8 mainline entries1997 — today
Grand Theft Auto
From a top-down crime spree to the biggest entertainment launch in history.
The story of the series
Grand Theft Auto began in 1997 as a crude, top-down game about stealing cars and outrunning the police — a controversy magnet that sold on sheer audacity. Under Rockstar, it grew into the defining open-world series of its era, turning each new entry into a cultural event. With GTA III in 2001, it cracked 3D and invented the modern open-city sandbox; with San Andreas it added role-playing depth; and with GTA V it became one of the best-selling games ever made. Across nearly thirty years the series has held a mirror to American excess — the crime, the media, the money — while letting players loose in cities that feel more alive than most real ones.
Every release
The release timeline
From the first cartridge to the latest entry — every mainline game in the Grand Theft Auto series, in the order it reached players.
- 1997 · PC / PS1
Grand Theft Auto
The top-down original. Steal cars, run missions, dodge the cops in a crude, freedom-first city — controversy and cult success in one cartridge.
- 1999 · PC / PS1
Grand Theft Auto 2
A near-future coat of paint on the top-down formula, with respect meters for rival gangs. The last 2D GTA before the leap to 3D.
- 2001 · PS2 / PC
Grand Theft Auto III
The revolution. A full 3D Liberty City, mission-driven storytelling, and the open-world sandbox template the entire industry would copy.
- 2002 · PS2 / PC
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
A neon-soaked 1980s Miami, a voiced protagonist, and a soundtrack that defined the era. Style as substance.
- 2004 · PS2 / Xbox / PC
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
A whole state, three cities, RPG stats, and a coming-of-age story. The peak of the PS2 era — vast, ambitious, and endlessly quotable.
- 2008 · PS3 / 360 / PC
Grand Theft Auto IV
A darker, heavier Liberty City and an immigrant story with real weight. Physics and realism over the cartoon excess of before.
- 2013 · PS3 / PS4 / PS5 / PC
Grand Theft Auto V
Three protagonists, a satirical Los Santos, and GTA Online — the mode that turned one game into a decade-long platform.
- 2026 · PS5 / Xbox Series / PC
Grand Theft Auto VI
A long-awaited return — a modern Vice City, dual protagonists, and the most detailed open world Rockstar has ever built.
How it changed
What changed across releases
The Grand Theft Auto series never stood still. Here is how it reinvented itself, era by era.
The top-down crime sandbox (1997–1999)
The first two games established the DNA — steal any car, cause any chaos, ignore the rules — in a top-down view that was crude, ugly, and thrillingly free.
The 3D breakthrough (2001–2002)
GTA III invented the 3D open-city sandbox and reshaped the industry; Vice City immediately proved the formula could carry style, voice, and a sense of place.
The maximalist PS2 era (2004)
San Andreas piled on scale — a whole state, RPG progression, and a personal story — pushing the open-world ambition to its PS2 ceiling.
The HD pivot and the online age (2008–today)
GTA IV traded cartoon for weight and realism; GTA V added three protagonists and, crucially, GTA Online — turning a single release into a living platform that has lasted over a decade and set the stage for VI.
