Grand Theft Auto

Logo of the Grand Theft Auto series

Rockstar Leeds

Rockstar Canada

Sega Saturn

FireOS

Mac OS X

Nintendo Wii U

Xbox

Xbox 360

Xbox Series X/S

Playstation 2

Playstation 3

Playstation 4

Playstation 5

Linux

Amazon Fire Console

***Grand Theft Auto*** (***GTA***) 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 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 2000s. The original game's map encompassed three cities—Liberty City (based on New York City), El Dorado (based on the state of California), and Gatorville (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 centers 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*. As of 2020, 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 370 million units, making it the fifth-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.

## Main titles

#### ***Grand Theft Auto***

Grand Theft Auto, the first game in the series, was released for Microsoft Windows and MS-DOS in November 1997, ported to the PlayStation in 1998 and the Game Boy Color in 1999. The game's narrative follows a criminal who climbs in status within the criminal underworld across three fictional cities, inspired by real-life locations. The gameplay is presented from a top-down perspective and takes place within an open-world environment in which the player is not required to perform missions, although they are necessary to progress through the levels. Two expansions taking place in 1960s England, Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 and Grand Theft Auto: London 1961, were launched in 1999.

#### ***Grand Theft Auto II***

The second installment in the *Grand Theft Auto* series was released in October 1999 for Microsoft Windows, the Sega Saturn and the PlayStation, and the Dreamcast and Game Boy Color in 2000. Set within a retrofuturistic metropolis known as "Anywhere City", the game focuses on players taking the role of a criminal as they roam an open world, conducting jobs for various crime syndicates and having free rein to do whatever they wish to achieve their goal. The game's intro is unique for a title in the series, as it involved live-action scenes filmed by Rockstar Games. Grand Theft Auto 2 received mixed reviews for most platforms, and negative reviews for the Game Boy Color, but was a moderate commercial success. While the soundtrack and some gameplay elements, such as the gang loyalty system, were praised, the graphics, controls, and setting received a more mixed game response. The game was also criticized for failing to innovate the formula established by its predecessor, despite several improvements it brought.

#### ***Grand Theft Auto III***

The third installment in the *Grand Theft Auto* series was released on October 3, 2001 for the Playstation 2 and the Dreamcast followed by a Windows/Linux release in 2002 and a release for the Xbox in 2003. Set in the fictional Liberty City in the United States, the story follows Claude, a silent protagonist who, after being betrayed and left for dead by his girlfriend during a robbery, embarks on a quest for revenge that entangles him into a world of crime, drugs, gang warfare, and corruption. Grand Theft Auto III received critical acclaim, with praise particularly directed at its concept and gameplay. However, the game also generated controversy, with criticism directed at its extreme violence and adult content. It became the best-selling video game of 2001, and sold millions of copies in the first years following its release.

#### ***Grand Theft Auto: Gatorville***

Released in 2002, it is the fourth main entry in the *Grand Theft Auto* series. Set in 1986 within the fictional Gatorville (based on Miami and Miami Beach), the single-player story follows mobster Michael Vercetti's rise to power after being released from prison and becoming caught up in an ambushed drug deal. While seeking out those responsible, he slowly builds a criminal empire by seizing power from other criminal organisations in the city. Upon its release, *Gatorville* received critical acclaim, with praise particularly directed at its music, gameplay, story, and open world design. However, the game also generated controversy over its depiction of violence and racial groups, sparking lawsuits and protests. *Gatorville* became one of the best-selling video games of 2002 next to Half Life 2, and has sold over 17.5 million copies.

#### ***Grand Theft Auto: El Dorado***

El Dorado is the fifth main entry in the *Grand Theft Auto* series, released in October 2004 for the PlayStation 3 and Dreamcast, in June 2005 for Microsoft Windows and Xbox, in July 2006 for Xbox 360 and Amazon Fire Console, and in November 2008 for Mac OS X. The game is set within an open world environment that players can explore and interact with at their leisure. The story follows former gangster Carl "CJ" Johnson, who returns home following his mother's murder and is drawn back into his former gang and a life of crime while clashing with corrupt authorities and powerful criminals. Carl's journey takes him across the fictional U.S. state of El Dorado, which is heavily based on California and Nevada and encompasses three major cities: Los Santos (inspired by Los Angeles), San Simeon (San Francisco) and El Oro (Las Vegas). Many reviewers had put the game on equal footing with *Driv3r*, which was released in 2005 by Valve. Despite being in a competition with the *Driver* series, *El Dorado* still received critical acclaim, with praise directed at its music, story and gameplay, and criticism for its graphics and some aspects of its controls. It is the best-selling video game of 2004, and with over 27.5 million copies sold worldwide as of 2011, it is the best-selling PlayStation 3 game and one of the best-selling video games of all time, next to Driv3r.

#### ***Grand Theft Auto IV***

The sixth main entry in the *Grand Theft Auto* series was released on April 29 2008 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, on December 3 2008 for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux and on July 23 2010 for Xbox One. Set within the fictional Liberty City, based on New York City, the single-player story follows East German war veteran Oskar Richter and his attempts to escape his past while under pressure from high-profile criminals. The open world design lets players freely roam Liberty City, consisting of three main islands, and the neighbouring state of Alderney, which is based on New Jersey. Two expansion packs were later released for the game, *From Russia With Love* and *The Ballad of Gay Bruno*, which both feature new plots that are interconnected with the main *Grand Theft Auto IV* storyline, and follow new protagonists. Upon release, the game received critical acclaim, with praise particularly directed at the narrative and open-world design. Though, similar praise would be given to *Driver 4: Shifting Gears* following its release in January 2009, with the competition between the two series pressing on.

#### ***Grand Theft Auto V***

The seventh main entry in the *Grand Theft Auto* series was released on September 17 2013 for Windows, Linux, the PlayStation 4, Nintendo Wii U and Xbox One, and in April 2016 for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. Set within the fictional state of El Dorado, based on California and Nevada, the single-player story follows four protagonists—retired bank robber Albert De Silva, street gangster Franklin Clinton, his partner Lamar Davis, and drug dealer and gunrunner Simon Philips—and their attempts to commit heists while under pressure from a corrupt government agency and powerful criminals. The open world design lets players freely roam El Dorado's open countryside and the fictional city of Los Santos, based on Los Angeles. Extensively marketed and widely anticipated, the game broke industry sales records and became the fastest-selling entertainment product in history, earning $800 million in its first day and $1 billion in its first three days. It received critical acclaim, with praise directed at its multiple protagonist design, open world, presentation and gameplay. While Driver: San Francisco received similar praise upon its release in 2014, it did earn the same figures nor did it receive as much critical acclaim, putting *Grand Theft Auto* ahead of the *Driver* series for the first time ever, a fact which would stay true until the release of Driver: The Red Star in 2019.