177-405: Grand Theft Auto ( GTA ) is an action-adventure video game series created by David Jones and Mike Dailly . Later titles were developed under the oversight of brothers Dan and Sam Houser , Leslie Benzies and Aaron Garbut. It is primarily developed by British development house Rockstar North (formerly DMA Design), and published by its American parent company, Rockstar Games . The name of
354-594: A Liberty City expansion. A new version, commonly referred to as "Expanded & Enhanced", was announced in June 2020. Released on 15 March 2022 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S , it features technical enhancements and performance updates. A trailer released for the new version in September 2021 was met with negativity, becoming one of the most-disliked videos on PlayStation 's YouTube channel; journalists noted that fans were frustrated by Rockstar's continued focus on
531-415: A cover system may be used to assist against enemies. Should players take damage, their health meter will gradually regenerate to its halfway point. Players respawn at hospitals when their health depletes. If players commit crimes, law enforcement may respond as indicated by a " wanted " meter in the heads-up display (HUD). Stars displayed on the meter indicate the current wanted level (for example, at
708-619: A fantasy " setting. Tutankham , debuted by Konami in January 1982, was an action-adventure released for arcades . It combined maze, shoot 'em up, puzzle-solving and adventure elements, with a 1983 review by Computer and Video Games magazine calling it "the first game that effectively combined the elements of an adventure game with frenetic shoot 'em up gameplay." It inspired the similar Time Bandit (1983). Action Quest , released in May 1982, blended puzzle elements of adventure games into
885-446: A joystick -controlled, arcade-style action game, which surprised reviewers at the time. While noting some similarities to Adventure , IGN argues that The Legend of Zelda (1986) by Nintendo "helped to establish a new subgenre of action-adventure", becoming a success due to how it combined elements from different genres to create a compelling hybrid, including exploration, adventure-style inventory puzzles , an action component,
1062-566: A monetary system , and simplified RPG-style level building without the experience points . The Legend of Zelda series was the most prolific action-adventure game franchise through to the 2000s. Roe R. Adams also cited the arcade-style side-scrolling fantasy games Castlevania (1986), Trojan (1986) and Wizards & Warriors (1987) as early examples of action-adventure games. Games like Brain Breaker (1985), Xanadu (1985), Metroid (1986) and Vampire Killer (1986) combined
1239-578: A remastered version of the trilogy, using Unreal Engine ; following some leaks, Rockstar officially announced Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition on 8 October 2021. The game features graphical and gameplay upgrades, and replaced existing versions on digital retailers. It was released for the Nintendo Switch , PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on 11 November 2021, and for Android and iOS on 14 December 2023. Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City
1416-507: A special edition with extra in-game features. They ran a viral marketing strategy with a website for a fictional religious cult, "The Epsilon Program", that offered users the chance to feature in the game as members of the cult. A re-release of the game was announced for PlayStation 4 , Windows , and Xbox One at E3 2014 . This enhanced version features an increased draw distance, finer texture details, denser traffic, upgraded weather effects, and new wildlife and vegetation. It includes
1593-546: A stock market . Players may purchase properties such as garages and businesses, upgrade the weapons and vehicles in each character's arsenal, and customise their appearance by purchasing outfits, haircuts and tattoos. In 2004, criminals 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
1770-759: A subgenre of open world action-adventure video games in the third-person perspective . They are characterized by their likeness to the Grand Theft Auto series in either gameplay or overall design. In these types of open world games, players may find and use a variety of vehicles and weapons while roaming freely in an open world setting. Metroidvania is a portmanteau of Metroid and Castlevania ; such games are sometimes referred to as "search action", and are generally based on two-dimensional platformers. They emphasize both exploration and puzzle-solving with traditional platform gameplay. Survival horror games emphasize "inventory management" and making sure
1947-456: A "colossal feat of technical engineering". It became the second-ever western-developed game to be awarded a perfect score from the Japanese video game magazine Famitsu , after The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim . CNET felt that the game encouraged players to engage with all three characters. Edge found that switching players helped avoid long travel times to mission start points. Because of
SECTION 10
#17328450985942124-428: A basic simulation of a working city, complete with pedestrians who generally obey traffic signals. Further details are used to flesh out an open-ended atmosphere that has been used in several other games, such as The Simpsons: Hit & Run , which has less emphasis on crime or violence, and Lego City Undercover , which reverses the roles of police officer and criminal, although the player goes undercover in gangs for
2301-598: A billionaire venture capitalist and corporate raider , who attempts to shut down Michael's studio. Michael thwarts his efforts and inadvertently kills his lawyer, to which Devin vows revenge. Meanwhile, Franklin has to rescue his friend Lamar Davis from rival gangbanger Harold "Stretch" Joseph, who attempts to kill him multiple times. Concurrently, Trevor tries to consolidate his control over various black markets in Blaine County, waging war against The Lost outlaw motorcycle club , Latino street gangs, rival meth dealers,
2478-625: A character in the game is based on her likeness and story and was depicted without her consent. Rockstar filed to dismiss Gravano's lawsuit in April, and stated that the allegations are foreclosed by the First Amendment . In July, actress Lindsay Lohan filed a lawsuit, claiming elements in the game, including the Lacey Jonas character, were influenced by her image, voice and clothing line without permission. Rockstar responded in court papers that sought
2655-545: A choice of what to say. The NPC gives a scripted response to the player, and the game offers the player several new ways to respond. Due to the action-adventure subgenre's broad and inclusive nature, it causes some players to have difficulty finishing a particular game. Companies have devised ways to give the player help, such as offering clues or allowing the player to skip puzzles to compensate for this lack of ability. Brett Weiss cites Atari 's Superman (1979) as an action-adventure game, with Retro Gamer crediting it as
2832-474: A combination of complex story elements, which are often displayed for players using audio and video. The story is heavily reliant upon the player character's movement, which triggers story events and thus affects the flow of the game. Popular examples of action-adventure games include The Legend of Zelda , God of War , and Tomb Raider series. There is a good deal of controversy over what actually constitutes an action-adventure game. One definition of
3009-448: A complex text parser and no free-moving character. While they share general gameplay dynamics, action-adventures vary widely in the design of their viewpoints, including bird's eye , side-scrolling, first-person, third-person , over-the-shoulder, or even a 3/4 isometric view . Many action-adventure games simulate a conversation through a conversation tree . When the player encounters a non-player character , they are allowed to select
3186-580: A different setting – a fictional version of London – and new missions and characters. Grand Theft Auto Advance , released in 2004 exclusively for the Game Boy Advance , featured a top-down perspective , similarly to the first two main games in the series, and the same setting as Grand Theft Auto III , to which it served as a prequel. Three games were released for the PlayStation Portable : Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories in 2005, which
3363-437: A dismissal of the case, saying that the case was frivolous and filed for publicity purposes. In 2016, both lawsuits were dismissed. Within 24 hours of its release, Grand Theft Auto V generated more than US$ 815 million in worldwide revenue, equating to approximately 11.21 million copies sold for Take-Two Interactive. The numbers nearly doubled analysts' expectations for the title. Three days after its release,
3540-422: A euphemism for sex used in the game). These mini-games were left partially intact in the game's code. This prompted application of an AO (Adults Only) ESRB rating to the version of the game containing the leftover code. Take-Two Interactive was forced to re-release the game in order to restore the M (Mature) rating. A class action lawsuit against Take-Two was also filed as a result of the "Hot Coffee" code. One of
3717-448: A few small towns. This version of San Andreas is currently the only setting in the series that doesn't feature any map limitations, allowing players to explore the entire island at the beginning of the game. Los Angeles was extensively researched for Grand Theft Auto V . The team organised field research trips with tour guides and architectural historians and captured around 250,000 photos and hours of video footage during these visits. Since
SECTION 20
#17328450985943894-406: A game on their platform. They didn't want us to make a Grand Theft Auto for kids, and we weren't interested in making a game we wouldn't normally make. Action-adventure video game An action-adventure game is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Typically, classical adventure games have situational problems for
