Grand Theft Auto

VIDEO GAME SERIES

Grand Theft Auto

Grand Theft Auto series logo since GTA IV.

Developers

• Rockstar North (formerly DMA Design)
• Rockstar Leeds (handheld titles)
• Rockstar Studios (GTA VI)^[1]

Outsourced developers

• Digital Eclipse (GTA Advance)
• Rockstar Toronto (ports)
• Rockstar Lincoln (ports)
• Grove Street Games (ports)
• Video Games Deluxe (ports)

Publishers

• BMG Interactive (1997)
• Rockstar Games (1999–present)

Genres

• Action-adventure
• Open world
• Crime
• Role-playing

Creator

• David Jones
• Mike Dailly

Release Timeline

First release

Grand Theft Auto (November 28, 1997)

Latest release

Grand Theft Auto Online (October 1, 2013)

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Wikipedia has an article on: Grand Theft Auto

Grand Theft Auto (GTA) is a long-running video game series created by British development house Rockstar North (formerly DMA Design) and published by their American parent company Rockstar Games.

The series was created by David Scott Jones and Mike Dailly, with subsequent titles under Rockstar North's name being developed under the oversight of brothers Dan and Sam Houser, Aaron Garbut, and former president Leslie Benzies.

Throughout its history, the series has always courted controversy due mainly to the mature content of the games, with all but one game being rated the local equivalent of Mature/Adult/R.

Grand Theft Auto held 10 world gaming records, including the Most Guest Stars in a Video Game Series, Largest Voice Cast in a Video Game (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas), Largest In-Game Soundtrack (Grand Theft Auto IV), and Most Successful Entertainment Launch Of All Time (Grand Theft Auto V). The Grand Theft Auto series has also been ranked 5^[2] in the best-selling video game franchises of all time.

The first trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI on December 4, 2023 broke three previous Guinness World Records for most viewed videogame reveal on YouTube in 24 hours (at 90,421,491 views), most liked videogame trailer on YouTube (with 8.9 million likes in the first 24 hours) and most viewed YouTube video in 24 hours (non-music) (surpassing MrBeast's "Every Country On Earth Fights For $250,000").^[3]

As of August 2023, the Grand Theft Auto series had sold over 405 million copies worldwide.

The next entry in the series, Grand Theft Auto VI, is scheduled for release on November 19, 2026, and is due to be the most immersive title in the series.

In a May 17, 2026 interview, Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick called the Grand Theft Auto series the "most valuable entertainment IP ever created."^[4]

The Grand Theft Auto series, belonging to, and to some extent defining the genre of free-roaming video games called "sandbox games", grants a large amount of freedom to the player in deciding what to do and how to do it through multiple methods of transport and weapons. Unlike most traditional action games, which are structured as a single-track series of levels with linear gameplay, in GTA the player can determine the missions they want to undertake, and their relationships with various characters are changed based on these choices. The cities of the games can also be roamed freely at any point in the game, offering many accessible buildings and minor missions. There are exceptions: missions follow a linear, overarching plot, and some city areas must be unlocked over the course of the game.

The plot of the games generally allows the player to take on the role of a criminal in a big city, typically an individual who rises through the ranks of organised crime through the course of the game. Various missions are set for completion by the figureheads of the city underworld, generally criminal, which must be completed to progress through the storyline. Assassinations and other crimes feature regularly. Other activities like taxi driving, firefighting, pimping, street racing, or learning to fly fixed-wing aircraft are also involved as alternate adventures, which can be done at any time during the game, with the exception of the periods performing main missions.

With the exception of the London expansion/mission packs for the original game and The Cayo Perico Heist update for Grand Theft Auto Online, the games are set in a fictional, heavily satirical recreation of the United States of America with references made to the rest of the world. Gameplay takes place in settings ranging from the largest cities in the country to small towns and remote wilderness and desert areas.

Individual games in the series have been categorized into three distinct parallel universes, officially named by Rockstar Games as the "2D Universe", "3D Universe", and the "HD Universe". Each universe is designed to be completely separate to each other so that no physically appearing characters or storylines would overlap. Different variants of existing brands and in-game media personalities exist across these universes, as completely different characters.

The 2D Universe follows the independent storylines of DMA Design's original top-down titles, following the stories of various criminal organizations surrounding the silent male and female protagonists doing freelance work for each group. The 2D Universe consists of Grand Theft Auto, Grand Theft Auto: London, and Grand Theft Auto 2.

