Grand Theft Auto (GTA) is a series of open-world action-adventure video games centred on crime, driving and exploration in fictionalised versions of American cities. The series was created by the British studio DMA Design, later renamed Rockstar North, and has been published by Rockstar Games since the company became part of Take-Two Interactive.
The first Grand Theft Auto was released in 1997 and used a top-down perspective. Its basic structure already allowed players to move freely through cities, steal vehicles and complete missions for criminal organisations. Later entries expanded this formula, particularly Grand Theft Auto III (2001), which introduced a fully three-dimensional version of Liberty City and brought the series to a much larger audience.
Grand Theft Auto III became especially influential in the development of modern open-world games. It allowed players to combine story missions with unrestricted exploration, driving and optional activities in a single large urban environment. Later games, including Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002), Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004) and Grand Theft Auto IV (2008), expanded the scale of the worlds and placed greater emphasis on characters, narrative and satire of American culture. The Strong National Museum of Play inducted Grand Theft Auto III into the World Video Game Hall of Fame in 2016, describing it as a major model for later open-world games.
Grand Theft Auto V (2013) introduced three playable protagonists and a large recreation of Los Santos and the surrounding region. It was accompanied by GTA Online, an online multiplayer mode that developed into a long-running platform for missions, races, businesses and other activities. The success of the game made the series one of Rockstar Games' most important franchises.
The series is also known for controversy surrounding its depictions of violence, crime, sexuality and social stereotypes. At the same time, its games frequently use exaggerated advertising, fictional media, dialogue and characters to satirise consumer culture, politics and contemporary American society. The combination of open-world freedom, cinematic storytelling and social satire has made Grand Theft Auto highly influential within the video game industry.