Grand Theft Auto Series

* Grand Theft Auto III
* Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
* Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
* Grand Theft Auto IV
* Grand Theft Auto V
* Grand Theft Auto Online

Rockstar North

* Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
* Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
* Grand Theft Auto IV
* Grand Theft Auto V
* Grand Theft Auto Online

Grand Theft Auto is a series of Action-adventure games made by Rockstar starting with Grand Theft Auto 3 in 2001 to Grand Theft Auto V in 2013

## List of Games

* Grand Theft Auto III
* Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
* Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
* Grand Theft Auto IV
* Grand Theft Auto V
* Grand Theft Auto Online

## Plot

### Grand Theft Auto III

Small-time criminal Claude is betrayed and shot by his girlfriend Catalina (voiced by Cynthia Farrell) during a bank heist outside Liberty City. Claude is arrested, but escapes during his transfer to prison when members of the Colombian Cartel ambush his transport to abduct another prisoner. During his escape, Claude befriends explosives expert and fellow convict 8-Ball (Guru), who shelters Claude and introduces him to the Leone Mafia family for work. Claude assists the Mafia with various operations, including winning a gang war against a local group of Triads, earning him the respect of Don Salvatore Leone (Frank Vincent). After learning that the Cartel are creating and selling a new street drug called SPANK to fund their expansion into Liberty City, Salvatore orders Claude to destroy their floating drug lab. Claude accomplishes this with 8-Ball's help.

Salvatore later instructs Claude to deal with a minor problem, but his trophy wife Maria (Debi Mazar), who took a liking to Claude, reveals it to be a set-up. Maria claims that she lied to Salvatore about having an affair with Claude to make him jealous, and now Salvatore wants to murder him. Claude escapes to Staunton Island with Maria and her friend Asuka Kasen (Lianna Pai). After assassinating Salvatore to cut ties with the Mafia, Claude begins working for the Yakuza, led by Asuka and her brother Kenji (Les J.N. Mau). During this time, he also provides assistance to corrupted police inspector Ray Machowski (Robert Loggia), whom he eventually helps flee the city, and influential businessman Donald Love (Kyle MacLachlan). Donald hires Claude to assassinate Kenji under the guise of a Cartel attack to start a gang war that will allow Donald to obtain construction sites for his businesses. After the job's success, Claude carries out another task for Donald that leads him to encounter Catalina, now the leader of the Cartel, at a construction site. However, Catalina escapes after betraying and shooting her partner, Miguel (Al Espinosa).

Asuka blames the Cartel for Kenji's death and seizes the construction site. The Yakuza capture the wounded Miguel and torture him for information on Cartel operations in the city, allowing Claude to strike against them and hinder the Cartel. Enraged, Catalina murders both Asuka and Miguel and kidnaps Maria, demanding $500,000 for her release. Claude meets with her to pay the ransom, but Catalina deceives him again and traps him. Claude escapes, rescues Maria, and destroys the helicopter Catalina attempts to flee in, killing her. As Claude and Maria leave the scene, the latter begins to complain about the kidnapping, but is silenced by a gunshot.

### Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

In 1986, mobster Tommy Vercetti (voiced by Ray Liotta) is released from prison after serving a fifteen-year sentence for murder. His boss Sonny Forelli (Tom Sizemore), seeking to establish drug operations in the south, sends Tommy to Vice City to oversee an important drug deal alongside crooked lawyer Ken Rosenberg (William Fichtner). However, the deal is ambushed by unknown assailants, with Tommy and Ken barely escaping. Angered upon hearing the news, Sonny orders Tommy to recover the drugs, alongside the money he gave to him, under threat of consequences. Seeking information, Ken points Tommy towards retired army colonel Juan Garcia Cortez (Robert Davi), who helped set up the exchange. Expressing regret for the ambush, Cortez promises to find out who masterminded it.

While investigating, Tommy meets with several people who offer him help: music director Kent Paul (Danny Dyer), who maintains connections with the city's criminal underworld; Lance Vance (Philip Michael Thomas), who aided in the deal and lost his brother in the ambush; Texan business tycoon Avery Carrington (Burt Reynolds), who in return enlists Tommy's help with several deals; and drug kingpin Ricardo Diaz (Luis Guzmán), who employs both Tommy and Lance. Eventually, Cortez begins voicing his suspicions that Diaz organised the ambush. Upon further investigation, Lance discovers this to be the truth and, against Tommy's advice, tries to kill Diaz, only to get himself captured. After Tommy saves Lance, the pair find themselves forced to kill Diaz before he can retaliate. With Diaz dead, Tommy takes over his assets and, at Avery's suggestion, works to expand his new criminal empire by forcing businesses to pay him protection money and buying out nearly bankrupt companies to use as fronts for illicit operations. At the same time, Tommy provides assistance to several prominent gang leaders in the hopes they will support his expansion, and helps Cortez flee the city with stolen military equipment.

