All Grand Theft Auto titles listed in order of their release date and in chronological sequence.

      Rockstar Games

      In the competition for the greatest open world game ever, the Grand Theft Auto series dominates, leaving other games to vie for second place. Since the introduction of 3D gameplay in the third installment, each subsequent title has expanded, improved, and gained immense popularity. GTA 6 is poised to be one of the biggest launches in all media, not just gaming. However, the gap between releases has stretched so long that many gamers have never experienced any titles prior to GTA 3. Those familiar with several entries in the franchise know that Rockstar enjoys revisiting well-known environments across various time periods. Although there are fewer GTA games than Call of Duty titles, playing them in any sequential manner can be challenging. Having started with the very first GTA and having played through the entire series, we can guide you on how to experience the Grand Theft Auto games either in release order or chronological order.

      All Grand Theft Auto games in release order

      Rockstar

      We recommend playing through the GTA franchise in release order. Beginning in 1997, this series has transformed from modest beginnings into some of the most expansive, intricate game worlds ever made. Witnessing this evolution is enjoyable and clearly illustrates how Rockstar laid the groundwork for the open world genre as we recognize it today. However, if you were to play them in simple numerical order from 1 to 6, you would overlook several titles. Even if you know about the non-numbered games, recalling their release dates can still be tricky, a puzzle we have resolved for you.

      Many of the earlier games have been re-released or remastered, so we’ll outline the franchise (excluding DLCs) by their original launch dates for clarity.

      Grand Theft Auto (1997)

      Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 (1999)

      Grand Theft Auto: London 1961 (1999)

      Grand Theft Auto 2 (1999)

      Grand Theft Auto 3 (2000)

      Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002)

      Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004)

      Grand Theft Auto Advance (2004)

      Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (2005)

      Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (2006)

      Grand Theft Auto 4 (2008)

      Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (2009)

      Grand Theft Auto 5 (2013)

      Grand Theft Auto 6 (2026)

      All Grand Theft Auto games in chronological order

      Rockstar Games

      A casual player of GTA might not realize a timeline exists within this series, which is understandable. Each new installment introduces a fresh cast and storyline, yet there are numerous elements that connect the games. Locations like Vice City and Los Santos recur across various titles, as do some characters. Since each game is based in a version of our world, determining the year for each installment is relatively straightforward, although there is one exception we will mention in the list.

      Playing through the Grand Theft Auto series in chronological order doesn’t greatly enhance the experience as the games are primarily standalone. Nonetheless, it could be an enjoyable journey revisiting different time eras through GTA. If you're interested in experiencing the titles in chronological order, here's how it goes:

      Grand Theft Auto: London 1961 (1961)

      Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 (1969)

      Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (1984)

      Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (1986)

      Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (1992)

      Grand Theft Auto (1997)

      Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (1998)

      Grand Theft Auto 2* (1999 or 2013)

      Grand Theft Auto Advance (2000)

      Grand Theft Auto 3 (2001)

      Grand Theft Auto 4 (2008)

      Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (2009)

      Grand Theft Auto 5 (2013)

      Grand Theft Auto 6 (TBD but expected to be 2026)

      Jesse Lennox has been writing for Digital Trends for more than five years and has no intentions of stopping. He covers all matters...

      Grand Theft Auto Trilogy developer expresses dissatisfaction with changes in the latest update

      The poorly received Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy -- The Definitive Edition received an unexpected and necessary update earlier this week; however, not everyone is pleased with the outcome. Following the update's release on PC and consoles, fans quickly observed that Grove Street Games, the studio responsible for the Definitive Edition alongside Rockstar Games, was omitted from the splash screen before the start menu. In response, Grove Street CEO Thomas Williamson voiced his concerns on X about the situation. "Speaking entirely hypothetically: It's a [jerk] move to remove primary developers from credits in an update, especially when an update includes hundreds of fixes that were provided by those developers that stayed out of players' hands for years," Williamson stated.

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