Grand Theft Auto

***Grand Theft Auto*** is a series of action-adventure games created by David Jones and Mike Dailly. Later titles were developed under the oversight of brothers Dan and Sam Houser, Leslie Benzies and Aaron Garbut. It is primarily developed by British development house Rockstar North (formerly DMA Design), and published by its American parent company, Rockstar Games. The name of the series references the term "grand theft auto", used in the United States for motor vehicle theft.

Gameplay focuses on an open world where the player can complete missions to progress an overall story, as well as engage in various side activities. Most of the gameplay revolves around driving and shooting, with occasional role-playing and stealth elements. The series also has elements of the earlier beat 'em up games from the 16-bit era. The games in the _Grand Theft Auto_ series are set in fictional locales modelled after real-life cities, at various points in time from the early 1960s to the 2010s. The original game's map encompassed three cities—Liberty City (based on New York City), San Andreas (based on San Francisco), and Vice City (based on Miami)—but later titles tend to focus on a single setting; usually one of the original three locales, albeit remodelled and significantly expanded. The series centres on different protagonists who attempt to rise through the ranks of the criminal underworld, although their motives for doing so vary in each title. The antagonists are commonly characters who have betrayed the protagonist or their organisation, or characters who have the most impact impeding the protagonist's progress. Several film and music veterans have voiced characters in the games, including Ray Liotta, Dennis Hopper, Samuel L. Jackson, William Fichtner, James Woods, Debbie Harry, Axl Rose and Peter Fonda.

DMA Design began the series in 1997, with the release of the _Grand Theft Auto_. , the series consists of seven standalone titles and four expansion packs. The third main title, _Grand Theft Auto III_, released in 2001, is considered a landmark game, as it brought the series to a three-dimensional (3D) setting and more immersive experience. Subsequent titles have followed and built upon the concept established in _Grand Theft Auto III_, and received significant acclaim. They have influenced other open-world action games, and led to the label _Grand Theft Auto_ clone on similar titles.

The series has been critically acclaimed, with all the main 3D entries in the franchise frequently ranked among the greatest and best-selling video games; it has shipped more than 385 million units, making it one of the best-selling video game franchise. In 2006, _Grand Theft Auto_ was featured in a list of British design icons in the Great British Design Quest organised by the BBC and the Design Museum. In 2013, _The Telegraph_ ranked _Grand Theft Auto_ among Britain's most successful exports. The series has also been controversial for its adult nature and violent themes.

## List of titles

|colspan=4|List of titles|||
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|_Grand Theft Auto_|DMA Design, Tarantula Studios|DOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation, Game Boy Color|November 28, 1997|
|_Grand Theft Auto: London, 1969_|DMA Design, Tarantula Studios, Rockstar Canada, Runecraft|DOS, PlayStation, Microsoft Windows|April 29, 1999|
|_Grand Theft Auto: London, 1961_|DMA Design, Tarantula Studios, Rockstar Canada, Runecraft|Microsoft Windows|June 1, 1999|
|_Grand Theft Auto 2_|DMA Design, Tarantula Studios|Dreamcast, Game Boy Color, PlayStation, Microsoft Windows|October 22, 1999|
|_Grand Theft Auto III_|DMA Design|PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows, Xbox, Android, iOS|October 22, 2001|
|_Grand Theft Auto: Vice City_|Rockstar North|PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows, Xbox, Android, iOS|October 27, 2002|
|_Grand Theft Auto Advance_|Digital Eclipse|Game Boy Advance|October 25, 2004|
|_Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas_|Rockstar North|PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows, Xbox, Android, iOS|October 26, 2004|
|_Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories_|Rockstar North, Rockstar Leeds|PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2, Android, iOS|October 25, 2005|
|_Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories_|Rockstar North, Rockstar Leeds|PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2|October 31, 2006|
|_Grand Theft Auto IV_|Rockstar North|PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows|April 29, 2008|
|_Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned_|Rockstar North|PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows|February 17, 2009 (Xbox 360) April 13, 2010 (PlayStation 3 and Windows)|
|_Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars_|Rockstar North|Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, Android, iOS|March 17, 2009 (Nintendo DS) October 20, 2009 (PSP) January 17, 2010 (iOS) December 18, 2014 (Android)|
|_Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony_|Rockstar North|PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows|October 29, 2009 (Xbox 360) April 13, 2010 (PlayStation 3 and Windows)|
|_Grand Theft Auto V_|Rockstar North|PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, PlayStation 5, Microsoft Windows|September 17, 2013|
|_Grand Theft Auto Online_|Rockstar North|PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, PlayStation 5, Microsoft Windows|October 1, 2013|
|_Grand Theft Auto VI_|TBA|PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S|19 November 2026|

There has been a lot of controversy about these games. Many people do not like how the player can murder random people, and sleep with prostitutes. Because of this, all 3D GTA games have been rated Mature so far.

## Related pages

- Racing game

## Other websites

- Official Site
- Grand Theft Wiki