Eventually, Sonny discovers that Tommy has gained complete control over Vice City's drug trade without cutting the Forellis in. Enraged at his independence, Sonny sends mobsters to forcefully collect money from Tommy's businesses. In response, Tommy kills Sonny's men and severs his ties with him. Later, learning Sonny is personally coming to Vice City to collect what he believes he is owed, Tommy prepares to pay him tribute with counterfeit money. However, Sonny reveals that he was responsible for Tommy's arrest fifteen years prior, and that Lance has betrayed him and allied himself with the Forellis, having felt inadequate in Tommy's presence since his rise to power. A shootout ensues in Tommy's mansion, during which he prevents the Forellis from stealing his money and murders Lance for his betrayal, before finally killing Sonny in a tense standoff. When Ken arrives to a scene of carnage, Tommy quickly reassures him that everything is now fine, as he has finally established himself as the undisputed crime kingpin of Vice City.

### Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

In 1992, following his mother's murder in a drive-by shooting, CJ returns home to Los Santos to attend her funeral. Upon arrival, he is intercepted by C.R.A.S.H., who threaten to frame him for the recent murder of a police officer (actually killed by them for trying to expose their corruption) unless he co-operates with them. After leaving them, CJ reunites with Sweet, Kendl, Big Smoke, and Ryder at the funeral, and learns that the Grove Street Families have lost most of their influence and territories to their main rivals, the Ballas. CJ agrees to stay in Los Santos until the gang's problems are resolved, and works closely with his brother and friends to restore the Families' strength. During this time, he also befriends Cesar Vialpando after realizing he genuinely cares for Kendl, and helps to jumpstart OG Loc's rap career. Shortly after the Families' resurgence, Sweet plans to ambush a large group of Ballas. Before he can join the attack, CJ is contacted by Cesar with information on the drive-by shooting, revealing that C.R.A.S.H. ordered it with the intent of killing Sweet, and have been working with the Ballas, Big Smoke, and Ryder to end the Families and profit off the drug trade.

Realizing Sweet is headed into a trap, CJ attempts to save him, but both are arrested by the police. While Sweet is incarcerated, CJ is released on bail by C.R.A.S.H. and driven out of Los Santos, where he is forced to assist with several jobs to prevent C.R.A.S.H.'s corruption from going public. With the Families disbanded and the Ballas flooding Los Santos with drugs, CJ focuses on earning money to financially support himself, Kendl, and Cesar. He commits several robberies alongside Catalina and engages in illegal street racing. After winning a garage in San Fierro from Claude, CJ travels there with his associates and transforms it into a profitable business. While in San Fierro, CJ works for the local Triads after befriending Woozie, and infiltrates the Loco Syndicate, the Ballas' main cocaine supplier, to destroy them from the inside. After earning their trust, he kills the organization's leaders, as well as Ryder, and destroys their drug laboratory.

Later, CJ is surprised when Mike Toreno, who faked his death, contacts him for assistance, revealing himself to be a government agent. After carrying out several operations for Toreno in return for Sweet's release from prison, CJ travels to Las Venturas to help Woozie open a casino. Facing competition from the Mafia, CJ and the Triads organize a robbery of the rival mob-run casino. To gather intel on the place, CJ befriends Ken Rosenberg, the casino's manager, whom he eventually helps flee the city, and works for Salvatore Leone, who vows revenge after CJ robs his establishment. During this time, CJ continues to work for C.R.A.S.H., until Tenpenny betrays him and orders Pulaski to kill CJ and Hernandez, who secretly turned on his partners. After killing Hernandez, Pulaski is in turn killed by CJ. After saving Madd Dogg (who was driven to depression when CJ inadvertently ruined his career while helping OG Loc) from a suicide attempt, he approaches CJ to ask him to become his manager and help him rebuild his career. CJ returns to Los Santos and does so with his associates' help.

