The History of Grand Theft Auto: From a Top-Down View to GTA VI

With pre-orders for GTA VI now open, this is a great opportunity to look back at how one of the most important gaming series in history began and how it has evolved over nearly 30 years.

You probably remember that memorable RC plane mission from Vice City, Big Smoke’s betrayal, driving through Liberty City and your first hours in Los Santos. Over the years, GTA has grown from a 2D top-down game into a series of enormous open worlds where it is easy to lose dozens of hours.

We look back at the evolution of the Grand Theft Auto series on our website. Follow the link in our Stories.

Grand Theft Auto

The first Grand Theft Auto was released in 1997. Players could explore three cities — Liberty City, Vice City and San Andreas — inspired by New York, Miami and San Francisco. Unlike later entries, the game featured 2D graphics and a top-down camera.

At an early stage, the project was called Race’n’Chase and focused on a confrontation between police officers and criminals. During development, the creators gradually shifted their attention towards the criminal side of the game, free exploration of the city and completing different missions.

The original GTA later received the London 1969 expansion, followed by the free London 1961 mission pack for PC. They remain the only releases in the series to take place entirely in a real city outside the United States.

Grand Theft Auto 2

GTA 2 was released in 1999 and retained the 2D top-down perspective while significantly expanding on the ideas of the first game. Its main innovation was a relationship system involving criminal gangs.

Players could work for different factions, complete their missions and increase their level of respect. A strong reputation unlocked more difficult assignments, but working with one gang damaged relations with its rivals. If respect dropped too low, hostile gang members would begin attacking the protagonist in the streets.

Anywhere City featured seven gangs spread across three districts. The player did not become a full member of the gang, but could complete its missions and earn respect.

Grand Theft Auto III

GTA III was released in 2001 and became the biggest turning point in the history of the series. For the first time, players received a fully 3D version of Liberty City that could be freely explored on foot or by car.

The game retained the familiar freedom of action but transferred it into a much livelier and more detailed world. Radio stations, changing weather, traffic, pedestrians and police chases created the feeling of a real city.

The main character, Claude, did not say a single word throughout the game. GTA III also became one of the most influential games of its generation and helped establish the familiar formula of modern open-world action games.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

In 2002, the series moved to Vice City, a city inspired by 1980s Miami. Its vibrant colour palette, neon streets and licensed soundtrack made it one of the most recognisable locations in GTA history.

The main character, Tommy Vercetti, was voiced by Ray Liotta, known for his role in Goodfellas. Vice City became the first game in the series to feature a fully voiced protagonist.

The developers paid particular attention to the radio stations. The soundtrack featured Michael Jackson, Iron Maiden, Blondie, A Flock of Seagulls and many other artists, with the music helping to capture the atmosphere of the era.

Portable Games

Grand Theft Auto Advance was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2004 and returned the series to a top-down camera. Rockstar later released Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories for the PlayStation Portable, serving as prequels to GTA III and Vice City.

Chinatown Wars followed in 2009 and was designed for the Nintendo DS. It combined a top-down perspective with fully 3D environments and made extensive use of the touchscreen for breaking into cars, searching for items and performing other actions.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

San Andreas was released in 2004 and significantly expanded the scale of the series. Instead of a single city, players received an entire state featuring Los Santos, San Fierro, Las Venturas, deserts, forests and small settlements.

The game allowed players to change CJ’s appearance and physical condition. He could gain weight, build muscle and improve his skills with weapons and vehicles. His condition affected not only his appearance but also certain lines of dialogue from other characters.

San Andreas remained the best-selling PlayStation 2 game for many years, with total sales exceeding 35 million copies. The title of the most successful entry in the series later passed to GTA V.

Grand Theft Auto IV

The series returned to Liberty City in 2008. GTA IV featured more realistic physics, a darker atmosphere and a more serious story.

The game used the RAGE engine and the Euphoria animation system. This allowed characters to react differently to collisions, falls and objects in the environment, making many situations less predictable than in earlier entries.

GTA IV received two standalone expansions: The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony. Their events took place alongside the main story, while some missions showed the same moments from the perspectives of different characters.

Grand Theft Auto V

GTA V was released in 2013 and, for the first time, introduced three main characters who could be switched between at almost any moment. Each character had their own abilities, missions and lifestyle.

The game has appeared across three generations of consoles: PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and later PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. By 2026, sales of GTA V had approached 230 million copies.

The project became one of the biggest commercial successes in the entertainment industry. GTA V needed only three days to generate one billion dollars in revenue. At the time the record was set, no video game, film or other entertainment product had reached that milestone faster.

GTA Online arrived with the fifth instalment. It originally served as GTA V’s online mode, but eventually developed into a constantly evolving online platform featuring heists, businesses, races and regular updates.

Grand Theft Auto VI

GTA VI will return players to a modern version of Vice City and the state of Leonida. Jason and Lucia will serve as the main characters, with a woman becoming one of two central protagonists in a mainline GTA game for the first time.

The first GTA VI trailer received more than 93 million views on YouTube during its first 24 hours and set a record for the debut of a non-music video. According to Take-Two, the second trailer generated more than 475 million views across different platforms within 24 hours.

Grand Theft Auto VI will be released on November 19, 2026. Pre-orders are already open for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. A PC version has not yet been officially announced.

Over the course of its history, Grand Theft Auto has grown from an unusual 2D action game into one of the most important franchises in the global gaming industry. Combined sales of all games in the series have surpassed 470 million copies, while GTA VI is preparing to begin the next chapter of its history.