How many GTA games are there in total?

Counting expansions and spin-offs, there are more than 17 releases, from the 1997 original through the London expansions, the handheld Stories games, GTA Online and GTA 6.

Are the GTA games connected to each other?

Only within their own universe. The 2D, 3D and HD universes are separate continuities, but games inside each one connect — Vice City Stories is a prequel to Vice City, for example.

Do I need to play GTA 5 before GTA 6?

No. GTA 6 follows new protagonists, Jason and Lucia, in Leonida, and its story stands on its own. Playing GTA 5 first is a good introduction to the HD universe, but it is not required.

Where does GTA Online fit in the timeline?

GTA Online begins shortly before the events of GTA 5's story, then catches up and continues in the present day through its ongoing updates.

GTA Games in Order: Release Order and Story Timeline Explained

Grand Theft Auto has been running since 1997, and between main games, expansions, handheld spin-offs and one very long-lived online mode, the full list is longer than most people expect. Whether you are playing the series for the first time or planning a marathon before settling into GTA 6, here is every game in release order, followed by the story order for each of Rockstar's three separate timelines.

All GTA Games in Release Order

Game	Release year	Platforms
Grand Theft Auto	1997	PC, PS1, Game Boy Color
GTA: London 1969	1999	PC, PS1
GTA: London 1961	1999	PC, PS1
Grand Theft Auto 2	1999	PC, PS1, Dreamcast, Game Boy Color
Grand Theft Auto 3	2001	PC, PS2, Xbox, mobile
GTA: Vice City	2002	PC, PS2, Xbox, mobile
GTA: San Andreas	2004	PC, PS2, Xbox, mobile
GTA Advance	2004	Game Boy Advance
GTA: Liberty City Stories	2005	PSP, PS2, PS3, mobile
GTA: Vice City Stories	2006	PSP, PS2, PS3
Grand Theft Auto 4	2008	PC, PS3, Xbox 360
GTA 4: The Lost and Damned	2009	PC, PS3, Xbox 360
GTA: Chinatown Wars	2009	Nintendo DS, PSP, mobile
GTA 4: The Ballad of Gay Tony	2009	PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Grand Theft Auto 5	2013	PC, PS3, PS4, PS5, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X\|S
Grand Theft Auto Online	2013	Same platforms as GTA 5
GTA: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition	2021	PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X\|S, Switch
Grand Theft Auto 6	2026	PS5, PS5 Pro, Xbox Series X\|S

The Definitive Edition is a remastered bundle of GTA 3, Vice City and San Andreas rather than a new game, so it sits in the release list but does not add a new entry to any timeline.

Why There Are Three Story Timelines

Rockstar treats the series as three separate universes — the 2D universe, the 3D universe and the HD universe. Characters and events do not carry across between them, which is why the Liberty City of GTA 3 is a different place from the Liberty City of GTA 4. Within each universe, though, the games do connect, and several of them are prequels released after the game they lead into.

Chronological Order: The 2D Universe

The top-down era comes first. GTA: London 1961 is set in 1961, followed by London 1969 in 1969. The original Grand Theft Auto plays out in 1997 across early versions of Liberty City, Vice City and San Andreas, while GTA 2 takes place in the retro-futuristic Anywhere City, in a year Rockstar has never pinned down — fans usually place it around 1999 based on in-game clues.

Chronological Order: The 3D Universe

Story year	Game	Protagonist
1984	GTA: Vice City Stories	Victor Vance
1986	GTA: Vice City	Tommy Vercetti
1992	GTA: San Andreas	Carl Johnson
1998	GTA: Liberty City Stories	Toni Cipriani
2000	GTA Advance	Mike
2001	Grand Theft Auto 3	Claude

Vice City Stories is a prequel following Vic Vance as he builds a criminal empire in the same neon city his brother Lance would later help Tommy Vercetti take over. Liberty City Stories similarly sets up GTA 3, showing Toni Cipriani's rise through the Leone family three years before Claude's story.

Chronological Order: The HD Universe

The modern timeline opens with GTA 4 in 2008, where Niko Bellic arrives in Liberty City chasing a fresh start. Its two expansions, The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony, run in parallel with Niko's story and regularly cross over with it. Chinatown Wars follows in 2009 with Huang Lee's hunt for his father's killer. GTA 5's prologue jumps back to a 2004 bank job in North Yankton before the main story lands in 2013, and GTA Online begins shortly before GTA 5's story before catching up and continuing in real time with its updates. GTA 6 closes the list in a modern-day Vice City and the wider state of Leonida, following Jason Duval and Lucia Caminos — Rockstar has not confirmed an exact story year for it.

Which Order Should You Play In?

For most people, release order is the sensible route: the controls, world detail and storytelling all evolve in ways that make going backwards harder than going forwards. If you only care about story connections, the 3D universe prequels work best played after the games they set up. And if you just want the modern era, GTA 4, GTA 5 and GTA 6 form a loose trilogy of increasingly ambitious HD-universe games that can each be enjoyed on their own.