Toreno eventually honours his promise and allows CJ to be reunited with Sweet. Although happy to have him back, Sweet berates CJ for forgetting about their gang again, and talks him into helping to rebuild the Families. Meanwhile, Tenpenny is arrested for corruption, but is acquitted in his trial, provoking violent riots across Los Santos. CJ helps Madd Dogg exact revenge on OG Loc, and assists with retaking the Families' and the Varrios Los Aztecas' territories from the Ballas and Vagos. After tracking down Big Smoke at his fortress, CJ confronts and kills him over his betrayal. Tenpenny then arrives to claim his share of Smoke's money and kill CJ, but the latter survives and pursues Tenpenny with Sweet's help. The brothers' pursuit eventually causes Tenpenny to crash his getaway vehicle in outside CJ's family home, where he dies from his injuries. With the riots eventually over and the Families restored, CJ and his allies celebrate their success in his home. In the midst of the celebrations, CJ leaves to check things out around the neighbourhood.

### Grand Theft Auto IV

Niko Bellic, an Eastern European ex-soldier, arrives in Liberty City aboard a cargo ship, the *Platypus*, to escape his criminal past, pursue the American Dream, and search for the man who betrayed his unit in a war ten years prior. Reuniting with his cousin Roman, he discovers that his tales of riches were lies concealing his small dirty apartment, unprofitable taxi company, gambling debts, and disputes with loan sharks. Niko begins assisting Roman with his problems, which leads him to make his first criminal contacts in the city. He befriends Yardies underboss Little Jacob and is forced to work for Vlad Glebov, Roman's Russian loan shark, whom Niko eventually kills upon learning he had slept with Roman's girlfriend, Mallorie.

In retaliation, Niko and Roman are kidnapped by Russian mobsters on orders of their boss Mikhail Faustin and his lieutenant, Dimitri Rascalov. Indifferent to Vlad's murder, Faustin employs Niko as a hitman, eventually ordering him to kill the son of Russian crime lord Kenny Petrović. When Petrović threatens retaliation, Dimitri convinces Niko to assassinate Faustin. However, he betrays and brings Niko to his former employer, Ray Bulgarin, who accuses Niko of stealing from him during a botched human trafficking job years earlier. Niko denies the allegation and a firefight ensues, allowing Dimitri and Bulgarin to escape.

Dimitri's men burn down Niko and Roman's apartment and taxi company, forcing them to flee to Bohan. While Niko finds work for local drug lords, Dimitri kidnaps Roman in a failed attempt to lure Niko into a trap. Later, Niko discovers that his girlfriend Michelle is a government agent, and she entraps him into working for her agency, the United Liberty Paper. In exchange for the assassinations of several known or suspected terrorists, the agency clears Niko's criminal record and searches for the traitor he seeks. Niko and Roman's fortunes improve when the latter receives a large amount of insurance money from his destroyed business, which he uses to rebuild and buy an apartment in Algonquin. Roman also proposes to Mallorie, who accepts.

While working for the Irish Mob, Niko befriends gangster Patrick McReary and helps him, and his brothers carry out a bank robbery. Niko is later hired by Ray Boccino, a *caporegime* in the Pegorino crime family, to oversee a diamond deal, which goes awry. Boccino repays Niko by helping him find ex-comrade Florian Cravic, now known as Bernie Crane, who claims that he did not betray their unit; Niko concludes that the traitor was Darko Brevic. Niko continues working for the Mafia in Liberty City and eventually earns the trust of Don Jimmy Pegorino after killing Boccino, who was suspected of being a police informant. Niko also helps Patrick kidnap Don Giovanni Ancelotti's daughter to ransom her for the diamonds, but Bulgarin intercepts the exchange, and the diamonds are lost.

Eventually, the Paper finds Darko and brings him to Liberty City for Niko to decide his fate. Having achieved closure on his past, Niko is summoned by Pegorino for one final favour: to help with a highly lucrative heroin deal in collusion with Dimitri. Niko must either strike the deal with Dimitri or exact revenge on him. Should Niko go through with the deal, Dimitri again betrays him and keeps the heroin for himself. At Roman's wedding, an assassin sent by Dimitri accidentally kills Roman with a stray bullet. Aided by Little Jacob, a devastated Niko murders Dimitri, who in turn had killed Pegorino. Later, Mallorie informs Niko that she is pregnant with Roman's child, whom Niko vows to protect. Should Niko choose to exact revenge, he finds and kills Dimitri aboard the *Platypus*. At Roman's wedding, Pegorino targets Niko in a drive-by shooting, furious at Niko's betrayal; he accidentally kills Patrick's sister Kate, whom Niko had been dating. Aided by Little Jacob and Roman, Niko tracks down and kills Pegorino. Later, Roman tells Niko that Mallorie is pregnant and that they decided to name the baby after Kate if it is a girl.