4071-517: A game with a mix of elements from an action game and an adventure game , especially crucial elements like puzzles inspired by older adventure games. Action-adventures require many of the same physical skills as action games, but may also offer a storyline, numerous characters, an inventory system, dialogue, and other features of adventure games. They are typically faster-paced than pure adventure games, because they include both physical and conceptual challenges. Action-adventure games normally include
4248-470: A gamepad was necessary for "the best experience". PC Gamer called the game "the most beautiful, expansive and generous" of the series. On the game's multiplayer, IGN reported low player counts in matches, long wait times in lobbies, server disconnection and occasional crashes. "Because of that," they wrote, "I can't strongly recommend ... the multiplayer experience alone". VideoGamer.com found online character progression streamlined by comparison with
4425-481: A hostage interrogation , unsettled reviewers. They noted its political commentary on the use of torture by the United States government but found the sequence to be in poor taste. GameSpot felt that placing the torture scene in context with an analogous monologue by Trevor created a hypocrisy in the mission's function as a commentary device. Eurogamer felt the close-up camera and quick time events accentuated
4602-483: A large amount of freedom to the player. Traditional action games are structured as a single track series of levels with linear gameplay , but in Grand Theft Auto the player can determine the missions that they want to undertake, and their relationship with various characters are changed based on these choices. Influenced by the earlier game Turbo Esprit , the cities of the games can be roamed freely at any point in
4779-439: A large body of water and connected to each other and to two smaller islands, Starfish Island and Prawn Island, by a series of road bridges. At the beginning of the game, the player only has access to Vice City Beach, with the rest of the city being gradually unlocked as the story progresses. The same setting would be later used in the prequel Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (set in 1984), albeit with several changes to reflect
4956-453: A large landmass in the southeast, while Bohan forms its own, smaller island in the northeast, and Algonquin acts as the city's central island. The setting also incorporates three smaller islands—Charge Island ( Randall's Island ), Colony Island ( Roosevelt Island ), and Happiness Island ( Liberty Island )—and a fourth landmass, Alderney, which is located west of Algonquin and regarded as its own independent state (similarly to New Jersey). Alderney
5133-507: A large map encompassing three cities and surrounding rural area. Two main instalments were published for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 . The 2008 title Grand Theft Auto IV focused on realism and detail, removing various customisation features, while adding an online multiplayer mode. Grand Theft Auto V , published in 2013, featured three playable protagonists. It was released to massive financial success, breaking multiple records. It
5310-419: A more developed storyline in which they are forced to overcome an unfortunate event (e.g., being betrayed and left for dead), which serves as motivation for the character to advance up the criminal ladder and ultimately leads to the triumph of the character by the end of the storyline. The Grand Theft Auto series belongs to a genre of free-roaming role-playing video games called open world games, and grants
5487-405: A new film titled Grand Theft Auto "; it claimed to have successfully taken legal action against similar attempts in the past. Each game in this series allows the player to take on the role of a criminal in the big city, typically an individual who ends up rising through the ranks of organised crime through the course of the game. The player is given various missions by kingpins and major idols in
Grand Theft Auto - Misplaced Pages Continue
5664-434: A new on-foot first-person view option, which required the development team to overhaul the animation system to accommodate first-person gameplay. The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions were released on 18 November 2014. The PC version, initially scheduled for simultaneous release with the console versions, was delayed until 14 April 2015. According to Rockstar, it required extra development time for "polish". The PC version
5841-435: A number of different time periods. The games are split into three different universes (2D, 3D, and HD), each with their own reinterpretations of previously established settings. The universes share the names of cities, several brands, and background characters who never make physical appearances in the games (with a few exceptions), but are otherwise considered to be separate continuities. Liberty City, based on New York City ,
6018-404: A portion of the game. Criminal activities in Grand Theft Auto games do not go unnoticed by the police. As the player engages in these in-game illegal activities, they may gain a "wanted level", represented by a maximum of five or six stars. A small crime, such as running over a non-player character , may create a one star wanted level situation, while shooting an officer may earn more stars. As
6195-705: A side-scrolling platformer format with adventure exploration, creating the Metroidvania platform-adventure subgenre. Similarly, games like 005 (1981), Castle Wolfenstein and Metal Gear (1987) combined action-adventure exploration with stealth mechanics, laying the foundations for the stealth game subgenre, which would later be popularized in 1998 with the releases of Metal Gear Solid , Tenchu: Stealth Assassins , and Thief: The Dark Project . The cinematic platformer Prince of Persia (1989) featured action-adventure elements, inspiring games such as Another World (1991) and Flashback (1992). Alone in
6372-400: A single avatar as the protagonist . This type of game is often quite similar to role-playing video games . They are distinct from graphic adventures , which sometimes have free-moving central characters, but also a wider variety of commands and fewer or no action game elements and are distinct too from text adventures , characterized by many different commands introduced by the user via
6549-536: A state rather than a city. Based on California and Nevada , the state encompasses two landmasses, separated by a river and surrounded by a large body of water. The southern portion of the map features the cities of Los Santos (based on Los Angeles ) and San Fierro (San Francisco), separated by vast forest and mountain areas. By contrast, the northern portion is one large desert region and incorporates only one city, Las Venturas ( Las Vegas ). Both landmasses feature additional rural settlements, which are less inhabited than
6726-401: A state. The game features only the southern portion of the state, which is depicted as a large island. The southern portion of the island is occupied mostly by the city of Los Santos (which resembles Los Angeles much more closely than its San Andreas counterpart), while the northern portion, known as Blaine County, is less inhabited, featuring vast areas of desert, forest, and mountain, and only
6903-410: A technical patch on 5 October in an effort to resolve the issues, but problems persisted the second week as some players reported their character progress as having disappeared. Another technical patch was released on 10 October combating the issues, and Rockstar offered a GTA$ 500,000 (in-game currency) stimulus to the accounts of all players connected to Online since launch as recompense. Because of
7080-424: A wide variety of crimes and violent acts while dealing with only temporary consequences, including the killing of policemen and military personnel. The sixth game in the series, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City , also came under criticism. One mission in particular, in which the player must instigate a gang war between Haitian and Cuban gangs, has been controversial. Haitian and Cuban anti-defamation groups criticised
7257-572: Is a compilation of III , Vice City , and San Andreas , and was first released in 2005 for the Xbox. It was later re-released for the PlayStation 2, Windows, Mac OS X, and PlayStation 4. The Trilogy also served as the revised package for San Andreas , which had to be pulled from shelves due to the controversial Hot Coffee mod . A report in August 2021 suggested that Rockstar Dundee was leading development on
Grand Theft Auto - Misplaced Pages Continue
7434-501: Is a standalone compilation of the two episodes for Grand Theft Auto IV . It contains both The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony on one disc. It was released on 29 October 2009 for the Xbox 360 and on 13 April 2010 for PlayStation 3 and Windows. Microsoft added Episodes from Liberty City to its backwards compatibility list for Xbox One platforms in February 2017. The standalone release of Episodes from Liberty City for Windows
7611-468: Is absent in Chinatown Wars . All islands, barring Happiness Island, are connected by road bridges, underground tunnels, and a subway system ; none of which lead out of the city. San Andreas, based on San Francisco , is one of the three original cities introduced in Grand Theft Auto . It is the second setting available to the player. The locale encompasses two landmasses: a large northern portion, which
7788-440: Is afterwards approached by Steve and Dave, who contend that Trevor is a liability, and Devin, still seeking vengeance on Michael. Franklin has three options: kill Trevor, kill Michael, or attempt to save both in a suicide mission . Should Franklin choose to kill either Michael or Trevor, his relationship with the other ceases, and he returns to his old life. Otherwise, the trio, aided by Lamar and Lester, withstand an onslaught from
