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10 Best Grand Theft Auto Games and Expansions to Play
Explore ten GTA games and story expansions, from Vice City and San Andreas to GTA IV, GTA V and GTA Online, with official trailers.
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The best Grand Theft Auto choice depends on whether you want a sprawling crime story, a smaller handheld-style adventure, or an ongoing online sandbox. This list includes full games and two clearly labeled GTA IV expansions; each earns a place for offering a distinct setting, lead character, or style of play. GTA Online is included as an online experience, not a substitute for GTA V’s story mode. GTA VI is still outside this released-game selection. Original versions, modern ports, and remastered editions can differ substantially, so the entries explain what you are actually looking for rather than promising one universal best edition.
If exploring the city is the main attraction, compare our open-world games selection.
10. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
Liberty City Stories puts Toni Cipriani inside the city’s organized-crime rivalries before the events of GTA III. It turns a familiar setting into a more compact adventure, with missions designed around shorter sessions and a map that is easier to learn than the series’ biggest worlds. That makes it a useful pick when you want the recognizable GTA structure without beginning another enormous campaign. It originally appeared on handheld hardware and later received other versions, so availability is less straightforward than for GTA V. Confirm a currently supported edition for your device instead of assuming every historical port remains for sale.
Official Taiwan mobile trailer; localized on-screen text. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories 行動版預告片.
9. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
Chinatown Wars follows Huang Lee as a family obligation draws him into Liberty City’s criminal underworld. Its raised camera view changes the feel of driving and navigation, while touch-inspired interactions give everyday criminal tasks a different texture from the main 3D games. The missions are compact, the humor is sharp, and the economy encourages you to pay attention to opportunities around the city. Pick it for a genuinely different perspective on GTA rather than a miniature imitation of GTA IV. Controls and platform support vary between the original handheld releases and later mobile versions; check the listing for your device.
Official trailer — Rockstar Games. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars Official PSP Trailer.
8. Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned — Expansion
The Lost and Damned is a GTA IV expansion centered on Johnny Klebitz and the tensions inside a motorcycle club. Liberty City becomes a setting for loyalty, hierarchy, and arguments that cannot be solved simply by earning more money. Riding with the group gives familiar streets a different identity, while the shorter campaign makes its central relationships easier to follow. It is a good choice if you liked GTA IV’s atmosphere but want a fresh lead. This is an expansion, not an entirely separate city or a direct replacement for the base game; PC buyers should examine the Complete Edition’s included content.
Official trailer — Rockstar Games. Grand Theft Auto: The Lost and Damned – Trailer #2.
7. Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony — Expansion
The Ballad of Gay Tony shifts GTA IV’s city toward nightclubs, celebrity culture, and expensive problems. You play Luis Lopez, whose work for club owner Tony Prince keeps pulling him between business responsibilities and dangerous criminal favors. The tone is flashier than The Lost and Damned, and the action is more willing to turn a bad situation into an extravagant set piece. It is an excellent companion to GTA IV when you want another perspective on overlapping events. Like the other Liberty City episode, it is an expansion included in certain collections, so compare packages before buying the same content twice.
Official character trailer introducing Luis Lopez in Episodes from Liberty City. Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City Meet: Luis Lopez.
6. Grand Theft Auto III
GTA III follows a largely silent protagonist trying to build a criminal career in Liberty City after a job goes badly wrong. The story is lean, leaving much of the game’s personality to the city, its radio stations, and the people handing out increasingly risky work. Its importance is easy to understand once you see how freely missions and exploration share the same space. Choose it for a shorter, more abrasive version of the GTA formula. The older camera, aiming, and mission structure can feel unforgiving; the Definitive Edition revisits the same adventure with a different visual and technical presentation.
Official trailer — Rockstar Games. Grand Theft Auto III: 10 Year Anniversary Edition – Official Launch Trailer.
5. GTA Online
GTA Online turns Los Santos into an ongoing multiplayer setting where a new character builds a criminal career through missions, businesses, and heists. There is narrative material, but the main attraction is working toward a plan with other players or finding an activity that suits your group. It belongs here for its breadth, not because it offers the same focused arc as a single-player GTA campaign. Account requirements, platform compatibility, subscriptions on consoles, and the economy all affect the experience. GTA V story mode and GTA Online access are not interchangeable across every storefront package, so read the included-content list carefully.
Official GTA Online gameplay reveal; current activities and platform features have evolved. Grand Theft Auto Online: Official Gameplay Video.
4. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Vice City casts Tommy Vercetti into a 1980s coastal city after a criminal deal collapses. Neon streets, radio stations, and rival businesses give his rise through the local underworld a strong period identity. The city is smaller than later GTA worlds, which helps its neighborhoods become familiar without dozens of hours of travel. Pick it if atmosphere matters as much as technical scope. Its treatment of the period is broad satire rather than a historical account. Original releases, mobile versions, and the Definitive Edition offer different controls and presentation, so the easiest version to access may not look exactly like older footage.
Official trailer — Rockstar Games. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City – Anniversary Trailer.
3. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
San Andreas brings Carl Johnson back to Los Santos, where family responsibilities and neighborhood conflict pull him into a much larger journey. Its appeal is the range of activities surrounding that story: driving schools, character customization, rural exploration, and several cities make the world feel unusually varied. It is the best fit here if you enjoy watching a game expand far beyond its opening neighborhood. Some systems are less polished than in later entries, but that ambition remains distinctive. Compare the available edition carefully, especially if soundtrack changes, controls, or the visual style of the Definitive Edition matter to you.
Official Definitive Edition comparison trailer; depicts the remastered version of the same adventure. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – The Definitive Edition Comparison Video.
2. Grand Theft Auto IV
GTA IV follows Niko Bellic to Liberty City, where the promise of a fresh start collides with debts, favors, and unresolved history. Its slower movement and weightier driving suit a story that spends time on friendship, work, and disappointment between criminal jobs. Pick it when you want the setting to feel like a place people struggle to live in, rather than simply a backdrop for spectacular missions. The PC Complete Edition includes both story expansions, but the old PC multiplayer and Games for Windows Live features were removed. That makes the campaign collection a different proposition from descriptions of the original release.
Official trailer — Rockstar Games. Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete Edition – Available on the Rockstar Games Launcher.
1. Grand Theft Auto V
GTA V follows Michael, Franklin, and Trevor as their separate lives become entangled in increasingly ambitious criminal work. Switching protagonists gives missions different perspectives and lets Los Santos support several tones at once, from domestic frustration to elaborate heist planning. It is the most approachable starting point here if you want a large modern GTA campaign with plenty to do outside the main story. On PC, Enhanced and Legacy versions have distinct technical requirements and online compatibility considerations. Check the version included in your purchase, and do not assume that owning GTA Online alone gives you access to the story campaign.
Official trailer — PlayStation. Footage may show another platform; use the official game listing below for the featured version. Grand Theft Auto V: The Official Launch Trailer | PS4.
Which Should You Play First?
Choose GTA V for a large modern campaign, GTA IV for a more grounded crime drama, or Vice City for a strong period setting. The GTA IV expansions work best after you understand Liberty City’s larger cast. If you want a social sandbox rather than a plotted solo journey, GTA Online fills that role, but its progression and spending systems deserve a different set of expectations.
For more focused campaigns outside GTA, see our single-player games on PC guide offers another starting point.