#### The Ballad of Gay Tony

In 2008, after witnessing the robbery of the Bank of Liberty, Luis Fernando Lopez (Mario D'Leon) meets with his boss and business partner, nightclub owner "Gay" Tony Prince (David Kenner). Struggling to run the clubs Maisonette 9 and Hercules, Tony takes out loans from the Ancelotti crime family and Mori Kibbutz (Jeff Gurner) to keep them running, ending up in severe debt. Luis finds himself working with both Mori and Rocco Pelosi (Greg Siff), an Ancelotti mobster, to pay off Tony's debts. At the same time, he helps his drug-dealing friends – Armando Torres (Jaime Fernandez) and Henrique Bardas (J Salome Martinez Jr.) – out of several botched deals, and assists Yusuf Amir (Omid Djalili), an Emirati real estate developer interested in buying Tony's clubs, with a number of vehicle 'acquisitions'. Luis soon becomes annoyed with Tony's failure to stay in control of his clubs and the constant problems he brings from his debts, but eventually settles matters with Mori.

Later, Tony makes plans to buy $2 million worth of smuggled diamonds to sell them at a higher price. However, the deal is ambushed by members of The Lost biker gang, led by Johnny Klebitz (Scott Hill), resulting in the death of Tony's boyfriend Evan Moss (Robert Youells) and the loss of the diamonds. Tony soon locates the stolen diamonds, and has Luis ambush the exchange between Johnny, Niko Bellic (Michael Hollick), and the Jewish mob to take back the diamonds. During this time, Luis also takes on jobs for Russian crime lord Ray Bulgarin (Vitali Baganov), who offers to help cover Tony's debts, but turns on them when he reveals the diamonds were originally his property. Don Giovanni Ancelotti soon orders Luis and Tony to give the diamonds as a ransom payment for his daughter Gracie (Rebecca Benhayon), who was kidnapped by Niko. The diamonds are ultimately lost when Bulgarin intercepts the exchange, though Luis and Tony manage to save Gracie and return her to her father.

Rocco later meets with Luis and advises him to kill Tony to gain favour with Bulgarin, so that he will spare him. Though he contemplates doing so, Luis ultimately refuses and fends off Bulgarin's men when they attack Maisonette 9. Deciding to retaliate, Luis tells Tony to hide while he disrupts Bulgarin's drug operations. Learning that Bulgarin is preparing to leave the city, Luis pursues him with Yusuf's help and kills him aboard his private plane. Bulgarin drops a grenade in the process, destroying the plane, but Luis is able to parachute to safety. Reuniting with Tony, the pair decide to reopen the clubs, declining Yusuf's proposal to sell them to him in the process, as they prefer to keep the clubs a "family business" for the moment.

Elsewhere, the diamonds are found in the trash by a homeless Vietnam War veteran, who sells them and departs for Vice City.

#### The Lost and Damned

In 2008, Billy Grey (Lou Sumrall), president of the Lost motorcycle club's Alderney chapter, is welcomed back by his fellow gang members after his release from a court-ordered rehab. Although vice-president Johnny Klebitz (Scott Hill) is eager to resume business, Billy annoys him by breaking a truce Johnny had arranged with the Lost's rivals, the Angels of Death, during his absence. After a fellow gang member, Jason Michaels (Bill Burr), is killed in Broker, Billy blames his death on the Angels, despite the lack of concrete evidence, and orders the Lost to burn down their clubhouse in retaliation. When Johnny spots Billy and the Lost's secretary Brian Jeremy (Adrian Martinez) stealing a stash of heroin from the clubhouse after the attack, he questions the nature of Billy's orders.