7965-422: Is also a prequel to Grand Theft Auto III ; Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories in 2006, which is a prequel to Vice City ; and Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars in 2009, which features the same setting as Grand Theft Auto IV , but the two games are otherwise unrelated. Both Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories were later ported to the PlayStation 2, while Chinatown Wars was originally released for
8142-729: Is an action game that includes situational problem-solving. Adventure gamers may also be purists, rejecting any game that makes use of physical challenges or time pressure. Regardless, the action-adventure label is prominent in articles over the internet and media. The term "action-adventure" is usually substituted for a particular subgenre due to its wide scope. Although action-adventure games are diverse and difficult to classify, there are some distinct subgenres. Many games with gameplay similar to those in The Legend of Zelda series are called Zelda clones or Zelda -like games. Popular subgenres include: A Grand Theft Auto clone belongs to
8319-503: Is being used and regenerates when players perform skilful actions (for example, drifting in vehicles as Franklin or performing headshots as Michael). While free-roaming the game world, players may engage in context-specific activities such as scuba diving and BASE jumping , and visit businesses such as cinemas and strip clubs . Each character has a smartphone for contacting friends, starting activities and accessing an in-game Internet. The Internet lets players trade in stocks via
8496-621: Is capable of 60 frames per second gameplay at 4K resolution , and the Rockstar Editor lets players capture and edit gameplay videos. Plans to develop single-player downloadable content (DLC) were later scrapped as the team focused resources on Grand Theft Auto Online and Red Dead Redemption 2 . After Grand Theft Auto V ' s source code reportedly leaked online on 24 December 2023, possibly originating from members of Lapsus$ , dataminers found at least eight sets of single-player DLC were in development but cancelled, including
8673-528: Is coming, implying that the year is 1999. Grand Theft Auto V features the fictional town of Ludendorff in the state of North Yankton, which is the setting of two missions and is inaccessible outside of the storyline. The 2020 update for Grand Theft Auto Online , The Cayo Perico Heist , introduced the eponymous fictional island, a "tropical paradise" off the Caribbean coast of Colombia privately owned by notorious drug lord Juan "El Rubio" Strickler. The island
8850-490: Is divided into fifteen districts and generally considered to be the city's core, and a smaller island in the southeast, consisting of only one district, which acts as the city's docks area. The northern landmass is further divided by Aye Valley, which cuts through the heart of the area from the east to the west. A reimagined version of San Andreas was featured in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (set in 1992), as
9027-429: Is divided into two parts: the first part discusses the controversies surrounding the series, while the second half takes a theoretical look at the games absent of the controversy. Roger Corman , who produced the unrelated 1977 film Grand Theft Auto , claimed that any attempted film adaptation of the video game series was unable to proceed. In 2017, he claimed that he sued the "video game manufacturer who flat-out stole
SECTION 50
#17328450985949204-471: Is impassable by the player. This particular version of Liberty City returned in the prequels Grand Theft Auto Advance (set in 2000) and Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (set in 1998), albeit with several changes to reflect the different time periods. The city was also mentioned in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas , and was the setting of a mission in
9381-444: Is navigated on foot and by vehicle, from either a third-person or first-person perspective. Players control the protagonists throughout single-player and switch among them, both during and outside missions. The story is centred on the heist sequences, and many missions involve shooting and driving gameplay. A "wanted" system governs the aggression of law enforcement response to players who commit crimes. In Grand Theft Auto Online ,
9558-461: Is one of the three original cities introduced in Grand Theft Auto . It is the first setting available to the player. The city encompasses two landmasses (a large one in the southeast and a smaller one in the northeast) and a Manhattan -like central island; two smaller islands are featured along the river that separates the three main islands. The setting also incorporates the neighbouring state of New Guernsey (a parody of New Jersey ), which occupies
9735-484: Is scheduled to be released in 2025. Grand Theft Auto V is an action-adventure game played from either a third-person or first-person perspective . Players complete missions—linear scenarios with set objectives—to progress through the story. Outside of the missions, players may freely roam the open world . Composed of the San Andreas open countryside area, and its fictional Blaine County and city of Los Santos,
9912-465: Is the highest-rated PlayStation 4 and Xbox One game on Metacritic alongside Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption 2 , and the second-highest rated PC game alongside several others. Game Informer considered the addition of first-person "another significant breakthrough for the series" in the vein of Grand Theft Auto III 's shift to third-person from Grand Theft Auto 's bird's-eye view. GameSpot found that playing in first-person heightened
10089-549: Is the most controversial video game series in history, with over 4,000 articles published about it, which include accusations of glamorising violence, corrupting gamers, and connection to real life crimes. The game was controversial from the first incarnation of the series. Grand Theft Auto was condemned in Britain, Germany, and France due to its "extreme violence", and Brazil banned it outright. Publicist Max Clifford planted sensational stories in tabloids in order to help sell
10266-548: Is the third setting available to the player. The city encompasses one large landmass, divided into eight districts which form the city's core, and a smaller island, Vice Beach, in the northeast. Like its real-life counterpart, Vice City is depicted as a tropical city, easily distinguished from the other two in the game by its beaches and palm trees. A redesigned version of Vice City was introduced in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (set in 1986). The city consists of two main landmasses, Vice City Beach and Vice City Mainland, separated by
10443-500: Is used as both a transshipment base and a partying place by El Rubio, and draws inspiration from Norman's Cay and Hacienda Nápoles . Cayo Perico is the first setting in the series not located in the United States since London. The series has included a wide variety of voice actors . The original Grand Theft Auto , its mission packs and its sequel , as well as Grand Theft Auto Advance and Chinatown Wars did not feature any voice credited to specific roles. The first game in
10620-508: The Uncharted franchise, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Ark: Survival Evolved . Grand Theft Auto V Grand Theft Auto V is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games . It is the seventh main entry in the Grand Theft Auto series , following 2008's Grand Theft Auto IV , and the fifteenth instalment overall. Set within
10797-413: The 16-bit era . The games in the Grand Theft Auto series are set in fictional locales modelled after real-life cities, at various points in time from the early 1960s to the 2010s. The original game's map encompassed three cities—Liberty City (based on New York City ), San Andreas (based on San Francisco ), and Vice City (based on Miami )—but later titles tend to focus on a single setting and expand upon
SECTION 60
#173284509859410974-789: The BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award at the 10th British Academy Video Games Awards . Various in-game elements were recognised with awards. Trevor was named Best Character for the Official Xbox Magazine 's Game of the Year Awards 2013, while Lamar Davis won the Best New Character award from Giant Bomb . The music received awards from Spike VGX, Hardcore Gamer and The Daily Telegraph . Grand Theft Auto Online won Best Multiplayer from GameTrailers and BAFTA, and Best Xbox 360 Multiplayer from IGN . Online
11151-569: The BBC and the Design Museum . In 2013, The Telegraph ranked Grand Theft Auto among Britain's most successful exports. The series has also been controversial for its adult nature and violent themes, as well as for cut content. The Grand Theft Auto series is split into separate fictional universes , named after the primary level of graphics capability used in each era. The original Grand Theft Auto , its expansions and its sequel are considered
11328-616: The Independence Day Special update that added patriotic-themed content on 1 July 2014. The widely anticipated Online Heists update launched on 10 March 2015 and suffered some initial technical difficulties due to the increased user load. Shortly after the game's PC release, some players reported being banned from Grand Theft Auto Online for using field of view and cosmetic mods in single-player. Rockstar stated in their official blog that nobody had been banned from Online for using single-player mods, but that recent updates to
11505-590: The Nintendo DS and later ported to PlayStation Portable. In 2009, The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony were released for the Xbox 360 as expansion packs to Grand Theft Auto IV ; a " strategic alliance " between Rockstar and Microsoft resulted in the timed exclusivity. The expansions focus on characters who played a relatively minor role in the main game, and whose stories take place simultaneously with Grand Theft Auto IV ' s. Both were later released for