The 3D Universe started in 2001 with the release of Grand Theft Auto III, a reboot of the series, introducing full 3D graphics during gameplay using the RenderWare engine. The universe's other games are prequels of the canon established in Grand Theft Auto III, loosely connected to the game's events. The canon of this universe consists of Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Grand Theft Auto Advance, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories.

In addition, this universe is shared with Rockstar North's survival horror duology Manhunt, including its brands and certain celebrity characters.

In 2006, Rockstar Games developed its proprietary game engine Rockstar Advanced Game Engine (RAGE), which had its debut in Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis, a sports game developed by Rockstar San Diego.

The first use of the RAGE engine in the Grand Theft Auto was in 2008, with the second and latest reboot in the series, officially named the HD Universe, which consists of all titles following the new canon established in Grand Theft Auto IV. This includes Grand Theft Auto IV, Episodes from Liberty City, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, Grand Theft Auto V, and Grand Theft Auto Online.

There are currently 17 games in the series, including two expansion packs for the original Grand Theft Auto, two expansion packs for Grand Theft Auto IV, and a dedicated multiplayer title.

In the 2D Universe, the graphics engines provided "top-down" gameplay in two dimensions with missions counting towards a score to unlock the next set of missions.

• 1. Grand Theft Auto (1997) - Whilst originally just called Grand Theft Auto, the first game become widely known as "GTA 1" for clarity. Available for the PlayStation, PC and Game Boy Color. Features the cities of Liberty City, San Andreas, and Vice City. The story revolves around silent male and female protagonists hired by various gang bosses for various types of criminal jobs.
  • 2. Grand Theft Auto (Mission Pack #1): London 1969 (1999) - An expansion pack, available for the PlayStation and PC, set in London; requires the original game. The story revolves around silent British protagonists working for a London-based crime organization led by the Crisp Twins.
  • 3. Grand Theft Auto (Mission Pack #2): London 1961 (1999) - A further expansion to London 1969, available only as a free download for the PC; requires the original game and the previous DLC. The story revolves around silent British protagonists working for a small-time London gang led by the Harold Cartwright.
• 4. Grand Theft Auto 2 (1999) - Featured an improved graphics engine and a different style of gameplay. Available for the PlayStation, PC, Dreamcast, and Game Boy Color. The game is set in the retrofuturistic city of "Anywhere, USA". The story revolves around Claude Speed, who has just been freed from prison and awakened from cryogenic sleep with a bad case of amnesia. GTA 2 is the only GTA game to have a digit in the title instead of a roman numeral. It is the only game to have a T rating.

The 3D Universe featured the first blockbuster GTA title, Grand Theft Auto III, and introduced a 3D game world and third-person perspective. The entire era contains interlocking storylines, and many characters appear across multiple games. Notably, games in this era were not released in chronological order, with the first game released being the last chronologically, and the last game released being the first chronologically.

• 5. Grand Theft Auto III (2001) - Set in the fictional Liberty City, a hybrid of real-life New York City and other East Coast and Midwestern cities. Multiplayer mode was removed, but other areas were much improved, namely the graphics, voice acting, and storyline with non-linear gameplay.
• 6. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002) - Set in Vice City, a city based on the real-life Miami. This sequel to GTA III is technically a prequel (set in 1986) to the game, and to GTA San Andreas, which was released after GTA Vice City.
• 7. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004) - Set in the State of San Andreas, GTA San Andreas featured three cities: Los Santos, San Fierro and Las Venturas, based on Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas respectively. The game is set in 1992, making it a sequel to GTA Vice City and a prequel to GTA III. The game featured many customisation options for both the player and vehicles and a limited multiplayer mode exclusive to the PS2 version.

See also: The Introduction

• 8. Grand Theft Auto Advance (2004) - What was originally supposed to be a stripped-down port of GTA III for the Game Boy Advance turned out to be a completely original game, set a year before GTA III, in a slightly altered Liberty City. This game returned players to the "top-down" perspective graphically, although the setting was still the 3D Universe rendition of the city.
• 9. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (2005) - A prequel to GTA III set in Liberty City in 1998. Originally for the PlayStation Portable, a PS2 port was released in June 2006 without multiplayer.
• 10. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (2006) - Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories is set in Vice City in 1984, two years before the original GTA Vice City. It was released in October 2006 for the PSP. A PS2 port was released later without multiplayer in March 2007. It is the final game of the 3D Universe.

