When it comes to open-world sandbox games, nothing comes close to touching the size, scope, and pure chaotic fun of Grand Theft Auto. Few other games even attempt to offer as much freedom in their world, let alone actually pull it off with as much polish as Rockstar. This one game is single handedly responsible for the boom ofopen-world games, with copycats still trying to sell even a fraction of what GTA does. Unlike other juggernaut franchises likeCall of Duty, GTA releases are years apart and all the more special for it.
Set in a parody of our own world, each GTA game so far has featured a new protagonist (or protagonists) wrapped up in their own crime-filled adventure. Even though there isn’t one overarching plot like there is inMetroid, these games all do take place in the same world and there are some crossovers that tie things together. If you’re looking to live out your wildest crime fantasies in the safety of a digital world, here’s how to play all the GTA games in order, chronologically and by release.
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1Grand Theft Auto: London 1961
Going all the way back to when GTA was a 2D, top-down game, GTA: London 1961 is an expansion for the first game in the series. Not many people ever experienced this since it was a PC-exclusive addition, so PlayStation players never had access to it. There’s little to say about the short story here except you do various jobs to rise through the ranks of a London mob.
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2Grand Theft Auto: London 1968
Don’t expect this timeline to keep being as simple as reading the year at the end of the titles. This is yet another expansion for the first GTA and has some small ties to characters from 1961, but otherwise is not connected to the main series at all.
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3Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Originally a PSP game that later got a PS2 port, Vice City Stories is a prequel to Vice City with a new protagonist named Victor Vance. He and his brother Lance are on a quest to start their own criminal operation after he was dishonorably discharged from the military. Many side characters from Vice City show up, and the game ends right as that one begins.
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4Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
In large part due to the setting and vibes of Vice City in the mid-80s, this entry has become many people’s top GTA game of all time. Set in the titular Vice City, you play as Tony Vercetti fresh out of jail and assigned by his boss in Liberty City to establish the drug trade, Things go sideways fast, as they always do, and he must navigate the underworld and take on the current gang bosses to survive.
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5Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Taking a different approach to the crime series, San Andreas is more focused on street-level gang warfare. You take control of CJ who is just coming back to town after his mother had been murdered by a rival gang. Joining up with his local gang, he swears revenge on those who killed her but ends up getting wrapped up in a much bigger conspiracy.
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6Grand Theft Auto
The very first GTA game takes place in three cities that would go on to become staples of the franchise: Liberty City, San Andreas, and Vice City. You play a nameless criminal pulling off various heists, jobs, and hits for various gang leaders.
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7Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
Another PSP prequel game, but also thankfully ported to the PS2 as well, Liberty City Stories features yet another protagonist with the most Italian-inspired name, Toni Cipriani who is a secondary character in GTA 3. Here, he has just rejoined the life of crime with the Leone family after murdering a made man.
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8Grand Theft Auto Advance
GTA Advance is as loosely tied to the series as possible. We’re back in Liberty City as a man named Mike seeking revenge for the murder of his partner Vinnie. It’s very basic like the original 2D games, but neat to have a portable GTA.
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9Grand Theft Auto 3
GTA 3 is where the series truly begins for most people. This was the first 3D entry in the series and gave us a fully realized Liberty City to explore as Claude. We pick up with the robber after a 10-year prison sentence as he starts his new life with the mafia.
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10Grand Theft Auto 4
GTA 4 was the biggest thing in the world when it came out. After three amazing games on the PS2 generation, GTA 4 blew all expectations for gameplay and storytelling out of the water using the power of the PS3 and 360 hardware. It’s still an impressive achievement today to explore Liberty City and well worth experiencing if you can.
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