OLD GTA TO GTA 6: THE ENTIRE GTA HISTORY

Before GTA there was Race'n'Chase 

In 1995 David Jones and Mike Dailly together with DMA Designs started working on a police game called Race’n’Chase. The most important question for the developers: how can we make this game as fun as possible? The team quickly realised that playing as cops wasn’t that exciting. However, they really found their fun-aspect when the developers accidentally created a bug that made the police cars go crazy, which resulted in endless chaos.

Eventually, Race’n’Chase transformed into Grand Theft Auto. The game followed a rookie criminal in Vice City, San Andreas and Liberty City trying to earn more street-cred. You have to play missions to earn points, but if you cause too much chaos in a mission, the cops will come and more will arrive as the chaos heightens. As you can see, the base of the game is actually very similar to the newer games.

Mixed reviews: too much violence?

Grand Theft Auto received mixed reviews. Critics thought the gameplay and story were super fun, but the 2D graphics just weren’t there yet. But there definitely was potential and the sales reflected that as the game sold millions of copies. Of course, with the first game, the developers got into their first bit of controversy. Many people were outraged by the violence in Grand Theft Auto, and the game even got banned in Brazil.

GTA expansion: Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 (1999)

London 1969 was an expansion pack for Grand Theft Auto. The game has mostly the same type of gameplay as the first game, but it takes you to a whole new city. This time, you get to cause chaos on the (fictional) streets of London. Although critics and players thought the expansion was a fun addition to the first game, it didn’t really hold a candle to the original cities and again the graphics were heavily criticised.

This game brought some changes to the mission system. For example: you could now choose a gang to work for. Since there were also rival gangs, picking one group meant the gang members of another would turn against you.

Aside from that, GTA 2 didn’t really introduce anything new. It still used the same top-down perspective and 2D-graphics that at this point just weren’t up to standard any more. 3D-games were already on the rise and because of this the game felt outdated. Sales were good, but reviews were very mixed. It was clear that GTA needed to switch things up. (Spoiler: and so they did!)

In the game we follow the silent protagonist and small-time criminal Claude. He’s betrayed by his girlfriend during a robbery, but he manages to escape prison and decides to go on a quest for revenge.

GTA III: a true game changer

It’s not an understatement to say that this one was a game changer for the GTA-franchise. The game was not only revolutionary for the graphics, but also for how it combined non-linear and story-driven gameplay. This made players feel like they had control over the story.

Create your own chaos

The developers didn’t want players to be tied down to the story, so you could also freely roam the streets of Liberty City and create their own chaos. This resulted in the perfect mix between having a clear path to follow and doing your own thing.

Record-breaking sales

It was unlike anything anyone had ever seen, resulting in record-breaking sales. It became the highest selling game in the USA in 2001, and it was still the highest selling game in 2002. Maybe more importantly, critics and players loved it. With an impressive score of 97, GTA 3 ranks 12th on Metacritic’s list of highest-rated games of all time.

The big open world, open-ended gameplay and especially the sound and feel of the game, made Vice City a fan-favourite. It was the highest selling game of 2002 in the US, and it even became the fastest-selling game in history at that time.

Vice City Prequel: GTA: Vice City Stories (2006)

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories is, you guessed it, a prequel to GTA Vice City from 2002. Vice City Stories expands on the empire building aspect of the first game. For example, you can take over compounds owned by rival gangs, and you’ll have to protect these businesses from the other gang members.

More customization and vehicles

The game has much more RPG elements like character customization and lifestyle choices that influenced the way your character looked and behaved. For example, if you take CJ to the gym a lot, he’ll be strong and buff. If you decide to eat unhealthy junk food all the time, he’ll gain some pounds, and it’ll be harder for him to sprint away. This meant the gaming experience was completely unique for every gamer, something that was groundbreaking for a game like GTA at the time.

Hot Coffee Controversy: Adults only! 

Of course, we can’t talk about San Andreas without mentioning the ‘Hot Coffee’ controversy. Early drafts of the game included a sex-minigame (called Hot Coffee) involving CJ and his girlfriend in some adult situations. The minigame was eventually dropped and made inaccessible for players, but modders discovered its existence and released a modified code where you could play the minigame. This resulted in legal backlash for Rockstar and the rating of San Andreas being changed to ‘Adults Only’. Eventually, Rockstar re-released San Andres with Hot Coffee removed, and the rating got changed back to ‘Mature’.

