Grand Theft Auto or GTA is an action-adventure game series created by David Jones and Mike Daly, developed by Rockstar North (formerly DMA Design), and published by Rockstar North’s parent company, Rockstar Games. The first game in the series was released in 1997, with 15 more games released since then. Since its inception, the series has had a lasting impact on the video game industry and pop culture at large. This article delves into the fascinating history and evolution of this smash hit series.

The GTA series

The term “Grand Theft Auto” is a US legal term for car theft, and as the name suggests, GTA mainly deals with car theft, but it’s not the only one. GTA features an open-world map, where players can complete missions in any order to earn in-game money and progress through the overall storyline. Gameplay is played from a third-person perspective and consists mainly of driving a car through different regions and shooting down enemies. The game also contains elements of fighting games from the 16-bit era.

GTA belongs to, and to some extent defines, the genre of free-roaming video games, so-called sandbox games. These are games that give the player great freedom to decide what and how to do things, with multiple means of movement and weapons. Unlike most traditional action games that are structured as a series of levels on a single track with linear gameplay, in GTA the player chooses which missions they want to undertake, and their decisions affect their relationships with non-playable characters. Of course, the player’s decisions are limited: each mission follows a linear, overarching plot, and some city areas must be unlocked as the game progresses.

The appeal of GTA is that it gives the player an entire city in which to commit evil deeds, a city that feels realistic and alive. GTA games are detailed: pedestrians walk the streets, cars stop obediently at traffic lights, and ambulances and fire trucks respond appropriately to death and fiery destruction. To play this game well, you’ll need to understand the layout of each city to avoid the police and perfect your driving style on the wide highways and narrow side streets. While the gameplay in the first few games was actually relatively repetitive, it never felt that way: the quests were all highly amoral, allowing players to live a cartoonish life of crime, complete with Bullitt-style chases and Heat-style shootouts.

Impact on the gaming industry

The immensely popular GTA series. While the first few GTA games had already broken enormous sales records, the fourth main entry, Vice City, took the series’ popularity to a whole new level, becoming the fastest-selling PlayStation 2 title of all time. The next installment, two years later, surpassed San Andreas, which is also part of the series. In 2002, 4 million Americans pre-ordered Vice City, and another million bought it upon its first weekend of release. According to a recent report by Statista, GTA titles have sold a total of more than 405 million copies.

The series holds several world gaming records, including the most guest stars in a video game series, the largest voice acting cast in a video game, the largest in-game soundtrack, and the most successful entertainment launch of all time, as well as being one of the top five best-selling franchise video game franchises of all time Bos5000.

GTA is a big number, but it’s not just in units sold, revenue, or prize money. In fact, the release of Vice City in 2002 led TIME magazine to say that “video games will force us to realize that they are no longer toys. They are sophisticated, thought-provoking entertainment for adults. At best, they are art.” Throughout its history, GTA has always been controversial, mostly due to the adult content of the games, with all but one receiving a local Mature/Adult/R rating. Despite the controversy, or perhaps because of it, the series also helped to bring video games into the spotlight as an accepted form of adult entertainment.

Origins and early development

GTA had humble beginnings at Scottish developer DMA Design, founded by four video game designers: Mike Daly, David Jones, Russell Kay, and Steve Hammond. The game was originally intended as a cops and robbers game called Race’n’Chase, but it evolved into GTA and was released for PC in 1997.

Games in the GTA series

Excluding re-releases and remasters, the series has a total of 16 games in development, with one currently in development. Each game in the series is in one of three different parallel worlds, each designed completely independent of the others, with no overlap between characters or stories. Some things, such as corporate brands, vehicles, place names, weapons, and personalities of a particular series, exist in multiple universes, but for the most part, they are three separate universes:

2D Universe. Following the independent stories of DMA Design’s original top-down titles, this universe tells the story of various criminal organizations surrounding a silent male and female protagonist who works as a freelancer for each group. The 2D Universe consists of:

• Grand Theft Auto
• Grand Theft Auto: London 1969
• Grand Theft Auto: London 1961
• Grand Theft Auto

3D Universe. This universe began in 2001 with the release of Grand Theft Auto III, a reboot of the series that introduced full 3D graphics during gameplay using the RenderWare engine. The other games in this universe are prequels to the canon established in Grand Theft Auto III and are loosely connected to the events of the game. 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
• Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories

HD – Universe. This universe is the newest in the series, and the games in this universe have the best visual quality and the largest, most detailed maps. The timing and location of events are very different than in a 3D universe. Best of the HD Universe:

• Grand Theft Auto IV
• The Lost and Damned
• The Ballad of Gay Tony
• Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
• Grand Theft Auto V
• Grand Theft Auto Online
• Grand Theft Auto VI (in development)

Timeline of the GTA games

Grand Theft Auto 1

• Release date: October 21, 1997
• Protagonist: Player’s choice
• Location: Liberty City, Vice City, San Andreas
• Universe: 2D universe

Grand Theft Auto 1 is the first game in the GTA series. The game is set in three American cities in 1997: Liberty City (with the neighboring state of New Guernsey as part of the same map), San Andreas, and Vice City. Players take on the role of members of a group of eight silent criminals, four males and four females, attempting to climb the ladder of organized crime in the city.

Grand Theft Auto: London 1969

• Release Date: April 29, 1999
• Protagonist: Player’s choice
• Location: London
• Universe: 2D Universe

Grand Theft Auto: London 1969, the second part of the series, was released in the following formats: An additional mission pack for the original GTA game has been released, featuring 32 new missions and 30 new vehicles from the 1960s. The game is very similar to the original GTA in that it uses the same game engine and is presented in the same format of missions, stages, and cutscenes.

Grand Theft Auto: London 1961

• Release Date: July 1, 1999
• Protagonist: Player’s choice
• Location: London
• Universe: 2D Universe

Grand Theft Auto: London 1961 takes place in London, England in 1961 – a sequel to GTA: London 1969 and a prequel to the events of that game eight years earlier. The mission pack includes new missions, 22 new vehicles, new cutscenes, and a new multiplayer “Deathmatch” map based on the British city of Manchester.

Grand Theft Auto 2

• Release date: October 22, 1999
• Protagonist: Claude Speed ​​
• Location: Anywhere City
• Universe: 2D Universe

Grand Theft Auto 2 is the second main part of the GTA series and the fourth game overall. It is set in a metropolis only vaguely called “Anywhere City”, a city with a striking retro-futuristic design.

Grand Theft Auto: III

• Release Date: October 22, 2001
• Protagonist: Claude
• Location: Liberty City
• Universe: 3D Universe

Grand Theft Auto III is set in the fictional Liberty City in 2001 and introduces a new story different from the previous games, which started in the 3D Universe. The story follows the adventures of Claude, a quiet criminal who is betrayed by his girlfriend Catalina during a bank robbery. It is important to note that although this character has the same name as the protagonist of GTA 2, he is in fact a completely different character. Claude begins working for the various factions of crime-ridden Liberty City, including the Mafia, the Yakuza, and various corrupt figures.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

• Released: October 29, 2002
• Protagonist: Tommy Vercetti
• Location: Vice City
• Universe: 3D Universe

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is set in Vice City, Florida in 1986. It follows the heroic exploits of protagonist Tommy Vercetti, who rises to become one of Vice City’s biggest underworld figures. As with all games in the series, the look of GTA: Vice City reflects the time period, especially the clothing and vehicles. Several themes are adopted from the films Scarface (1983) and Carlito’s Way (1993), the latter being characterised by complex characterisations and portrayals of criminals.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

• Release Date: October 26, 2004
• Protagonist: Carl Johnson
• Location: San Andreas
• World: 3D Universe

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, the seventh title in the GTA series and 3D Universe, is the sequel to GTA: Vice City and a prequel to GTA: Liberty City Stories and GTA 3. San Andreas has by far the largest and most complex playing field of any game in the 3D Universe. It consists of three fully realized cities, Los Santos, San Fierro and Las Venturas, and includes vast landscapes, forests, deserts, and even mountains and hills. The game revolves around Carl Johnson (aka CJ)’s return to his gang (the Grove Street Families) and their subsequent return to power.

Grand Theft Auto: Advance

• Release date: October 26, 2004
• Protagonist: Mike
• Location: Liberty City
• Universe: 3D Universe

Grand Theft Auto: Advance is played from a top-down view, similar to the 2D Universe games in the series, but adopts some aspects of the newer games in the 3D Universe, such as vehicle-based side missions (such as vigilantes), a head-up display, and new weapons. GTA Advance was originally intended as a Game Boy Advance port of GTA 3, serving as a prequel to the events of GTA 3, which took place a year earlier.

Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories

• Release Date: October 25, 2005
• Main Character: Toni Cipriani
• Location: Liberty City
• Universe: 3D Universe

The first GTA game released for the PlayStation Portable, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories is set in Liberty City in 1998. The game is a prequel to GTA Advance and GTA 3, and a chronological sequel to GTA: San Andreas. What makes this game unique is that not only is its setting, Liberty City, the same as its predecessor, GTA 3, but the overall layout of the city remains virtually unchanged (apart from a few key differences, being the setting of Liberty City Stories 3 years earlier).

