All GTA Games in Order: Every Release From 1997 to GTA 6

The short answer

There are six numbered Grand Theft Auto games, from Grand Theft Auto in 1997 to Grand Theft Auto VI on November 19, 2026. In between sit unnumbered games such as Vice City and San Andreas, plus expansions and handheld entries.

Every GTA game in release order

Dates are the month of first release on the first platforms. Settings and lead characters follow Rockstar’s own game pages.

A few notes:

• The original game came out internationally first; North America got it in June 1998. Vice City reached North American stores on October 29, 2002, and Europe on November 8.
• The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony started as Xbox 360 downloads, then came out together on disc as Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City on October 29, 2009.
• Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories were later released on PlayStation 2, and Chinatown Wars came to PSP and iOS.

The 2D era: 1997–1999

The first three games were played from a top-down view. The original Grand Theft Auto launched internationally in November 1997 and reached North America in June 1998. Its manual promises “three of America’s toughest cities”, and the city maps packed with the game and publisher BMG Interactive’s website named them: Liberty City, San Andreas and Vice City. San Andreas was still a single city then; it became a whole state in 2004’s San Andreas.

In 1999 came the London 1969 expansion, set in London, followed in October by Grand Theft Auto 2. Rockstar’s page for GTA 2 sets it up this way: “Seven ruthless gangs are involved in a ruthless power struggle and it is up to you to make a name for yourself.” None of these games has a named lead; Rockstar’s descriptions simply address the player as “you”.

The 3D era: 2001–2006

Grand Theft Auto III (October 2001) took the series into 3D. Rockstar’s description opens with “Welcome to Liberty City. Where it all began.” and calls it “the game that defined the open-world genre for a generation.” The lead character is Claude.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (October 2002) opens with “Welcome to the 1980s.” Its lead is Tommy Vercetti, and the story takes place in Vice City.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (October 2004) widened the map to a whole state. In Rockstar’s words: “Now, it’s the early ’90s.” The lead is Carl “CJ” Johnson.

Three handheld games came out in the same period: Grand Theft Auto Advance on Game Boy Advance (2004), and Liberty City Stories (2005, starring Toni Cipriani) and Vice City Stories (2006, starring Vic Vance) on PSP. Rockstar’s description of Vice City Stories begins “Vice City, 1984.”

On November 11, 2021, Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition brought remastered versions of III, Vice City and San Andreas to PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One and PC.

The HD era: 2008 to today

Grand Theft Auto IV (April 29, 2008) launched worldwide on the same day on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and returned to Liberty City. Its lead, Niko Bellic, is a new arrival from Europe chasing the American Dream. Its two expansions follow biker Johnny Klebitz and Luis Lopez, and Chinatown Wars, also from 2009, follows Huang Lee through Liberty City in search of honor, wealth and revenge.

Grand Theft Auto V (September 17, 2013) has three switchable lead characters: Franklin Clinton, Michael De Santa and Trevor Philips. It is set in Los Santos and Blaine County to the north. Take-Two said it made more than $800 million in retail sales on its first day and passed $1 billion in three days. It later came to PS4 and Xbox One (November 2014), PC (April 2015) and PS5 and Xbox Series X|S (March 2022), and had sold in more than 230 million units by June 30, 2026.

GTA Online launched on October 1, 2013, also set in Southern San Andreas, with players creating their own character.

GTA VI: November 19, 2026

Grand Theft Auto VI releases on November 19, 2026 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. It is set in the state of Leonida and Vice City, with Lucia Caminos and Jason Duval as its leads. Rockstar’s pre-order announcement states that “Grand Theft Auto VI is a single player experience.”

Two details in Rockstar’s material point back to earlier games. Lucia’s bio mentions “the good life her mom has dreamed of since their days in Liberty City”, and the Ultimate Edition revolvers have “classic Vice City stylings sourced from the Vercetti Estate.” Whether the story connects to earlier games, Rockstar has not said; see does GTA 6 take place after GTA 5?

For the date, editions and pre-orders, see GTA 6 release date.

Where the three cities appear

Players and press generally read Liberty City as New York, Vice City as Miami and Los Santos as Los Angeles, but Rockstar has always treated them as fictional places. Take-Two’s launch announcement for GTA V describes its setting as “a satirical reimagining of modern day Southern California.”

Are all GTA games in the same universe?

No. Answering fan questions in 2011, Rockstar said “the ‘universes’ are the worlds interpreted at different definitions, 2d, 3d and high definition,” adding that “we don’t believe any GTA3 characters could exist in the GTA4 universe.” In 2009 it had already said the GTA III timeline is “a different world to Grand Theft Auto IV - only the branding and certain radio personalities exist across both worlds.”

Dan Houser put it more bluntly in a 2012 interview with Official PlayStation Magazine UK: “The five PS2 games are one universe, and this is the high definition universe, so they don’t co-exist. You would never see CJ or Tommy Vercetti.”

That is where the fan labels “2D universe”, “3D universe” and “HD universe” come from. By that split, GTA IV and GTA V belong to the HD world. Rockstar has not said which world GTA VI belongs to.

Related pages

• GTA 6 vs GTA 5: every confirmed difference, side by side
• Does GTA 6 take place after GTA 5?: story, universe and old characters
• GTA 6 release date: November 19, and how the date moved twice
• Vice City: what Rockstar has shown of the city in GTA 6
• GTA 6 map: the six regions of Leonida
• Lucia Caminos: the first female lead in a mainline GTA
• GTA 6 map size: what has and hasn’t been announced

Sources

• Rockstar Games: game pages (descriptions, release dates and lead characters)
• Rockstar Games: Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition
• Take-Two: fiscal 2027 first-quarter report (10-Q) (series and GTA V sell-in)
• Take-Two: GTA V first-day sales announcement (September 18, 2013)
• Take-Two: GTA V three-day sales announcement (September 20, 2013)
• Take-Two: GTA V launch announcement (September 17, 2013)
• Take-Two: fiscal 2002 annual report (GTA III and Vice City release timing)
• BMG Interactive: original Grand Theft Auto city pages (1999, archived)
• Rockstar Newswire: GTA III questions answered (December 15, 2011)
• Rockstar Newswire: Asked & Answered (September 18, 2009)
• Official PlayStation Magazine UK: Dan Houser interview (November 8, 2012, archived)
• Rockstar Newswire: Grand Theft Auto VI pre-order announcement
• Rockstar Games: Only in Leonida