The HD Universe featured Rockstar's RAGE engine, also used in Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis. The gameplay did not change dramatically from the successful 3D Universe formula. This era features:

• 11. Grand Theft Auto IV (2008) - Set in 2008 in a redesigned Liberty City and the neighboring State of Alderney, with new game mechanics, a multiplayer mode, and with protagonist Niko Bellic trying to start a new life. GTA IV was released for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on April 28th, 2008, with a PC release on December 2nd, 2008.

• 12. The Lost and Damned (2009) - A standalone downloadable episode released in February 2009 for the Xbox 360. TLAD is set in the same Liberty City as GTA IV, with events and characters overlapping with GTA IV. The protagonist is Johnny Klebitz, vice-president of The Lost MC. It was also available as part of the Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City disc released on PC (Games for Windows - LIVE) and PlayStation 3 in April 2010, which includes The Ballad of Gay Tony.
• 14. The Ballad of Gay Tony (2009) - A second standalone episode for GTA IV released in October 2009, the last DLC for GTA IV. The protagonist is Luis Lopez, a part-time hoodlum and full-time assistant to legendary nightclub impresario "Gay" Tony Prince. It was released on PC (Games for Windows - LIVE) and PlayStation 3 in April 2010 along with the Episodes from Liberty City combination disc with The Lost and Damned.

Note: All three GTA IV games were later combined into Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition and from April 2020, following the demise of Games For Windows Live, this is the only version available to purchase now for PC. Owners of physical or digital copies of any of the three standalone games can upgrade to The Complete Edition for free with patch 1.0.8, however this removes the multiplayer component and several radio stations are significantly changed due to the expiry of music licenses.

• 13. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (2009) - Set in 2009 and focusing on the Liberty City Triads. The protagonist, Huang Lee is the son of a murdered Triad boss who comes to Liberty City. It is set in the same Liberty City as GTA IV (excluding Alderney, but scaled down for the Nintendo DS). PSP, iPhone, Android and Kindle Fire ports were released later, the PSP version including new missions and characters, and all new versions including new radio stations and improved graphics.
• 15. Grand Theft Auto V (2013) - Set in 2013 in a redesigned Los Santos. According to Rockstar, Grand Theft Auto V was previously their biggest open-world game to date. The game concentrates on "the pursuit of the almighty dollar". For the first time since the 2D Universe, the game features more than one protagonist, with three playable protagonists: Michael De Santa, Franklin Clinton, and Trevor Philips.
• 16. Grand Theft Auto Online (2013) - It is considered by Rockstar to be the series' first dedicated multiplayer title. Set in Southern San Andreas in the United States and the island of Cayo Perico in the Caribbean region of Colombia, the player assumes the role of a silent male or female protagonist, with the focus of the game being heavily centered on money and criminal businesses. The game's original content was originally set shortly before the events of Grand Theft Auto V in 2013. However, as the game released updates, the game's setting advanced in real-life timing, with characters later mentioning past events that took place in GTA V. Grand Theft Auto Online was released on October 1, 2013, two weeks after Grand Theft Auto V.
• 17. Grand Theft Auto VI (2026) - Set in the State of Leonida, the game features two protagonists, including a female lead, Lucia Caminos, and her accomplice Jason Duval.

Grand Theft Auto has one of the largest fan bases of any game franchise. There are many unofficial fansites about GTA games, providing the latest news, download databases, and often an online forum for the GTA community. Thousands of GTA fansites exist, ranging from small one-person news blogs to community-edited wikis (like this one) to massive download databases to forums with hundreds of thousands of members.

This is a list of some of the most popular fan sites, some of which were even acknowledged by Rockstar^[5]:

• GTA Forums
• GTA Legende.com
• The GTA Place
• GTA Net
• GTA Warehouse
• GTA-SanAndreas
• RockstarWatch.net

An activity popular with fans is modding - creating new vehicle models, skins, re-texturing objects, and tweaking settings in the games' configuration files. These modifications are made freely available on fansites for anyone to download and install into their game.

Another popular pastime (since GTA III) is stunting - the act of performing wild stunts with vehicles, which are produced into compilation videos.

Another activity popular with members of the community is writing Fan Fiction - stories based on events which follow on from, or are based around events which happen in the games, but these are not to be considered canon.

Note that modified games and fan-fiction are not to be documented here on the GTA Wiki.

• Grand Theft Auto series

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