Grand Theft Auto: where to start and what to buy

Grand Theft Auto has spent nearly three decades mixing crime, satire, and ever-larger open worlds. In the store you’ll see remasters, the PS2 trilogy rebuilt, GTA IV, GTA V with its endless online mode, and on the horizon GTA VI on November 19, 2026.

If you open Steam or your console and don’t know whether to start with San Andreas, grab V on sale, or go straight to Leonida, this guide answers one question: what to buy for your situation.

What Grand Theft Auto is (no spoilers)

Rockstar action and open-world series: you drive, shoot, run story missions, and get lost in the city doing everything else. The tone mixes dark humour, social satire, and chaos; each entry changes city, era, and lead character.

Unlike very linear sagas, almost every main numbered game is a self-contained story. You don’t need III to understand V, or Vice City for VI. What repeats is Rockstar’s style, not one continuous plot.

Partial exception: GTA III, Vice City, and San Andreas share a universe (Liberty City, Vice City, Los Santos in different eras). They enrich references, but each one plays fine on its own.

How the main games fit together

Eight numbered home-console entries (spin-offs aside). In practice there are three eras worth separating when you buy:

Release order

Why not everything is in the carousel

• GTA and GTA 2: top-down, very old; for completists only.
• Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories: PSP spin-offs; extra lore, not main numbering.
• Chinatown Wars: different style (DS / mobile); outside this guide’s focus.
• GTA Online: not a numbered game; tied to V (below).

The games that matter

Cards show the version I’d buy today. Screenshots for tone and setting.

Packs worth considering

Always compare with individual sale prices. The trilogy pack is usually cheaper than three separate buys (if they were still sold separately).

GTA Online and GTA+

GTA Online is not V’s campaign: it’s a persistent multiplayer mode in Los Santos with constant updates. You can enjoy V’s story without touching online.

Rockstar also sells GTA+, a subscription with bonuses for Online (and cross-benefits with other titles). If you only want single-player, you don’t need it. Digital pre-orders for VI include one month of GTA+ as a promo; cancel if you don’t want it to renew.

Where to start and what to buy

Game Pass and PS Plus rotate their catalogs: V or the trilogy have been on subscription before. Check the listing the day you buy. More context in Game Pass explained and PlayStation Plus explained.

What you can skip

• GTA and GTA 2 (2D): historical curiosity, not an entry point.
• PS2 originals if you have The Trilogy.
• Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories: portable spin-offs; optional lore.
• GTA Online: if you only want offline stories (unless V hooks you and you want more).
• GTA IV: slower and more narrative than V.

Grand Theft Auto VI (2026)

The next numbered entry launches November 19, 2026 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. A new story with Jason and Lucía in Leonida; you don’t need to have finished V.

For release date, Extended Look gameplay, pricing (€79.99 / €99.99), editions, pre-orders, bonuses, and physical boxes without a disc, see the dedicated article below.

In short

Pick by style and era, not number: GTA V for a cheap entry with the most-played game, The Trilogy if retro appeals, IV for urban drama, VI if you only care about what’s new.

And remember: except for the PS2 block (III / Vice City / San Andreas), each story stands on its own.

Grand Theft Auto · GTA VI