Grand Theft Auto keeps returning to Liberty City, Vice City and Los Santos like it has some special bus pass, but that doesn’t mean every game takes place in the same world. The Liberty City that Claude terrorises in GTA III belongs to a different continuity from the one Niko Bellic arrives in during GTA IV.
GTA’s universes are separate versions of its fictional world. Games within the same universe can share characters and events, but you shouldn’t assume that a story from one universe also happened in another, as Rockstar addressed this in its GTA III anniversary Q&A, explaining that brands and radio personalities could carry across the divide while the games’ main casts belonged to their respective worlds
The series is divided into three universes: 2D, 3D and HD. Each has its own history, with familiar locations and brands carried over between them. Once you understand that distinction, GTA’s timeline becomes a bit easier to follow.
Which GTA Games Are in the 2D Universe?
The 2D universe contains the original games and London expansions:
- Grand Theft Auto
- Grand Theft Auto: London 1969
- Grand Theft Auto: London 1961
- Grand Theft Auto 2
These are the early, top-down entries. The original GTA already used the names Liberty City, Vice City and San Andreas, but its versions of those locations aren’t the same places you explore in later continuities.
You don’t need to play these games to understand Claude, CJ or Niko’s stories. They’re useful for seeing where the series started, rather than providing essential background for its later protagonists.
Which GTA Games Are in the 3D Universe?
The 3D universe includes the PS2 trilogy and its related handheld games:
- Grand Theft Auto III
- Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
- Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
- Grand Theft Auto Advance
- Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
- Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
These games share a continuity, with recurring characters linking their stories. Their release order is different from their story order: Vice City Stories happens before Vice City, while Liberty City Stories is a prequel to GTA III.
GTA Advance belongs here despite its top-down perspective. It takes place in the same version of Liberty City as GTA III and serves as a prequel to that game.
Likewise, playing GTA III, Vice City or San Andreas through The Definitive Edition doesn’t move their stories into the HD universe. Updated graphics don’t give CJ an entirely new criminal record.
Which GTA Games Are in the HD Universe?
The HD universe began with GTA IV and includes:
- Grand Theft Auto IV
- Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned
- Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony
- Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
- Grand Theft Auto V
- Grand Theft Auto Online
- Grand Theft Auto VI
GTA IV and its two expansions tell overlapping stories in Liberty City. GTA V shifts the action to Los Santos, while GTA Online also belongs to this continuity.
Chinatown Wars is an HD-universe game, even though its overhead perspective resembles the early entries. Its version of Liberty City belongs to the GTA IV world.
GTA VI continues the modern era with Jason and Lucia in Leonida, including a new version of Vice City. Returning to that city doesn’t make it a continuation of Tommy Vercetti’s story from the 2002 game, though.
Why Do Names and Characters Appear in Different Universes?
Bad storytelling, obviously!
No, Rockstar just reuses parts of GTA’s identity, including city names, businesses and media personalities. Seeing a familiar brand or hearing a recognisable radio host doesn’t mean all three universes share one history.
Lazlow is a useful example: he appears across the 3D and HD eras, but that doesn’t establish a shared timeline for every character around him. References and Easter eggs also aren’t reliable evidence that an older game’s events happened in the newer continuity.
Do You Need to Play Every GTA Game in Order?
No. There isn’t one continuous story running through the entire franchise. Most entries introduce their own protagonist and central conflict, although games within the same universe can reward familiarity with earlier characters.
For the strongest direct connections, play GTA IV before its expansions, or pair GTA III and Vice City with their respective Stories prequels. You can start GTA V without first completing San Andreas, even though both take you to Los Santos.
READ NEXT: 100 Best PS2 Games of All Time
Some of the coverage you find on Cultured Vultures contains affiliate links, which provide us with small commissions based on purchases made from visiting our site.
