The Evolution of Grand Theft Auto: From Pixel Streets to Cityscapes
The GTA franchise has come a long way since it first began in the late 90s with the iconic upper sky view pixel streets full of chaos and destruction in the initial games in the series to the grand masterpieces of urban life it offers fans in the last couple of entries.
For this review we are going through the evolution of the Grand Theft Auto series, how it all started and where are we right now. The levels of carnage are going to be quite high with this one, so be sure to buckle up tight as we push the pedal to the metal and hit the road together! Let’s go!
Grand Theft Auto
Release date: November 28, 1997
Developers: Rockstar Games and DMA Design
Publishers: Rockstar Games, Take-Two Interactive
Platforms: PlayStation, Windows PC, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, MS-DOS, DOS
All the way back during the late 90s the first entry in the Grand Theft Auto series emerged and managed to easily captivate the hearts of players with its pure formula of drastic street violence and charming ways to cause utter chaos with so much ease.
It had a cool top-down perspective gameplay camera view, which was only typical for mostly racing games, but here the main idea was definitely not racing and probably that was one of the main reasons for it to get popular quite quickly and set the stage for the rest of the series to unfold.
The plot of the game focuses on a criminal who is trying to make it in the world of the criminal underground and reach a better status. The action happens in an open-world environment across three different fictional cities, who were actually inspired by real-life locations such as New York, San Francisco and Miami (named Liberty City, San Andreas and Vice City respectively). As the player you must gather points from various missions and criminal activities in order to progress through the game's 6 chapters (2 for each city) and to do your best to not get caught by the Police while at it.
This first title is historically important and significant because it led the way towards a revolution in the gaming world nobody could have predicted back then.
Grand Theft Auto 2
Release date: October 22, 1999
Developers: Rockstar Games and DMA Design
Publishers: Rockstar Games
Platforms: Windows PC, PlayStation, Sega Dreamcast, Game Boy, Game Boy Color
With the commercial success of the original the Grand Theft Auto Rockstar action-adventure brought us the second entry in the franchise. Although it did not manage to outshine its predecessor financially, it did deliver faster cars, busier roads and much more intense action since the formula did get quite improved with this one.
This time everything takes place in the open world of “Anywhere City” and again follows the activities of a street criminal looking to make it big by working for crime syndicates. Although your deeds would not stay unnoticed for long and the Police would quickly be tracking and chasing you with more and more relentlessness as you rack up your scores.
Even though it did not manage to earn as much profit as the initial entry in the GTA series, the second game of the franchise did develop the ideas Rockstar had and acted more like a bridge between what we got initially and the transition towards the titles we are going to discuss next.
Grand Theft Auto III
Release date: October 22, 2001
Developers: Rockstar Games and DMA Design
Publishers: Rockstar Games
Platforms: Windows PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Android iOS, Xbox, Mac, Fire OS
The first 3D entry in the GTA games was a total visual reimagining of the Grand Theft Auto gameplay as it took on the third-person perspective and offered players a much more dynamic experience roaming the streets of Liberty City after you escaped detention during a facility transfer as the protagonist Claude.
The game garnered a lot of attention, both good and bad of course, due to its innovative and provocative approach towards the story, action and visuals. It even ranked first as the best-selling game in 2001, marking a new height in the gaming industry marketing department with a total of over 11 million copies sold in that year and a total of more than 14,000,000 up to this day. A landmark title that you should not miss out on and in case you have there was a recent Grand Theft Auto 3 Remaster in 2021 celebrating the 20 year anniversary and legacy it very much helped to build.
Ride in style on your way towards becoming an iconic criminal helping the mafia do their dirty business and evade the authorities as best as you can, since this time around the forces are even more brutal in their tactics, but no worries…. Your arsenal and capabilities have been boosted very, very much as well!
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Release date: October 27, 2002
Developers: Rockstar Games and Grove Street Games
Publishers: Rockstar Games
Platforms: Windows PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox, Android, iOS, Mac, Fire OS
This entry in the Grand Theft Auto series is set in the year 1986 and the action takes place in the fictional (although based on Miami) Vice City. The story follows Tommy Vercetti as he climbs the criminal ladder to rise up in the ranks, following a deal gone wrong not much later after he got released from prison.
In this 3D action-adventure a lot of the characters and locations are based on real-life events and it definitely had a lot of inspiration by the mafia gangs that were operating in that specific area and period. Once again sales records were broken and the game managed to push the limits of what is acceptable in gaming by stirring even more controversy and scandals, but hey…as long as the players are happy with what they got, the numbers would keep on growing.
Being a total upgrade over the previous entries in all aspects, with better gameplay, more realistic storyline and enhanced visual graphics, it ensured that what follows could be possible and it takes its rightful place among the greats, as it should.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Release date: October 26, 2004
Developers: Rockstar Games
Publishers: Rockstar Games
Platforms: Windows PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Mac, iOS, Android, Kindle, Windows Phone
In this GTA game things escalate quickly before Carl “CJ” Johnson somehow manages to escape from the difficulties and pressure of the criminal life in Los Santos, San Andreas — a city that is tearing itself apart with gang feuds, drug consumption and extensive corruption. It is the place where film stars and millionaires try their best efforts to avoid harm from dealers and gang members.
The open world video game design allows you as the player to freely roam San Andreas. The world consists of three major metropolitan cities: Los Santos, San Fierro, and Las Venturas, (all of them again actually based on Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Las Vegas respectively). It all takes place during the early '90s and Carl got home to find the bitter fact that his mother has been murdered and his family has fallen apart, all his childhood friends are headed toward decline and misery and something must be done about it.