Billy later arranges for Johnny to oversee a deal with a potential buyer for the stolen heroin alongside Niko Bellic (Michael Hollick) and Playboy X (Postell Pringle), two associates of drug dealer Elizabeta Torres (Charlie Parker), who helped to set up the exchange. The deal is quickly revealed to be a police bust, but Johnny manages to escape with the drugs. During this time, Johnny also provides assistance to corrupt politician Thomas Stubbs III (John Lantz), who needs help with his re-election campaign and vows to return the favour in the future. Eventually, the Lost's treasurer and Johnny's best friend Jim Fitzgerald (Chris McKinney) arrives with news that the stolen heroin belonged to the triads and advises the gang to return it to them. Billy agrees, but secretly arranges for the Triads to kill Johnny and Jim. When the Triads attack the pair during the exchange, they are forced to abandon the drugs and escape, while Billy is arrested by the police during the chaos.

Johnny takes over as club president but faces new problems from Brian, who is still faithful to Billy and holds Johnny responsible for his arrest. While contending with a civil war started by Brian, Johnny struggles to raise money for the club. He takes on several jobs from Elizabeta alongside Malc (Walter Mudu) and DeSean (Craig "muMs" Grant), two members of the Uptown Riders gang, whom he quickly befriends. Johnny also helps his junkie ex-girlfriend Ashley Butler (Traci Godfrey) pay off her debts to Russian mobster Dimitri Rascalov by kidnapping Niko's cousin Roman (Jason Zumwalt).

Eventually, Johnny kills Brian to end the war after learning where he is hiding from Pegorino Crime Family caporegime Ray Boccino (Joe Barbara), who often does deals with the Lost. In return for his help, Boccino asks the gang to steal a shipment of diamonds about to be purchased by nightclub owner "Gay" Tony Prince (David Kenner), and pass them onto Boccino's men to later retrieve. Although the theft is successful, the subsequent exchange with the Jewish mob, overseen by Johnny and Niko, is ambushed by Tony's bodyguard Luis Lopez (Mario D'Leon). During the chaos, Johnny escapes with Boccino's money, leading him to have both Johnny and Jim captured for their betrayal. The pair escape, but after Johnny deals with hitmen sent by Boccino, he learns from Ashley that Jim was killed shortly after they parted ways.

With the gang virtually weakened, Johnny receives a surprise visit from Stubbs with important news. Although Boccino is under observations by federal law enforcement and no longer poses a threat, Billy plans to exact his revenge on Johnny by turning state's evidence against the Lost, which will allow him to enter the Witness Protection Program. In response, Johnny leads the remaining Lost members in an attack on the Alderney State Correctional Facility to find and kill Billy. After executing Billy, Johnny and the survivors return to their clubhouse, only to find it vandalised by Boccino's men. The group decides to burn down the clubhouse's remains and find new pastures until they can start a new chapter of the Lost elsewhere. In the epilogue, Johnny firmly cuts his ties with Stubbs and Ashley, deciding to temporarily leave the gang to focus on financially supporting Jim's widow and child.

### Grand Theft Auto V

In 2004, Michael Townley, Trevor Philips, and Brad Snider partake in a failed robbery in Ludendorff, North Yankton, resulting in Michael being presumed dead. Nine years later, Michael lives with his family in the city of Los Santos under the alias Michael De Santa, having made a secret agreement with the Federal Investigation Bureau (FIB) agent Dave Norton to stay hidden. Across town, gangster Franklin Clinton is working for a corrupt car salesman and meets Michael while attempting to fraudulently repossess his son's car. The two later become friends. When Michael finds his wife sleeping with her tennis coach, he and Franklin chase the coach to a mansion, which Michael destroys in anger. The owner of the mansion, drug lord Martin Madrazo, demands compensation. Michael returns to a life of crime to obtain the money, enlisting Franklin as an accomplice. With the help of Michael's old friend Lester Crest, a disabled hacker, they rob a jewellery store to pay off the debt. Meanwhile, Trevor, who lives in squalor on the outskirts of Los Santos, hears of the heist and realises it was Michael's work; Trevor had believed the FIB killed Michael in the Ludendorff heist. Trevor finds Michael and reunites with him, forcing Michael to reluctantly accept him back into his life.

As time goes on, the protagonists' lives spiral out of control. Michael's criminal behaviour prompts his family to leave him. When he later becomes a movie producer, he comes into conflict with Devin Weston, a billionaire venture capitalist and corporate raider, who attempts to shut down Michael's studio. Michael thwarts his efforts and inadvertently kills his assistant, causing Devin to vow revenge. Meanwhile, Franklin must rescue his friend Lamar Davis from his former friend and rival gangster Harold "Stretch" Joseph, who attempts to kill them to prove himself to his new gang. Concurrently, Trevor tries to consolidate his control over various black markets in Blaine County, waging war against The Lost outlaw motorcycle club, Latin American street gangs, rival meth dealers, private security firm Merryweather, and triad kingpin Wei Cheng.