11682-488: The PlayStation in 1998 and the Game Boy Color in 1999. Grand Theft Auto 2 was released in 1999 for Windows, later receiving ports on the PlayStation, Dreamcast and Game Boy Color. The PlayStation 2 also featured three instalments of the main series, all of which have been re-released on several platforms; a deal between Take-Two Interactive and Sony Computer Entertainment resulted in their timed exclusivity on
11859-542: The private military company Merryweather, and triad kingpin Wei Cheng. Having broken his agreement with Dave by committing robberies 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 an armored car carrying funds for
12036-481: The "2D universe". Grand Theft Auto III and its sequels are considered the "3D universe". Grand Theft Auto IV , its expansions and Grand Theft Auto V are considered the "HD universe". Each universe is considered separate with only brands, place names and background characters shared between them. Grand Theft Auto , the first game in the series, was released for MS-DOS and Windows in November 1997, ported to
12213-813: The "first to utilize multiple screens as playing area". Mark J.P. Wolf credits Adventure (1980) for the Atari VCS as the earliest-known action-adventure game. The game involves exploring a 2D environment, finding and using items which each have prescribed abilities, and fighting dragons in real-time like in an action game . Muse Software 's Castle Wolfenstein (1981) was another early action-adventure game, merging exploration, combat, stealth, and maze game elements, drawing inspiration from arcade shoot 'em ups and maze games (such as maze-shooter Berzerk ) and war films (such as The Guns of Navarone ). According to Wizardry developer Roe R. Adams, early action-adventure games "were basically arcade games done in
12390-404: The "grey and gritty" Liberty City. Reviewers praised the world's satire of contemporary American culture — OPM opined that "the scathing social commentary is, of course, present and correct". Destructoid called the sound design "impeccable" and praised the actors' performances, original soundtrack and licensed music use. IGN and Giant Bomb commended the music selection and felt that
12567-532: The 2012 film Zero Dark Thirty , the underlying political commentary on torture in "By the Book" necessitated the violent content. The torture gameplay was cut from the Japanese release. Several reviewers found the game's portrayal of women misogynistic ; VG247 wrote the female characters were "either there to be rescued, shouted at, fucked, to be seen fucking, put up with, killed, heard prattling away like dullards on their mobile phones or shopping". Edge noted
12744-448: The BBC to resolve the matter. It first aired on 15 September 2015 on BBC Two . In 2006, McFarland & Company published The Meaning and Culture of Grand Theft Auto . Compiled by Nate Garrelts , the 264-page book is a collection of essays regarding the Grand Theft Auto series, to help audiences better understand the games and to make a point about due diligence of game criticism. The book
12921-486: The Dark (1992) used 3D graphics , which would later be popularized by Resident Evil (1996) and Tomb Raider (1996). Resident Evil in particular created the survival horror subgenre, inspiring titles such as Silent Hill (1999) and Fatal Frame (2001). Action-adventure games have gone on to become more popular than the pure adventure games and pure platform games that inspired them. Recent examples include
13098-496: The FIB and Merryweather before going on to kill Cheng, Stretch, Steve, and Devin. Michael and Trevor reconcile, and the three protagonists cease working together but remain friends. Rockstar North began to develop Grand Theft Auto V in 2008, around Grand Theft Auto IV 's release. The development team totalled more than 1,000 people, including Rockstar North's core team and staff from parent company Rockstar Games ' studios around
13275-487: The IAA and steal an experimental nerve agent from an IAA lab. As Steve comes under increasing scrutiny, he forces Michael and Franklin to break into the FIB building and erase evidence against him from the 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
13452-518: The PC version had the "unintentional effect" of making such mods unplayable. They stated that mods are unauthorised and may cause unforeseen technical problems and instabilities. Grand Theft Auto V received "universal acclaim" from critics, according to review aggregator Metacritic , based on 50 reviews for the PlayStation 3 version and 58 reviews for the Xbox 360 version. The game is Metacritic's fifth-highest rated, tied with several others. Reviewers liked
13629-486: The PlayStation 2, before receiving ports to Windows and the Xbox . The 2001 title Grand Theft Auto III moved away from the two-dimension (2D) graphics used in the first two games to three-dimension (3D) computer graphics Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was published in 2002, and was the first to feature a speaking protagonist, voiced by Ray Liotta . Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas , released in 2004, introduced various new elements, including character customisation and
13806-466: The PlayStation 3 and Windows as part of a compilation, titled Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City , also available on Xbox 360. Numerous titles in the series have received ports to mobile devices. Chinatown Wars was released for iOS in 2010 and for Android and Fire OS in 2014. For their tenth anniversaries, Grand Theft Auto III and Vice City were both re-released for iOS and Android in 2011 and 2012, respectively. In 2013, San Andreas
13983-694: The PlayStation Awards 2013 and the Community Choice award from Destructoid . The game received the Platinum Award at the PlayStation Awards and was named the Best British Game from BAFTA. At IGN 's Best of 2013 Awards, it earned multiple wins, including Best Xbox 360 Graphics, Best Xbox 360 Sound, and Best Action Game on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and overall. The mission "By the Book", which requires players to use torture equipment in
14160-549: 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 the heist was a setup and that he was supposed to be killed in Brad's place, Trevor feels betrayed and leaves Michael for dead during a shootout with Cheng's henchmen. Although Franklin rescues Michael, Trevor's anger towards
14337-456: The Xbox One but thought both consoles rendered the game well and maintained mostly consistent frame rates. They praised the increased frame rate and graphics options offered in the PC version. VideoGamer.com called the console version's frame rate so consistent it was "scarcely believable", although GameSpot cited occasional frame rate dips. They opined that the PC version let players "witness
14514-649: The Year wins from independent journalist Tom Chick , CNET , Edge , the 31st Golden Joystick Awards , the 5th Annual Inside Gaming Awards , the Spike VGX 2013 Awards , Slant Magazine and Time . It was named the Best Xbox Game by Canada.com , GameSpot , and IGN , and the Best Multiplatform Game by Destructoid . Rockstar Games and Rockstar North won Best Studio and Best Developer from Edge , and
14691-480: The city of Los Santos under the alias Michael De Santa, having made a secret agreement with a Federal Investigation Bureau (FIB) agent, Dave Norton, to stay hidden. Across town, gangbanger Franklin Clinton works 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
14868-404: The city underworld which must be completed to progress through the storyline. Assassinations and other violent crimes are featured regularly. Occasionally, taxi driving, firefighting , street racing , bus driving , or learning to fly helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft are also involved in the game. In later titles, notably those released after Grand Theft Auto 2 , the player is given
15045-477: The coach to a mansion, which Michael heavily damages in anger. The owner of the mansion, drug lord Martin Madrazo, demands compensation, so 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 in rural Blaine County, hears of
15222-407: The controversies involved with this game was Mothers Against Drunk Driving 's (MADD) criticism of the ability to drink and drive as a new feature. MADD had even requested ESRB to change the rating of the game from "M" for ages seventeen and up to "AO", for adults only, because they felt it was inappropriate for children, even at the age of seventeen, to experience drunk driving in such a manner. In
15399-405: The creation of Grand Theft Auto . Directed by Owen Harris and written by James Wood, the drama stars Daniel Radcliffe as Rockstar president Sam Houser and Bill Paxton as disbarred attorney Jack Thompson . In May 2015, Rockstar filed a lawsuit against the BBC for trademark infringement, stating that they had no involvement with the development of the film and had unsuccessfully tried to contact
15576-529: The criticism. It is, however, possible to drive drunk again in the successor, Grand Theft Auto V . The Lost and Damned expansion pack for Grand Theft Auto IV was condemned by US parents group Common Sense Media who issued a public warning against the pack's content due to a full-frontal nudity scene during one of the cutscenes. They claimed the game was "more controversial than its predecessors" because it featured "full frontal male nudity". Nintendo wanted us to make Grand Theft Auto , and we wanted to make
15753-474: The day one record by selling 1.57 million copies and generating £65 million. In two weeks, the game sold more than 2.6 million copies and generated £90 million, which accounted for 52% of games sold in September 2013. After three weeks on sale, it beat Grand Theft Auto IV 's lifetime sales in the United Kingdom. In its fourth week, it became the fastest-selling title to break
15930-426: The depiction of women is inherently problematic, and that Target were within their rights to refuse to stock the game and were obligated to respond to the petition's wide support. Petit (writing for Kotaku ) and scholar Ben Colliver criticised the game's depiction of transgender characters as sex workers with primarily muscular bodies, describing it as harmful transphobic stereotypes; Colliver wrote that
