew of mechanical criminals sailing across a strange world looking for treasure, upgrades, and trouble.


You board enemy ships.

Plan attacks.

Grab loot.

Upgrade your crew.

Repeat.

It is less “storm the bank” and more “tactical pirate operation.”


But the heart is pure heist:

Get in.

Take everything valuable.

Leave before someone complains.

A timeless business model.



Best For

  • turn-based tactics

  • pirate crews

  • strategy fans

  • loot hunters


Skip If

You need real-time action and screaming teammates.


Related

→ SteamWorld Heist II Review


Robot pirates sailing into battle in SteamWorld Heist II, showcasing tactical turn-based heists, treasure hunting, crew management, and space pirate adventures.


#17 Rubber Bandits

The Criminal Circus Nobody Can Control

CRIMENET Verdict: Professional Theft, Amateur Brain Cells

Some criminals are elegant.

Some are tactical.

Some spend years mastering their craft.

Rubber Bandits is not about those criminals.


Rubber Bandits is about running into a building, grabbing everything valuable, hitting your friends with furniture, and escaping before anyone asks what the plan was.

Because there probably wasn’t one.


This is robbery as a party game.

Money flying everywhere.

People falling over.

Absolute chaos.


Imagine a carefully planned bank job.

Now replace the professional crew with children after drinking twelve energy drinks.

That is Rubber Bandits.


And somehow?

It works.



Best For

  • party chaos

  • casual heists

  • fun with friends


Skip If

You want serious criminal masterminds.


Related

→ Rubber Bandits Review


Cartoon criminals stealing piles of cash and golden piggy banks in Rubber Bandits, showcasing chaotic multiplayer robberies, party-game heists, and ridiculous criminal teamwork.


#18 HITMAN

The Professional Criminal’s Professional Criminal

CRIMENET Verdict: Luxury Crime Simulator

Agent 47 is not a bank robber.

He does not kick down doors.

He does not scream at hostages.

He does not run away carrying suspicious bags of cash.

Because Agent 47 has standards.


Hitman is basically the luxury version of criminal work.

You study locations.

Find weaknesses.

Create opportunities.

Execute the plan.

Disappear.


The target never sees you coming.

The guards never understand what happened.

Somehow a chandelier falling at exactly the right moment was “just an accident.”


Sure.

Totally believable.

Nothing suspicious here.



Best For

  • perfect planning

  • stealth

  • creative problem solving

  • professional crime fantasy


Skip If

You prefer loud robberies over careful execution.


Related


Agent 47 standing in the shadows wearing his signature suit and red tie in Hitman: World of Assassination, representing professional assassination, stealth missions, infiltration, and perfectly planned criminal operations.



#19 Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days

Crime At Its Ugliest

CRIMENET Verdict: Criminal Disaster Simulator

Some crime games make being a criminal look cool.

Kane & Lynch 2 does not.

At all.


This is not luxury suits and perfect plans.

This is panic.

Bad decisions.

Violence.

Everything going wrong.

Immediately.


Kane and Lynch are not criminal masterminds.

They are walking disasters with weapons.


The entire game feels like a robbery where the getaway driver crashed before anyone entered the building.


And weirdly?

That is why people still remember it.

It captures the ugly side of crime better than almost anything else.



Best For

  • dark crime stories

  • chaotic action

  • gritty atmosphere


Skip If

You want heroic characters or polished criminals.


Related

→ Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days Review


Two desperate criminals from Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days covered in blood and carrying weapons, representing the game’s brutal crime story, chaotic robberies, and violent underworld atmosphere.


#20 Perfect Heist 2

Finally, A Fair Fight Between Cops And Robbers

CRIMENET Verdict: The Classic Heist Playground

The idea is beautifully simple.

One team steals.

One team stops them.

That’s it.


Perfect Heist 2 takes the classic cops-and-robbers fantasy and turns it into a multiplayer strategy game.


Criminals disguise themselves.

Plan routes.

Avoid detection.

Steal money.

Escape.


Police try to identify who is actually suspicious.

Which is difficult when everyone looks suspicious.

Including your teammates.

Especially your teammates.


It is messy.

Smart.

Funny.

Exactly what a multiplayer heist should be.



Best For

competitive heists

team strategy

cops vs robbers gameplay


Skip If

You only play solo.


Related

→ Perfect Heist 2 Review


Masked criminals breaking into a bank vault in Perfect Heist 2, showcasing multiplayer cops versus robbers gameplay, team-based heists, disguises, and tactical theft.


Criminal Wildcards (#21–25)

#21 Deceive Inc.

The Spy Heist Where Everyone Is Definitely Lying

CRIMENET Verdict: Social Stealth Criminal Excellence

Trust is important.