Not long after his arrival to the neighborhood, he gets purposefully framed for homicide by a couple of corrupt cops. CJ has no other option but to head on a journey that would take him across the entire state of San Andreas, in order to somehow clear his name, save his family and to once again regain control over the streets and the crime activities going on.
In this entry there were many newly-introduced mechanics such as turf gang wars, character customization, dual weapons, drive-by-shooting and many more. There was also a Grand Theft Auto multiplayer mode for players to enjoy together.
Release date: April 29, 2008
Developers: Rockstar Games
Publishers: Rockstar Games
Platforms: PC Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, , Xbox One
The next entry in the Grand Theft Auto series made a shift towards a much more realistic tone and detailed gameplay style. This time around we are taking the role Niko Bellic – Eastern European war veteran as he arrives in Liberty City to put behind his past and potentially look for a better life. He meets with his cousin, who has some underperforming taxi cab company and managed to get in trouble with the wrong people from the Russian mafia gangs. Niko decides to help his cousin out of his problems and joins in one the mess that has been stirred up. On his journey he would face many tough situations what you as the player do would shape up or completely alter the events of the plot.
The game has many new elements and implementations such as a cover system, more specific aim that allows to target specific body parts, additional attack moves for melee weapons in order to defeat enemies in greater style, a respect level system, morality choices that would determine how the storyline progresses and many more.
An online Grand Theft Auto co-op multiplayer mode was also included with this game in the world of GTA, it allowed for up to 32 players to interact together and play in both cooperative and competitive games in a complete recreation of the single-player map.
The title got 2 different expansion packs that were released for the game at a later stage. These include “The Lost and Damned” and “The Ballad of Gay Tony”, both of which present players with new scenarios that are still interconnected with the general Grand Theft Auto IV storyline, offering players new protagonists to play as.
Release date: September 17, 2013
Developers: Rockstar Games
Publishers: Rockstar Games
Platforms: Windows PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox 360
In the sequel to the previous entry of the Grand Theft Auto series we are welcomed to Los Santos and three different characters to navigate with throughout the storyline, namely Michael De Santa, Trevor Philips and Franklin Clinton. The first one is a young street hustler, while the other two a retired bank robber and a ruthless psychopath that all manage to get themselves in trouble with many of the most dangerous groups in the criminal underground, as well as the U.S. authorities.
What is even more interesting is the fact that you play different parts of the game with one of them and their timelines are interconnected, so there are dialogues and encounters between them that set the stage for other events in the GTA V gameplay. They must work as a team to their best capacity and perform a series of heists in order to somehow survive the life in a city where they cannot trust anybody, including each other.
Experience GTA Online, a dynamic and ever-evolving online universe for up to 30 players, where you can rise from street-level hustler to become a kingpin of your own criminal empire.
In this GTA game there is also the Grand Theft Auto Online, coming with brand new high-performance vehicle upgrades and improvements, a Career Builder but also there is unique gameplay with its own expansions and content.
Be sure to enjoy the online multiplayer mode solo or with friends. Perform various daring co-operative missions, risky heists, participate in Stunt Races and compete in the very unique Adversary Modes. or hang out around the city in the many social activities that include nightclub parties, arcades, street racing meetups and many others.
This game managed to beat at least a few records in different directions of gaming and we are curious to see if the next one is going to be able to outperform it!
Grand Theft Auto VI
Release date: May 26, 2026
Developers: Rockstar Games
Publishers: Rockstar Games
Platforms: Windows PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S,
Finally, we reach modern times with the upcoming and very much anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI entry into the series. It has been more than 10 years since the last game was released and even though it was heavily supported with upgrades and expansions for quite a long period, it would seem that the next game has been in development for over a decade and it was supposed to be released earlier this year. Sadly it quite recently got postponed and the Grand Theft Auto VI release date was further pushed for May 26th 2026. The game would be released initially for the consoles and a bit later for the PC.
From what we know and have gathered as information about this one, it would seem there would be two characters to play as, a Bonnie and Clyde like duo that consists of Jason and Lucia, who are both hardened criminals and partners in life and crime.
When a seemingly easy hit goes terribly wrong, they end up on the darker side of one of the sunniest places in America, in the turmoil of a massive criminal conspiracy that reaches far across the whole state of Leonida. The duo is then ruthlessly forced to rely on each other much more than ever if they wish to survive this adventure full of intense action.
It is very likely that this next chapter of the series is also going to present some form of multiplayer mode but we should wait and see how it goes, since the Grand Theft Auto online PvP has proven to be of great interest for the fans of this popular franchise.
The visual graphics for this one seem to surpass all the previous entries and with a longer than 10 years development it must deliver an incredibly stunning experience and performance, and fans have been eager to try it out ever since it got announced!
With so much games and content in the overall GTA universe, it is a pleasure to explore how did they managed to go from a pixelated 2D fun and quirky game to the best-selling titles ever that keep on pushing the industry further with innovation and determination. We simply cannot wait to finally get the next entry. So, make sure to check out the Grand Theft Auto Steam collection right away and get ready for the upcoming title properly….you got less than a year to do so, if you have not yet gone through the entries in the series.
Until next time when we would continue to keep you informed about anything interesting in gaming for this month! Stay tuned for more YUPLAY blog posts and cool promotions to take advantage of.