Having broken his agreement with Dave by committing heists again, Michael is coerced by Dave and his superior, Steve Haines, to perform a series of operations alongside Franklin and Trevor to undermine the International Affairs Agency (IAA). Under Steve's direction and with Lester's help, they attack a convoy carrying funds for the IAA and steal an experimental chemical weapon from an IAA lab. As Steve comes under increasing scrutiny, he forces Michael and Franklin to erase evidence against him from the FIB servers. Michael takes the opportunity to wipe the data on his activities, destroying Steve's leverage over him.

After reconciling with his family, Michael starts planning his final heist with Trevor, Franklin, and Lester: raiding the Union Depository's gold bullion reserve. However, Trevor discovers that Brad was not imprisoned as he was led to believe, but killed during the Ludendorff heist and buried in the grave marked for Michael. Deducing that he was supposed to be killed in Brad's place, Trevor feels betrayed and leaves Michael for dead following a standoff with Cheng's henchmen, causing friction within the group and threatening to undermine their plans. Meanwhile, Steve betrays Michael and Dave, and they become caught in a Mexican standoff between the FIB, the IAA, and Merryweather. Trevor aids Michael and Dave, feeling only he has the right to kill Michael, agreeing to perform the Union Depository heist with the latter and part ways afterwards.

The heist is successful, but Franklin is afterwards approached by Steve and Dave, who contend that Trevor is a liability, and Devin, who seeks revenge on Michael. Franklin has three choices: kill Trevor, kill Michael, or attempt to save both in a suicide mission. Should Franklin choose to kill either Michael or Trevor, he ceases contact with the man he spares and returns to his old life. Otherwise, Michael and Trevor reconcile and the trio, aided by Lamar and Lester, withstands an onslaught from the FIB and Merryweather before going on to kill Cheng, Stretch, Steve, and Devin. The three protagonists cease working together but remain friends.

### Grand Theft Auto Online

The game's narrative begins in 2013, several months before *Grand Theft Auto V*. Players take on the role of a silent protagonist who moves to Los Santos in search for new pursuits. Upon arrival, they meet with Lamar Davis (Slink Johnson), whom they befriended on Lifeinvader. After a street race against the player, Lamar introduces them to drug dealer Gerald (Douglas Powell Ward) and corrupt Armenian car salesman Simeon Yetarian (Demosthenes Chrysan) for work. As the player slowly builds up their reputation, they attract the attention of individuals like Trevor Philips (Steven Ogg), hacker Lester Crest (Jay Klaitz), and Mexican drug lord Martin Madrazo (Alfredo Huereca), who also employ them.

Eventually, the player is offered bigger job opportunities by Lester, who recruits them for several bank robberies; a shady government agent known only as Agent 14 (Ryan Farrell), who has them break a convicted spy out of prison and raid a government-run lab; and Trevor, who enlists their help with a highly profitable drug deal. Later, Lamar also hires the player for a few jobs, which mostly consist of sabotaging rival gangs to set the stage for his eventual rise to power. However, this only leads to Lamar having a falling out with his own gang, so he attempts to win back their trust, once again with the player's help. During this time, the player slowly builds up their own criminal empire, starting with an initially small organisation, which is subsequently expanded by purchasing an office and several warehouses to aid the player in the theft and sale of various goods. Some time later, the player also starts a motorcycle club and begins running additional illicit businesses.

In 2017, the player continues to expand their empire by purchasing a bunker, from where they conduct a gunrunning operation alongside Agent 14, and a hangar, to help them run a smuggling operation with Trevor's former associate Ron Jakowski (David Mogentale). In December, Lester has the player purchase an ex-government underground facility, and introduces them to billionaire Avon Hertz (Sean McGrath) and his AI network Cliffford, who recruit them to help prevent an undisclosed future catastrophic event. During their mission, the group are joined by the International Affairs Agency (IAA), including Agent 14, and clash with a rogue Russian special ops unit led by a man named Bogdan (Vyto Ruginis). However, after eliminating most of the unit, Avon and Cliffford turn on the group, revealing their true intentions to trigger a nuclear armageddon, and that they have been using everyone to gain access to the state's defence system. Now joined by Bogdan, the group works to thwart Avon and Cliffford's plot, and are ultimately successful, after the player raids their secret facility and eliminates them both.