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories

• Release date: October 31, 2006
• Protagonist: Victor Vance
• Location: Vice City
• Universe: 3D Universe

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories is the sixth and final (but chronologically, the first) game in the 3D universe of the GTA series. It was originally released exclusively for the PlayStation Portable, but due to its success it was later released for the PlayStation 2 as well. The game marks the series’ return to Vice City and is set in 1984, approximately two years before the events of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

Grand Theft Auto IV

• Release Date: April 29, 2008
• Protagonist: Niko Bellic
• Location: Liberty City
• Universe: HD Universe

Grand Theft Auto IV introduced the Rockstar Advanced Game Engine (RAGE) to the series. The RAGE platform elevated gameplay to a new level of realism, depicting urban environments in greater detail than GTA 3. The player returns to the Liberty City area once again as Niko Bellic, an immigrant with big dreams. Players can use a variety of melee weapons. GTA IV also features the series’ first first-person perspective mode, which can be used while driving a vehicle. The game also includes a multiplayer mode for up to 32 players.

Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned

• Release Date: February 17, 2009
• Protagonist: Johnny Klebitz
• Location: Liberty City
• Universe: HD Universe

Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned is the first of two episodes in the series. Downloadable content for GTA IV on PlayStation 3, PC, and Xbox 360. This episode will feature a new storyline with a new protagonist, Johnny Klebitz of the Lost Outlaw Motorcycle Club.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

• Release Date: March 17, 2009
• Protagonist: Fang Li
• Location: Liberty City
• Universe: HD Universe

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars was designed and developed specifically for Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, iOS and Android devices. The game is played in a 3D isometric perspective, with a rotating aerial camera that allows the player to dynamically change the angle during the action sequences. It includes all four districts of Liberty City (Algonquin, Bohan, Broker and Dukes) and is faithful to the timeline of events and adapted for Nintendo DS hardware.

Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony

• Release Date: October 29, 2009
• Main Character: Luis Lopez
• Location: Liberty City
• Universe: HD Universe

The Ballad of Gay Tony is the second of two episodes of downloadable content for GTA IV. It tells the story of Luis Fernando Lopez, a full-time assistant to legendary nightclub impresario Tony Prince and a part-time con man. The storyline intertwines with the original game and the first episode, and the game includes new mechanics, vehicles, weapons, side missions, collectibles, and achievements/trophies.

Grand Theft Auto V

• Release Date: September 17, 2013
• Main Characters: Michael De Santa, Franklin Clinton, Trevor Philips
• Location: Los Santos
• Universe: HD Universe

One of the most anticipated video game titles of 2013, Grand Theft Auto V was widely acclaimed even before its release, earning a rating of 96+ on both MetaCritic and GameRankings. As of November 2023, GTA V is the second best-selling game of all time, having sold over 190 million copies. The game is set in southern San Andreas in 2013, specifically in the city of Los Santos and the rural areas of Blaine County, and tells the story of three main characters, Michael de Santa, Franklin Clinton, and Trevor Phillips – three very different criminals – who commit daring and lucrative heists in the sprawling city of Los Santos. It is set about five years after GTA IV and features a multiplayer mode that allows players to complete tasks together with their friends.

Grand Theft Auto: Online

• Release Date: October 1, 2013
• Protagonist: Player’s Choice
• Location: Los Santos
• Universe: HD Universe

Grand Theft Auto Online is an exclusive multiplayer title in the series, taking place in a successive game; an evolving world that is expected to grow in scale and ambition over time. The game is set in the southern San Andreas region of the United States and Cayo Perico Island in the Caribbean region of Colombia. The game is originally set a few months before the events of GTA V in 2013, but the story of more recent updates takes place in each release year, starting with the Gunrunning update in 2017.

Grand Theft Auto 6

The first official announcement from Rockstar Games confirming the development of the next GTA title was made in February 2022, and the first trailer for the title was officially released on December 4, 2023. GTA 6 is scheduled to be released in 2025. The outline of the game is currently unknown, but the story is expected to follow the criminal duo Lucia and her male accomplice (name not yet revealed).

The game will take place in several counties in the state of Leonida, including Vicedale County (home to the neon-drenched streets of Vice City). So far, the names of three counties have been identified in trailers and promotional materials. However, the entire playable area of ​​Leonida has not yet been officially revealed.