16107-407: The different time period. A third version of Vice City will be featured as the main setting of the upcoming Grand Theft Auto VI . The London 1969 and London 1961 expansion packs for Grand Theft Auto take place within a fictionalised version of London during the 1960s. As such, they are the only games in the series to be set outside of the United States. The portion of the city used in
16284-429: The driving mechanics to correct Grand Theft Auto IV 's awkward vehicle controls. After an audition process, Ned Luke , Shawn Fonteno and Steven Ogg were selected to portray Michael, Franklin and Trevor, respectively. Their performances were mostly recorded using motion capture technology, but dialogue for scenes with characters seated in vehicles was recorded in studios instead. The game's original score
16461-400: The expanded firefights and races". The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series releases received tepid responses from critics, who questioned the value proposition of a new version of the ageing title. While the improved visual fidelity and quicker loading times were singled out for praise, reviewers generally found the core gameplay, storytelling and character models dated. Hardcore Gamer thought
16638-544: The fictional state of San Andreas, based on Southern California , the single-player story follows three protagonists —retired bank robber Michael De Santa ( Ned Luke ), street gangster Franklin Clinton ( Shawn Fonteno ), and drug dealer and gunrunner Trevor Philips ( Steven Ogg ), and their attempts to commit heists while under pressure from a corrupt government agency and powerful criminals. Players freely roam San Andreas's open world countryside and fictional city of Los Santos, based on Los Angeles . The game world
16815-449: The final game, drunk driving is a playable event, but it is a crime that automatically generates a wanted rating and main playable character Niko Bellic loudly (and drunkenly) proclaims that it is a "bad idea" and that he "should know better". Notably, it is impossible to drive while drunk in the GTA IV expansions, The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony . These were released after
16992-443: The first game. The controversies flared up again with Grand Theft Auto III , since the 3D graphics made the violence more realistic, and players could pay for the services of prostitutes to restore their health, and if they wished, kill them to get some of their money back. There is also criticism from the focus on illegal activities in comparison with traditional "heroic" roles that other games offer. The main character can commit
17169-415: The full extent of Rockstar's admirable handiwork", but noted that it "retains evidence of its last-gen roots ... with simple geometry". VideoGamer.com praised the Rockstar Editor's accessibility on PC but criticised some of its limitations and camera angle restrictions. IGN appreciated the PC version's customisable controls, and GameSpot felt that constant switching between the mouse and keyboard and
17346-410: The game around three lead protagonists to innovate on the core structure of its predecessors. Much of the development work constituted the open world's creation, and several team members conducted field research around California to capture footage for the design team. The game's soundtrack features an original score composed by a team of producers who collaborated over several years. Grand Theft Auto V
17523-408: The game had shipped 205 million copies worldwide across all platforms. More copies were sold in 2020 than any other year since the game's launch in 2013. In the United Kingdom, the game became the all-time fastest-selling game, selling more than 2.25 million copies in five days. This broke the record set by Call of Duty: Black Ops at two million copies over the same period. It broke
17700-403: The game had surpassed one billion dollars in sales, making it the fastest-selling entertainment product in history. Six weeks after its release, Rockstar had shipped nearly 29 million copies of the game to retailers, exceeding the lifetime figures of Grand Theft Auto IV . On 7 October 2013, the game became the best-selling digital release on PlayStation Store for PlayStation 3, breaking
17877-1267: The game instead of other projects such as a new Grand Theft Auto game, as well as an lack of apparent new features demonstrated in the trailer. Developed in tandem with the single-player mode, the online multiplayer mode Grand Theft Auto Online was conceived as a separate experience to be played in a continually evolving world. Up to 30 players freely roam across the game world and enter lobbies to complete jobs (story-driven competitive and cooperative modes). The Content Creator toolset lets players create their own parameters for custom jobs, like racetracks and deathmatch weapon spawn points . Players may band together in organised player teams called crews to complete jobs together. Rockstar Games Social Club extends crews formed in Max Payne 3 's multiplayer mode to those of Grand Theft Auto Online . Players may create their own crews and join up to five total. Crews win multiplayer matches to earn experience points and climb online leaderboards . Grand Theft Auto Online launched on 1 October 2013, two weeks after Grand Theft Auto V 's release. Many players reported connection difficulties and game freezes during load screens. Rockstar released
18054-490: The game on 25 October 2011. They released its debut trailer one week later, with an official press release acknowledging its setting. Journalists noted the widespread industry anticipation ignited by the announcement, which they owed to the series' cultural significance. The game missed its original projected Q2 2013 release date, pushed back to 17 September to allow for further polishing. To spur pre-order game sales, Rockstar collaborated with several retail outlets to make
18231-406: The game treated its all-male lead characters in a similar vein through their stereotyped tendencies towards violence. After GameSpot ' s Carolyn Petit claimed the game was misogynistic, her review was met with backlash as users responded with 20,000 largely negative comments on the webpage and a Change.org petition for her firing. Many journalists defended her right to an opinion and lamented
18408-618: The game was "probably the Xbox 360's greatest technical achievement", and was surprised that the open world could render on the console. Reviewers lauded the open-world design and its streamlining of Los Angeles's geography into a well-designed city space. GameTrailers considered the Los Angeles emulation authentic and the open world "full of voice and personality". IGN and PlayStation Official Magazine ( OPM ) made favourable comparisons between Los Santos and Grand Theft Auto IV 's Liberty City. OXM felt Los Santos surpassed
18585-589: The game with Outstanding Achievement in Gameplay Engineering , signifying "the highest level of achievement for engineering artificial intelligence and related elements which contribute to a challenging game". The game received numerous other awards. It was awarded the title of Most Immersive Game at the Inside Gaming Awards. The general public voted for the game to win the User Choice Award at
18762-488: The game year-end accolades including Game of the Year awards. In retrospect, it is considered one of seventh and eighth generation console gaming 's most significant titles and among the best video games ever made . It is the second-best-selling video game of all time with 205 million copies shipped, and one of the most financially successful entertainment products of all time, with over $ 8.5 billion in worldwide revenue. Its successor, Grand Theft Auto VI ,
18939-413: The game's online multiplayer mode, up to 30 players engage in a variety of different cooperative and competitive game modes. Shared between many of Rockstar's studios worldwide, the game's development began around the time of Grand Theft Auto IV 's release. The developers drew influence from many of their previous projects (such as Red Dead Redemption and Max Payne 3 ) and designed
19116-420: The game's combined development and marketing budget at more than £ 170 million ( US$ 265 million ), which would make it the most expensive game ever made at that time. The open world was modelled on Southern California and Los Angeles , and its design and in-game render constituted much of the game's early work. Key members of the game world production team took field research trips throughout
19293-439: The game's production. A fundamental design goal from the outset was to innovate on the series ' core structure by giving players control of three lead protagonists instead of one. The idea was first raised during Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas ' development, but contemporaneous hardware restrictions made it infeasible. Having developed two Grand Theft Auto IV episodic expansion packs featuring new protagonists in 2009,
19470-522: The game's storyline progresses: Portland (based on the industrial areas of Brooklyn and Queens , with additional elements from Manhattan and Long Island ), Staunton Island (based mostly on Manhattan), and Shoreside Vale (loosely based on North Jersey , The Bronx , Staten Island , and Upstate New York ). The islands are connected by road bridges and an underground tunnel system. A tunnel leading out of Liberty City can be found in Shoreside Vale, but it
19647-593: The game, and are examples of open world video game environments which offer accessible buildings with minor missions in addition to the main storyline. There are exceptions: missions follow a linear, overarching plot. These missions are required to complete in order to unlock new areas in the game. Grand Theft Auto III and subsequent games have more voice acting and radio stations, which simulate driving to music with disc jockeys, radio personalities, commercials , talk radio , pop music , and American culture. The use of vehicles in an explorable urban environment provides
