Grand Theft Auto Video Game Series

Games from the Grand Theft Auto series combine elements of open worlds (where we travel on foot and with the help of various vehicles and machines), action and RPG. The first two installments and their expansions present events from a top-down perspective, but in subsequent installments we watch the action from behind the protagonist's back (TPP). In addition, since the third installment of the series, each of the games have a coherent storyline and a legitimate motivation for the protagonist's actions. It's also worth mentioning that GTA III had several hours of radio broadcasts recorded for the player to listen to while driving - this addition has become a distinctive feature of every later GTA. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas introduced quite a few unique changes, such as the hero's hunger factor and the ability to influence the weight and appearance of his body, planning and carrying out burglaries of selected apartments, as well as the ability to swim. Grand Theft Auto V has also added a few new novelties. The main ones are the introduction of three main characters into the game, which we play alternately, as well as a very expanded multiplayer mode, called Grand Theft Auto Online. The latter has over time become a separate game, so to speak, developed as a live-service.

The first Grand Theft Auto was released in 1997. Here, as a gangster, we carried out missions on behalf of the mafia, consisting initially of stealing cars, and then taking part in bank robberies or paid murders. In April 1999, the game got an official expansion called Grand Theft Auto: London 1969, and in May the game got another small free expansion - Grand Theft Auto: London 1961. In September, DMA Design was acquired by Rockstar Games, and its name was changed to Rockstar North. Shortly thereafter, in late October, we got GTA 2, in which we once again played the role of a gangster climbing the ladder of the criminal underworld. In 2001, we got Grand Theft Auto III, giving the player control over the ever-silent American criminal Claude Speed. For six months the game was exclusive to the PlayStation 2 console, but later it was also released on PC and, in time, on Xbox. In 2002, PS2 got Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, set in the 1980s; PC and Xbox editions followed a year later. In 2004, Game Boy Advanced has received Grand Theft Auto Advance, which was the only one of the series to be released exclusively on this console. In the same year, another main part of the series was released on PS - Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, in which we played as Carl Johnson, trying to rise to the top of the mafia. Due to its popularity, over time the game has received many ports for a variety of platforms - from PC to consoles to mobile devices. In October 2005, we got Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy, consisting of three games: GTA III, GTA: Vice City and GTA: San Andreas. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, a spin-off of GTA III, set a few years before the events known from that game, was also released in 2005. In November 2006, owners of PSP or PS2 got another spin-off - Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories - which told the story of events taking place two years before GTA: Vice City. In 2007, we got a PC release of Grand Theft Auto: Trilogy, which is a set of the first three installments of the series along with GTA: London 1969. A year later, the fourth main part of the series was released, titled Grand Theft Auto IV, whose main character was an immigrant from Eastern Europe - Niko Bellic. In 2009, another spin-off of the series was released - Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars. It was originally released on the Nintendo DS console, but a few months later it was also made available on PSP. In 2013, we got the long-awaited Grand Theft Auto V. The game allowed us to play as three characters, between whom we could switch at any time. The game offered and extensive story campaign, but the real star was its multplayer mode, Grand Theft Auto Online. In 2014, the game was released on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles, in 2015 on PC, and in 2022 it was ported to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. In November 2021, we got Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition, a set of remasters of three games - GTA III, GTA: Vice City and GTA: San Andreas. Due to numerous bugs and general underdevelopment, the compilation got a very poor reception.

The Grand Theft Auto series was controversial from the beginning. Its very title in the gang slang means a "talented car thief." In addition, with the release of GTA III there were accusations of, among other things, episodes of violence and eroticism. Despite this (or perhaps because of it), the Grand Theft Auto series can boast record sales. In May 2021, Take-Two Interactive reported 345 million copies sold of all installments of the series, of which 145 million belonged to Grand Theft Auto V.