In July 2018, the player opens a new nightclub in Los Santos with the help of former Liberty City nightclub entrepreneur "Gay" Tony Prince (David Kenner), and begins using it as a front for their illicit businesses. In December, they become a top competitor in *Arena War*, a new demolition derby-like TV series taking place at the city's Maze Bank Arena. In July 2019, the player becomes a VIP member at the newly opened Diamond Casino & Resort, and begins assisting the staff with the various problems they are facing; primarily Texan businessman Avery Duggan, who is planning a hostile takeover. After disrupting his operations and defending the casino from several attacks, the player eventually kills Duggan, allowing his nephew Thornton to buy the casino after promising not to make any major changes. In December, the player and a retired Lester plan a robbery of the casino alongside Georgina Cheng (Christina Liang), sister of former casino owner Tao (Richard Hsu), who seeks retribution against Thornton for tricking her brother into selling him the casino. The heist is carried out successfully, humiliating Thornton, while Lester enters a relationship with Georgina.

In 2020, the player conducts several new jobs for Gerald, and enters a short-lived conflict with the Kkangpae after they raid their personal yacht, which ends with the player killing the gang's leader. In December, the player is hired by Martin Madrazo's son Miguel (Robbie Gottlieb) to steal some incriminating files of his family from Juan "El Rubio" Strickler (Joseph Melendez), the world's most notorious drug dealer and the Madrazo family's main supplier, who has threatened to report them to the DEA if they do not renegotiate their prices. As El Rubio rarely leaves his private and heavily guarded island, Cayo Perico, located offshore from Colombia, the player poses as the tour manager of the music group Keinemusik after they are invited to one of El Rubio's parties, in order to gain intel on the island. Afterward, with the help of their recently purchased submarine and its one-man crew, Pavel (Brandon Beilis), they plan a robbery of El Rubio's compound. The heist is ultimately successful, as the player escapes with both the files on Madrazo and various goods.

In July 2021, the player becomes a member of the LS Car Meet, an underground meeting place for fans of custom cars and street racing. There, they are introduced to Kenny "KDJ" Dixon Jr. and Sessanta (Emana Rachelle), who provide the player with several robbery contracts after they purchase an auto shop and prove themselves to them. In December, Lamar reaches out to the player again, to persuade them to invest in the business of his old friend, Franklin Clinton (Shawn Fonteno), who has recently started a celebrity solutions agency. Franklin manages to secure their first major contract with Dr. Dre, who had his phone stolen last year and needs it recovered before the unreleased music stored on it is leaked. The player works alongside Franklin and the agency's hacker specialist, Imani (Sarita Amani Nash), to track down the phone, only to discover that three copies have been made and distributed around Los Santos. The player investigates each lead and eventually recovers the stolen music. Afterwards, Imani learns that the culprit was Johnny Guns, a records producer at odds with Dre, and that he has sent hitmen to kill Dre at his recording studio. After the player saves Dre, they help him find and confront Guns, whom Dre beats with a golf club in revenge. As a token of appreciation for their help, Dre allows the player to be the first person to listen to his newest song. Meanwhile, Lamar, upset at being left out of Franklin's new dealings, starts his own cannabis business, LD Organics. Franklin and Lamar later attempt to diversify it by making a connection with a client involved in the Epsilon program. Although the client ultimately betrays them, the pair dismantle a rival business run by the Vagos gang, and their stunts draw widespread media attention, which Lamar takes advantage of to promote his business.

In July 2022, the player is contacted by Agent ULP (Jeff Steitzer) of the IAA, with whom they previously worked during the Doomsday Heist, and sworn in as an IAA field agent so that they may investigate the recent increase of gasoline prices in San Andreas. Their investigation reveals that Mason Duggan, Thornton's younger brother, is responsible, using backup drives of Cliffford's AI bought from the Federal Investigation Bureau (FIB) to manipulate the prices and keep the Duggans' profits high. The player manages to retrieve all the backup drives and eventually intercepts a deal between Mason and the FIB, killing the former and ending the crisis. To ensure a similar incident does not occur again, Agent ULP then sends the player to Avon Hertz and Cliffford's old facility, which has been seized by the government, to retrieve the last traces of Cliffford's code. Despite an encounter with several re-activated Cliffford mercenaries, the player is successful, after which Agent ULP informs them that their services will no longer be needed and cuts ties with them.