19824-517: The game, it remained in the game code, and was discovered in both the console and Windows versions of the game. After the release of San Andreas , modders managed to find the unused code in the game and released unofficial patches for the Windows and Xbox (with a modchip ) versions as well as a PlayStation 2 version through the use of an Action Replay code enabling the player to engage in these sexual mini-games (dubbed "Hot Coffee" in reference to
20001-540: The game. Jean-Robert Lafortune of the Haitian American Grassroots Coalition is quoted as saying that "The game shouldn't be designed to destroy human life, it shouldn't be designed to destroy an ethnic group," for this and similar scenarios, including lines in the game's script such as "kill the Haitian dickheads" said by character "Diaz" during an altercation between the player and a Haitian gang. After
20178-406: The gameplay still follows a number of adventure game genre tropes (gathering items , exploration of and interaction with one's environment, often including an overworld connecting areas of importance, and puzzle-solving). While the controls are arcade-style (character movement, few action commands) there is an ultimate goal beyond a high score. In most action-adventure games, the player controls
20355-577: The games is based on Central London , although heavily condensed and mostly geographically inaccurate. It consists of two landmasses, separated by the River Thames and connected by several road bridges. A fictionalised version of Manchester is also featured in the games. Grand Theft Auto 2 is set in Anywhere City, a fictional US retro futuristic metropolis with no apparent inspiration from any real-life city. The setting consists of three areas, which
20532-478: The gaming community's defensiveness towards criticism. Australian department stores Target and Kmart pulled the game from their stores in December 2014 after a Change.org petition against depictions of violence towards women in the game amassed over 40,000 signatures. Take-Two Interactive chief operating officer Strauss Zelnick publicly expressed the company's disappointment that the game had been pulled from
20709-485: The heist and recognises Michael's work; Trevor had believed the FIB killed Michael in the Ludendorff heist. Trevor finds Michael and reunites with him, forcing the latter to reluctantly accept the former 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,
20886-436: The heist missions a welcome deviation from series typical mission structure. Eurogamer likened them to "blockbuster set-pieces", and GameSpot cited the 1995 film Heat as a stylistic influence on their design. Joystiq felt creativity and methodical approaches were encouraged. Polygon likened rapid character switching during heist missions to "film editing, with the player serving as editor, switching rapidly to
21063-574: The idea", and that they "settled out of court and they gave me some money". He said that he retains the rights, "but the way it was actually written in the contract is a little bit cloudy", and that his lawyers were analysing the contract to ensure that he can remake the film. Take-Two Interactive responded to Corman's claims, noting that the company "owns all rights for films related to the Grand Theft Auto video game series", and that it "can and will take appropriate legal action against anyone attempting to misuse our intellectual property by attempting to make
21240-551: The impact of Grand Theft Auto V 's violence, which made him reflect on morality and character motivation more than before. VideoGamer.com opined that players feel like inhabitants of the world, rather than "guns attached to a floating camera". The first-person view, in IGN ' s opinion, aided immersion and created a "surprisingly different experience". VideoGamer.com praised the "finer details" in first-person animations like camera lean when players take corners on motorcycles, or
21417-443: The improvements, auto-aim was "twitchy and unreliable" and cover mechanics "still come off as dated and unwieldy". Some reviewers felt the game solved a persistent problem by adding mid-mission checkpoints . The story and characters—particularly Trevor—polarised reviewers. Some found the narrative inferior to previous Rockstar games and cited Grand Theft Auto IV and Red Dead Redemption 's plot strengths. Others thought
21594-510: The label Grand Theft Auto clone on similar titles. The series has been critically acclaimed, with all the main 3D entries in the franchise frequently ranked among the greatest and best-selling video games ; it has shipped more than 425 million units, making it one of the best-selling video game franchises . In 2006, Grand Theft Auto was featured in a list of British design icons in the Great British Design Quest organised by
21771-415: The lack of new content made the upgrade difficult to recommend to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One players. GamingBolt was apathetic towards the visual enhancements but praised the increased accessibility for Online newcomers. Jeuxvideo.com thought the release offered the supreme console experience and highlighted the improved graphics and load times. Push Square faulted the antiquated humour but thought
21948-403: The latter causes friction within the group and threatens to undermine their plans. Meanwhile, Steve attempts to arrest Michael, but they, alongside Dave, become caught in a Mexican standoff between the FIB, the IAA, and Merryweather. Steve escapes while Michael and Dave are saved by Trevor, who believes only he has the right to kill Michael. The Union Depository heist is successful, but Franklin
22125-650: The latter. A third version of Liberty City was featured in Grand Theft Auto IV , its expansion packs The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony (all three set in 2008), and the handheld game Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (set in 2009). This iteration closely resembles New York, and consists of four main boroughs, which become available to explore as the story progresses: Broker (based on Brooklyn), Dukes (Queens), Bohan (The Bronx), and Algonquin (Manhattan). The placement of these boroughs mirrors that of their real-life counterparts: Broker and Dukes occupy
22302-530: The manner in which the game was first demonstrated, but that it did not anticipate long-term effects on development. In December 2023, the game was officially announced as Grand Theft Auto VI , with a projected release date of 2025 for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. Grand Theft Auto has spawned numerous additional games and expansion packs . In 1999, the original game received two expansion packs: Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 and Grand Theft Auto: London 1961 , which, as their names suggest, featured
22479-674: The maximum five-star level, police helicopters and SWAT teams swarm to lethally dispatch players). Officers will search for players who leave the wanted vicinity. The meter enters a cool-down mode and eventually recedes when players are hidden from the officers' line of sight that displays on the mini-map for a period of time. In the single-player mode, players control three characters: Michael De Santa, Trevor Philips and Franklin Clinton—criminals whose stories interconnect as they complete missions. Some missions are completed with only one character and others feature two or three. Outside
22656-469: The missions, players may switch between characters at will by a directional compass on the HUD, although this feature is restricted at certain points during the story. During missions, characters may automatically switch to complete specific objectives. A character's compass avatar will flash red if he is in danger and needs help, and flash white if he has a strategic advantage. Though players complete missions with
22833-488: The most interesting perspective for any moment". Computer and Video Games felt that overall mission design was more diverse than and lacked the escort errands of its predecessors. Edge praised the game's graphical fidelity and absence of load screens . Play complimented the draw distances and weather and lighting systems. In Eurogamer ' s view, the lighting system was the game's most significant advancement. Official Xbox Magazine ( OXM ) thought that
23010-442: The multiple lead character formula, heist mission design and presentation, but some did not agree on the quality of the story and characters. IGN called Grand Theft Auto V "one of the very best video games ever made", and Play considered it "generation-defining" and "exceptional". Edge wrote that it is a "remarkable achievement" in open-world design and storytelling, while The Daily Telegraph declared it
23187-493: The narrative and overshadowed Michael and Franklin's character development. Joystiq faulted the protagonists' perceived lack of likability, as the conflict between Michael and Trevor grew into a "seemingly endless cycle". The Escapist had difficulty connecting with the characters' emotions since they acted out of greed with no sense of morality and thus gave players little reason to support them. Grand Theft Auto V 's re-release, similarly, received critical acclaim. It
23364-411: The navigational instruments in plane cockpits. Reviewers found playing the game more difficult in first-person, but Game Informer preferred the challenge. GameSpot thought the improved graphics and spatial anti-aliasing made the open world "even more spectacular". They said that in first-person "everything looks bigger and more imposing". IGN favoured the PlayStation 4 version's graphics over
23541-413: The next". Three days after its release, the game ranked second on IGN ' 's "Top 25 Xbox 360 Games" list. They considered that the open world's scale and detail succeeded the majority of other Xbox 360 games. They called the game "a triumph both for gamers and for the medium itself, and it deserves its runaway success". In November 2013, Hardcore Gamer placed the game third on their "Top 100 Games of