Which is exactly why Deceive Inc. throws it into a dumpster immediately.


Everyone is suspicious.

Everyone is pretending.

Everyone is probably stealing something.

Beautiful.


You play as elite agents competing to infiltrate locations, steal valuable packages, and escape before someone else does the exact same thing to you.


The trick?

Blending in.

Disguises.

Gadgets.

Manipulation.

Waiting for the perfect moment.


It is less “kick open the vault door.”

More:

“Walk calmly through security because everyone thinks you belong there.”

Which, frankly, is much more worrying.


Deceive Inc. understands the most dangerous criminal is not always the loudest person in the room.

Sometimes it is the person who looks completely normal.

Terrifying.



Best For

  • spy fantasy

  • social stealth

  • competitive heists

  • clever players


Skip If

Your entire strategy involves shooting first and discovering objectives later.


Related

→ Deceive Inc. Review


Spy agents posing with weapons in Deceive Inc., showcasing undercover disguises, social stealth, gadget-based infiltration, and competitive spy heist gameplay.


#22 Midnight Heist

Cybercrime After Dark

CRIMENET Verdict: The Night Shift Nobody Should Admit Having

Most people use computers for work.

Emails.

Documents.

Spreadsheets.

Normal boring things.


Midnight Heist uses computers for something slightly different:

breaking into secure locations and stealing valuable data.

Much better.


You infiltrate buildings.

Hack systems.

Avoid threats.

Collect information.

Escape.


Preferably without discovering something waiting in the darkness.

Because apparently even criminals now have workplace hazards.


Fantastic.

A robbery is stressful enough.

Adding horror is like putting extra alarms on a burning building.

Unnecessary.

But exciting.



Best For

  • hacking

  • stealth

  • horror heists

  • co-op tension


Skip If

You prefer your robberies without nightmare fuel.


Related

→ Midnight Heist Review


A masked figure and shadowy creature lurking in the darkness in Midnight Heist, representing stealth-based robberies, hacking missions, supernatural threats, and horror heist gameplay.


#23 The Break-In

Because Apparently Moving Furniture Is Theft Now

CRIMENET Verdict: Professional Home Removal Without Permission

The Break-In understands one very simple criminal philosophy:

If it fits through the door...

it is leaving.


You and your friends sneak into houses, stores, and secure locations to steal absolutely everything possible.


Money?

Yes.


Electronics?

Obviously.


Random household objects?

Apparently also yes.


It is basically a moving company where nobody hired you.

Which creates some legal complications.

The fun comes from the ridiculous physics and teamwork.


A perfect robbery becomes four criminals arguing about how to fit a sofa through a window.

Crime is glamorous.



Best For

  • co-op burglary

  • physics chaos

  • funny robberies

  • friends


Skip If

You want serious tactical operations.


Related

→ The Break-In Review


Two burglars breaking into a house through windows at night in The Break-In, showcasing co-op burglary, physics-based stealing, chaotic robberies, and teamwork-focused heist gameplay.


#24 Monaco: What’s Yours Is Mine

The Heist Classic That Still Understands The Assignment

CRIMENET Verdict: Tiny Criminal Masterpiece

Monaco is old.

Monaco is simple.

Monaco is still smarter than many modern heist games.


The idea is perfect.

Pick your criminal.

Plan the job.

Break inside.

Steal everything.

Escape.

Try not to destroy your friendships.


Each character has a role.

The locksmith.

The hacker.

The cleaner.

The lookout.


A proper crew.

A proper plan.

A proper disaster when somebody inevitably ruins everything.


It looks cute.

Do not be fooled.

This is one of the purest heist games ever created.

Tiny criminals.

Huge problems.



Best For

  • classic heists

  • co-op planning

  • team roles

  • strategy


Skip If

You need modern graphics.


Related

→ Monaco: What’s Yours Is Mine Review


Colorful criminal crew silhouettes sneaking through a heist location in Monaco: What’s Yours Is Mine, showcasing cooperative stealth, specialized thieves, careful planning, and classic team-based robberies.


#25 Turnip Boy Robs A Bank

Vegetable Crime Was Inevitable

CRIMENET Verdict: Agricultural Criminal Activity

We have reached the natural endpoint of heist games.

A vegetable committing financial crimes.

Wonderful.


Turnip Boy Robs A Bank is exactly as ridiculous as it sounds.

You are a turnip.

You rob a bank.

Gaming has peaked.

Pack everything up.


But underneath the joke is a surprisingly fun roguelite heist game.

You break in.

Steal valuables.

Fight security.

Upgrade.

Return for bigger scores.


The fact that one of gaming’s most enthusiastic bank robbers comes from the produce aisle is concerning.

But results matter.

And this little criminal root gets results.