This controversy didn’t ruin the sales, because all the incredibly high records that GTA already set, were quickly smashed by San Andreas. It became the highest selling game on the PS2 and holds that title to this day. The game is also still in the list of all time best-selling games.

The first HD universe in GTA

In the game you play as Niko Bellic who, in order to change his life around, decides to move to the great Liberty City. Once there, he discovers that the great stories his cousin, Roman, told were all a lie. Roman is in heavy debt and when Niko decides to help him, he gets involved with some high-profile criminals.

GTA 4 doesn’t have the biggest map, but it’s definitely the densest in the series (at this point). The developers wanted Liberty City to feel real and less cartoony. To achieve this, they used new technical developments like motion capture for the character’s physical performance. GTA IV also introduced the concept of an HD Universe, which is an imaginary universe that mirrors and parodies our own world. This meant the game included cellphones, fake brands, TV shows and radio stations, all inspired by real-life ones.

After the linear gameplay in San Andreas, more emphasis was placed on choices in GTA IV. The decisions you made in the story had a much bigger impact and could even lead to the death of a character.

The fastest-selling game ever

Grand Theft Auto 4 broke all the records already set by the franchise. The game broke the Guinness World Record for fastest-selling video game within 24 hours, and to this day it is one of the top best-selling games of all time. Besides that, the game is still ranked as the 3rd best game of all time on Metacritic.

Grand Theft Auto IV Expansion Packs

GTA VI got a bunch of exciting prequels and expansions.

Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned (2009) 
The Lost and Damned was the first GTA 4 expansion to come out. It follows the story of Johnny Klebitz, vice-president of a motorcycle gang. The improved motorcycle mechanics, amazing voice acting and addictive multiplayer mode, made this expansion a success with critics and players alike.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (2009)
In 2009, GTA released a new game for the DS: Chinatown Wars. The game is a sequel to GTA IV and follows the story of Triad member Huang Lee and his effort to hunt down a stolen sword. To squeeze Liberty City on the DS, the game went back to the top-down perspective and cartoon graphics. That didn’t ruin the fun, though! Chinatown Wars was praised for its creative visuals, and IGN UK even called it ‘A masterpiece in handheld gaming’.

Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony (2009)
The Ballad of Gay Tony was another GTA 4 expansion which follows Luis Fernando Lopez. He’s a former drug dealer-turned-bodyguard who assists his best friend Anthony Prince (Gay Tony), a nightclub magnate. Luis helps Anthony overcome all sorts of problems including drugs, debt disputes and even murder attempts. Although the expansion was less popular than The Lost and Damned, it was still pretty popular.

A bank-robbing trio

For GTA 5 we head to Los Santos. The story follows retired bank robber Michael De Santa, street gangster Franklin Clinton, and drug dealer Trevor Philips. This trio is trying to rob a bank while under pressure from a corrupt government agency and powerful criminals.

Grand Theft Auto 5 was mostly praised for how big the game was. The 3 main characters were all very well fleshed out and all their personal lives felt real. There was also a lot to discover if you didn’t want to play the main story: minigames, side quests and even mysteries in abundance!

Universal acclaim

Not surprising, GTA V received universal acclaim from critics and players alike. It made 1 billion dollars in revenue in 3 days, and it became the 2nd best-selling game ever (right after Minecraft). On Metacritic, it’s the 10th highest ranked game of all time. Aside from that, GTA V also introduced Grand Theft Auto Online. Which we’ll get into next!

Grand Theft Auto Online (2013)

The game is basically GTA, but with the RPG and customization elements turned up to a hundred. You play as your own silent protagonist and slowly build your empire to become the best criminal in town. In 2015 heists were added to the game that allowed players to team up together and complete missions, which instantly became a beloved part of the game.

GTA Online is still very popular today, and it receives regular updates where new cosmetics, heists, and other features are added. Online also has lots of fan-made game modes which are very popular among players.

For this special edition, the 3 games were remastered with upgraded vehicle and character models, new navigation and HUD designs, and improved shadows, reflections, and draw distances. It was also the first time that these games were released on newer consoles, including the Switch.

The Trilogy unfortunately wasn’t received very well. Many critics and players found that the games didn’t look much better, and they were filled with bugs and errors. Fans believed that these 3 iconic games deserved a better remaster.