23718-545: The northwest portion of the map. All four major islands are divided into multiple districts, inspired by New York and New Jersey's boroughs. A redesigned version of Liberty City was introduced in Grand Theft Auto III (set in 2001). This iteration is only loosely based on New York, and incorporates elements from other U.S. cities, such as Philadelphia , Detroit , Boston , Chicago , and Baltimore . The city encompasses three main islands, which are gradually unlocked as
23895-432: The number of stars increase, the amount and strength of the response will increase; a single star might have a few police cars chase after the player, while at 5 or 6 stars, tanks and attack helicopters will chase down the player. Many in-game missions will automatically give the player a wanted level after completing a certain event which they must then get rid of before the mission is complete. Often, trying to keep away from
24072-407: The original score enhanced dramatic tension during missions. GameSpot wrote that the score "lends missions more cinematic flavour". Edge said that the licensed music enhanced the city's "already remarkable sense of space" and that the original score improved the atmosphere of the gameplay. They summarised the game as "a compendium of everything Rockstar has learnt about the power of game music in
24249-446: The original three locales. Each game in the series centres on different respective protagonist who attempts to rise through the criminal underworld due to various motives, often accompanying themes of betrayal. Several film and music veterans have voiced characters in the games, including Ray Liotta , Dennis Hopper , Samuel L. Jackson , William Fichtner , James Woods , Debbie Harry , Axl Rose and Peter Fonda . DMA Design began
24426-460: The original version. According to them, the "grind of just doing PvP until co-op Jobs arrive with regularity" was lost, and newcomers would likely find multiplayer enjoyable and balanced. However, they wrote of frequent server disconnection, especially during load screens. GameSpot thought the online mode was fun but "still suffers from a lack of direction" for its open-ended and frenetic gameplay. Game Informer reported "minimal lag or issues in
24603-462: The past decade". Many reviewers found the land-based vehicles more responsive and easier to control than in previous games. Game Informer explained that "cars have a proper sense of weight, while retaining the agility necessary for navigating through traffic at high speeds". In addition to the vehicle handling, most reviewers noted the shooting mechanics were tighter than they had been in previous games, but Destructoid felt that in spite of
24780-511: The player character. Although the following title, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas , also featured many notable film actors—such as Samuel L. Jackson , Peter Fonda and James Woods —it had been decided that the use of such actors should be reduced, particularly for leading roles. As a result, many of the prominent roles in San Andreas were voiced by lower profile actors or rappers. From Liberty City Stories through to Grand Theft Auto V ,
24957-489: The player has enough ammunition and recovery items to " survive " the horror setting. This is a thematic genre with diverse gameplay, so not all survival horror games share all the features. The Resident Evil franchise popularized this subgenre. Action-adventure games are faster-paced than pure adventure games, and include physical as well as conceptual challenges where the story is enacted rather than narrated. While motion-based, often reflexive, actions are required,
25134-473: The player to explore and solve to complete a storyline, involving little to no action . If there is action, it is generally confined to isolated instances. Classical action games, on the other hand, have gameplay based on real-time interactions that challenges the player's reflexes and eye-hand coordination . Action-adventure games combine these genres by engaging both eye-hand coordination and problem-solving skills. An action adventure game can be defined as
25311-590: The player will switch between as the story progresses: the Downtown District, the Residential District, and the Industrial District. Each district is depicted as its own individual island. The game is set in an unspecified time period—conflicting sources suggest anything from "three weeks into the future", to the year 2013, while the game itself features several references to the "new millennium" that
25488-660: The police while wanted will cause the player to gain even higher wanted levels. The player can remove their character's wanted level by avoiding detection or spending in-game money at specific locations to elude the police (such as a mod shop to repaint their car). Alternatively, if the player-character dies, they will respawn at a hospital and the wanted level will be removed, though the player may lose money, guns, and other benefits they had before being chased. The "wanted level" gameplay concept has become common in similar open world games . Most Grand Theft Auto games are set in fictional parodies of well-known United States cities, in
25665-543: The previous record set by The Last of Us , though numerical sales figures were not disclosed. It broke seven Guinness World Records on 8 October: best-selling video game in 24 hours, best-selling action-adventure video game in 24 hours, highest-grossing video game in 24 hours, fastest entertainment property to gross US$ 1 billion , fastest video game to gross US$ 1 billion , highest revenue generated by an entertainment product in 24 hours, and most viewed trailer for an action-adventure video game. A digital version
25842-407: The protagonists' contrasting personalities tightened the narrative's pacing. GamesRadar thought the game negated the story inconsistencies and muddled morality of previous series entries. Trevor was considered a particularly "horrible, terrifying, psychotic human being—and a terrific character" by GameSpot . Eurogamer found Trevor "shallow and unconvincing", and that his eccentricities hurt
26019-485: The protagonists, the more difficult heist missions require aid from AI -controlled accomplices with unique skill sets like computer hacking and driving. If an accomplice survives a successful heist, they take a cut from the cash reward and may be available for later missions with improvements to their unique skills. Some heists afford multiple strategies; in a holdup mission, players may either stealthily subdue civilians with an incapacitating agent or conspicuously storm
26196-526: The re-released version. By April 2018, MarketWatch reported the game had generated about $ 6 billion and was the most profitable entertainment product of all time; it had nearly sold around 100 million copies by July 2018, and by July 2021, it had shipped over 150 million copies. By late 2023, Barron's reported the game's lifetime revenue figures had increased to $ 8.5 billion , consistently generating over $ 500 million annually with about 22 million monthly active players; by September 2024,
26373-401: The region and documented their research with photo and video footage. Google Maps projections of Los Angeles were used by the team to help design Los Santos's road networks. To reflect and reproduce Los Angeles's demographic spread, the developers studied census data and watched documentaries about the city. The team considered creating the open world the most technically demanding aspect of
26550-445: The release of the game, hundreds of in-game buildings have been identified as being based on real-world landmarks. The New Yorker ' s Sam Sweet notes that, with sales of the game reaching thirteen million copies, "there will be more people living in the imaginary state of Los Santos than in the real city on which it was modelled." Vice City, based on Miami , is one of the three original cities introduced in Grand Theft Auto . It
26727-444: The removal after reading Petit's article. The group praised Rockstar's decision to remove the content. In October 2013, rapper Daz Dillinger issued a cease and desist letter to Rockstar Games and Take Two Interactive for allegedly using two of his songs without authorisation. In February 2014, television personality Karen Gravano of the reality television programme Mob Wives filed suit against Rockstar Games in allegation that
26904-469: The representation "does not reflect the complex, nuanced structures that often regulate transgender people's lives". The April 2022 re-release on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S removed the content from all portions of the game except Director Mode, meaning their models are accessible but without dialogue options. Some journalists recognised the removal may have been prompted by an open letter written by LGBTQ+ advocacy group Out Making Games, who requested
27081-562: The retailers, and affirmed that he "stand[s] behind our products, the people who create them, and the consumers who play them". IGN called the Change.org petition "misinformed", stating that its complaints about incentives for committing sexual violence in the game are untrue. Sexual violence in games is forbidden by the Australian Classification Board , meaning the game would have been refused classification. Kotaku said that
27258-402: The sequence's impact beyond the violence depicted in previous Grand Theft Auto games, and considered the sequence lacking enough context to justify its violence. The mission received criticism from politicians and anti-torture charity groups. Independent journalist Tom Chick defended the torture sequence, and wrote that unlike Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 ' s " No Russian " mission or
27435-476: The series has continued using lesser known actors to voice main characters, but still uses celebrities and real-life radio personalities to voice the DJs of the many radio stations featured in each game. Some games also feature celebrities portraying themselves, such as Lazlow Jones , Phil Collins , Ricky Gervais , Katt Williams , and Dr. Dre . According to The Guinness World Records 2008 and 2009 Gamer's Edition, it