Best For

  • funny crime games

  • roguelite fans

  • quick heist runs


Skip If

You require your criminals to have bones.


Related

→ Turnip Boy Robs A Bank Review


Turnip Boy and his vegetable crime crew escaping with stolen money in Turnip Boy Robs A Bank, showcasing chaotic bank robberies, roguelite heists, criminal upgrades, and ridiculous vegetable crime action.


Final Verdict

Heist games are alive, suspicious, and still making terrible financial decisions.


The legends remain:

PAYDAY.

Thief.

Monaco.


But newer criminals like:

Teardown.

Crime Boss.

One-Armed Robber.


prove the genre still has plenty of stolen fuel left in the getaway car.


Sometimes you want to save the world.

Sometimes you want to break into the vault.


Gaming understands both.

CRIMENET knows which option has the better masks.



FAQ

What is the best heist game to play right now?

PAYDAY 2 is still the best heist game to play right now. Even years after release, nothing has managed to steal its crown thanks to huge content, endless bank robberies, stealth options, chaotic loud missions, and four-player co-op where every perfect plan is usually one teammate away from becoming a disaster.


What is the best single-player heist game?

Thief Simulator 2 is one of the best single-player heist games. It focuses on the preparation side of crime, letting you study targets, learn routines, upgrade your tools, break in, steal valuables, and escape before becoming the main topic of the neighbourhood watch meeting.


What is the best free heist game?

One-Armed Robber is one of the best free heist games available. It takes the PAYDAY-style co-op robbery formula, removes most of the professionalism and one functioning arm, creating a ridiculous crime simulator where escaping your own teammates is sometimes harder than escaping the police.


Is PAYDAY 3 better than PAYDAY 2 now?

No, PAYDAY 2 is still better than PAYDAY 3 overall. PAYDAY 3 has improved with updates, better visuals, and smoother gameplay, but PAYDAY 2 remains the old getaway van with years of successful robberies, mountains of content, and an engine that somehow refuses to explode.


Are there any heist games like GTA Online?

Yes, the closest heist games to GTA Online are PAYDAY 2, PAYDAY 3, Crime Boss: Rockay City, Crime Simulator, and One-Armed Robber. They focus on criminal crews, robberies, progression, teamwork, and stealing everything valuable before someone with flashing lights arrives to ruin the business meeting.


What is the most realistic heist game?

Thief Simulator 2 is one of the most realistic heist games. Instead of endless shootouts, it focuses on surveillance, timing, security systems, tools, planning, and the less glamorous part of crime: patiently watching a building before anything exciting happens.


What is the best co-op heist game?

PAYDAY 2 remains the best co-op heist game. A skilled crew feels like a perfectly organised criminal machine, while a terrible crew feels like four confused people accidentally walked into a bank wearing masks, and somehow both versions are entertaining.


Are heist games only about bank robberies?

No, heist games are not only about bank robberies. Modern heist games include home burglaries, spy operations, hacking, treasure hunting, criminal empires, and infiltration missions, as long as the core fantasy remains simple: plan the job, steal the prize, escape.


What upcoming heist games should players watch?

Heist fans should watch for new games inspired by PAYDAY, Thief, and GTA Online. The genre keeps expanding with more co-op robberies, stealth sandboxes, and criminal adventures because apparently gamers never get tired of carrying suspicious bags of digital money out of vaults.

 
 
 

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About the Editor
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I'm Niels Gys, founder and editor of CRIMENET GAZETTE. I write about crime, heist, villain, and horror games because somebody has to separate genuine criminal masterpieces from games that couldn't organize a successful mugging.

Outside the website, I'm the frontman of JETBLACK SMILE, a Belgian rock 'n' roll band that sounds like bad decisions played through loud guitars. Turns out writing about chaos, criminals, and morally questionable life choices isn't all that different from writing songs.

I started CRIMENET because too much gaming coverage feels afraid to have an opinion. Reviews become press releases, every game is "solid," and somehow everyone leaves happy except the reader.

Not here.

CRIMENET covers crime, heist, villain, and horror games, alongside the occasional film or series that earns a place in the criminal underworld. Not the heroic kind. The kind where you rob banks, build empires, betray your crew, or become the monster everyone else is trying to survive.

I don't do review scores. The internet already has enough people arguing whether a game deserves a 72 instead of a 71, like they're negotiating a hostage release over a single percentage point. I'd rather tell you what the game actually feels like to play and whether it's worth your time.

Every article is built on research, evidence, and an unhealthy intolerance for mediocre game design.

 

Strong opinions are welcome. Invented facts are not.

Think less "trusted reviewer."

More "your inside man in the digital underworld."

I'm not here to save the world.

I'm here to tell you which crimes are worth committing. 🤘

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