27612-515: The series in 1997, with the release of the Grand Theft Auto . As of 2020, the series consists of seven standalone titles and four expansion packs . The third main title, Grand Theft Auto III , released in 2001, is considered a landmark game, and brought the series into a three-dimensional environment for the first time. Subsequent titles have followed and built upon the format established by Grand Theft Auto III , receiving significant acclaim. The games influenced other open-world games, and led to
27789-408: The series is a term for motor vehicle theft in the United States. Gameplay focuses on an open world where the player can complete missions to progress an overall story, as well as engage in various side activities . Most of the gameplay revolves around driving and shooting, with occasional role-playing and stealth elements. The series also has elements of the earlier beat 'em up games from
27966-519: The series to do so was Grand Theft Auto III which, despite a limited budget and the series' low profile at the time, featured several notable actors from film and television. These included Frank Vincent , Michael Madsen and Kyle MacLachlan , who all had prominent roles. At the time it was rare for a video game to use such high-profile actors, and Grand Theft Auto III is considered a pioneer in doing so. The next game, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City , featured more film actors, including Ray Liotta as
28143-450: The switching mechanic, Game Informer noted that players are kept "in the thick of the action" during shootouts. Eurogamer wrote that switching added a tactical element to shootouts as characters set up in strategic outposts would cause fewer "shooting gallery" situations than previous instalments. IGN felt the switching feature gave players more choice in their approach and made missions less predictable. Giant Bomb considered
28320-427: The team wanted to base Grand Theft Auto V around three simultaneously controlled protagonists. The team viewed it as a spiritual successor to many of their previous games (such as Grand Theft Auto IV , Red Dead Redemption and Max Payne 3 ) , and designed it to improve upon their gameplay mechanics. They sought to improve the action gameplay by refining the shooting mechanics and cover system and reworked
28497-430: The term "action-adventure" may be '"An action/adventure game is a game that has enough action in it not to be called an adventure game, but not enough action to be called an action game." In some cases an action game with puzzles will be classified as an action-adventure game, but if these puzzles are quite simple they might be classified as an action game. Others see action games as a pure genre, while an action-adventure
28674-482: The threat of a lawsuit by the Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition, Rockstar removed the word "Haitians" from this phrase in the game's subtitles. San Andreas was criticised initially due to its "gangster" elements, which include drugs, prostitution, and murder. It later received additional criticism after the discovery of an interactive sex minigame , nicknamed Hot Coffee; initially cut from
28851-412: The three major cities. The cities are connected by a train track system, and each one features an airport, which can be used to fast travel from a city to another. At the beginning of the game, players only have access to Los Santos, with the rest of the map being gradually unlocked as the story progresses. A third version of San Andreas appeared in Grand Theft Auto V (set in 2013), again imagined as
29028-549: The three million barrier in the UK, thus overtaking Black Ops II 's lifetime sales. In November 2014, the game became the best-selling game of all time in the UK, overtaking Black Ops . The game was similarly successful in North America: it was the best selling game in September, representing over 50% of software sales and boosting overall software sales by 52% compared to September 2012. Critics agreed that Grand Theft Auto V
29205-600: The venue with guns drawn. Each character has a set of eight skills that represent their ability in specific areas such as shooting and driving. Though skills improve through play, each character has a skill with expertise by default (e.g. Trevor's flying skill). The eighth "special" skill determines proficiency in an ability that is unique to each respective character. Michael enters bullet time in combat, Franklin slows down time while driving, and Trevor deals twice as much damage to enemies while taking half as much in combat. A meter on each character's HUD depletes when an ability
29382-445: The visual and technical enhancements gave the "sunny sandbox a new lease of life". Grand Theft Auto V received multiple nominations and awards from gaming publications . Before release, it won Most Anticipated Game at the 2012 Spike Video Game Awards . The game was review aggregators Metacritic and GameRankings's highest-rated for the year 2013. The game appeared on several year-end lists of 2013's best games, receiving Game of
29559-409: The widespread technical issues present at launch, many reviewers bemoaned their Grand Theft Auto Online experience but generally recognised its open-ended exploration and dynamic content as strengths. Post-release content is continually added to Grand Theft Auto Online through free title updates. Some updates add new game modes and features, and others feature themed gameplay content, such as
29736-511: The world is much larger in area than earlier entries in the series. It may be fully explored after the game's beginning without restriction, although story progress unlocks more gameplay content. Players use melee attacks, firearms and explosives to fight enemies, and may run, jump, swim or use vehicles to navigate the world. To accommodate the map's size, the game introduces vehicle types absent in its predecessor Grand Theft Auto IV , such as fixed-wing aircraft . In combat, auto-aim and
29913-454: The world. The proprietary Rockstar Advanced Game Engine (RAGE) was overhauled for the game to improve its draw distance rendering capabilities. The Euphoria and Bullet software handle additional animation and rendering tasks. Having become familiar with the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 hardware over time, Rockstar found they were able to push the consoles' graphical capabilities further than in previous games. Analyst estimations place
30090-608: Was also nominated for Biggest Disappointment by Game Revolution and Hardcore Gamer . Grand Theft Auto V won Best Technical Achievement in the Telegraph Video Game Awards, and Best Technology at the 14th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards . The graphical and artistic design received awards from IGN , The Daily Telegraph and BAFTA, and a nomination at the Game Developers Choice Awards. The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences awarded
30267-411: Was among seventh-generation console gaming 's best and a great closing title before the eighth generation 's emergence. Polygon observed that the game would "bridge between games' present and the future", and declared it "the closure of this generation, and the benchmark for the next". VideoGamer.com considered it "the ultimate swansong for this console cycle" that would "cast a long shadow over
30444-513: Was composed by a team of producers who collaborated over several years. Licensed music provided by an in-game radio is also used. The team licensed more than 241 tracks shared between fifteen radio stations, with an additional two stations providing talk radio . Some of the tracks were written specifically for the game, such as rapper and producer Flying Lotus ' original work composed for the FlyLo FM radio station he hosts. Rockstar Games announced
30621-410: Was discontinued and replaced by a single-player-only version of Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete Edition in 2020. The series has been expanded into various other formats. Jacked: The Outlaw Story of Grand Theft Auto , a book written by David Kushner chronicling the development of the series, was published in 2012. In March 2015, BBC Two announced The Gamechangers , a 90-minute docudrama based on
30798-425: Was later re-released with various enhancements, in 2014 for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One , and in 2015 for Windows; versions for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S were released in 2022. On 4 February 2022, Rockstar confirmed that development of a new entry in the series was "well underway". In-development footage of the game leaked in September 2022; Rockstar noted that it was "extremely disappointed" by
30975-443: Was ported to iOS, Android and Windows Phone and RT; the mobile port was later re-released for Xbox 360 in 2014, the year of the game's tenth anniversary, and the following year for PlayStation 3. In 2015, Liberty City Stories was ported to iOS, Android and Fire OS. Grand Theft Auto Double Pack was released in 2003 for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, and includes both Grand Theft Auto III and Vice City . Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy
31152-737: Was released in September 2013 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 , in November 2014 for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One , in April 2015 for Windows , and in March 2022 for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S . Extensively marketed and widely anticipated, the game broke industry sales records and became the fastest-selling entertainment product in history, earning $ 800 million in its first day and $ 1 billion in its first three days. It received critical acclaim, with praise directed at its multiple-protagonist design, open world, presentation and gameplay. However, its depiction of violence and women caused controversies. Several gaming publications awarded
31329-437: Was released on 18 October for the Xbox 360, which went on to become the highest-grossing day-one and week-one release on Xbox Live . By May 2014, the game had generated nearly US$ 1.98 billion in revenue. As of August 2014, the game had sold-in over 34 million units to retailers for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. By December 2014, the game had shipped 45 million copies, including 10 million copies of
#593406