GTA 6: The Official Grand Theft Auto Timeline, Explained
With GTA 6 due on November 19, here is the official Grand Theft Auto timeline, from London 1961 to Vice City and beyond.
Image: © Rockstar Games
GTA 6 is due on November 19 and will be the 18th entry in the Grand Theft Auto series, according to Journal du Geek. The outlet has used the occasion to recap the official timeline of the franchise, which runs from the 1960s to the 2020s.
The game takes place in the present day, but the exact year is still unknown. That has not always been the case in the series, whose entries have travelled through several decades.
From the 1960s to the 1980s
Chronologically, the earliest entries are the two expansions to the very first game: GTA London 1961 and GTA London 1969, released in 1999 on PC and PlayStation (London 1961 on PC only). They are the only games in the series not set in America, Journal du Geek notes.
The series then jumps ahead 15 years to the mid-1980s with GTA Vice City Stories, set in Vice City in 1984. Players take on the role of Vic Vance, brother of Lance Vance. It is a prequel to GTA Vice City, set in 1986, which stars Tommy Vercetti, who wants to take over the city.
The 1990s: San Andreas and the first GTA
GTA San Andreas, set in 1992, drops players into the West Coast era in Los Angeles. The game draws on real events, such as the 1992 Los Angeles riots, and brings back characters from Vice City, a little older.
The late 1990s then return to Liberty City. The first GTA is set in 1997: players control a nameless criminal taking on shady jobs across three cities inspired by New York, Miami and Los Angeles. GTA Liberty City Stories, released in 2005, is set in 1998 and follows Toni Cipriani before he joins the Salvatore Leone crime family, making it a prequel to GTA III.
What we still don't know
Journal du Geek's piece does not say which year GTA 6 is set in, nor how any links to earlier games will play out. Rockstar has therefore confirmed nothing on this point in the material we have.
Until launch, keep up with our GTA 6 news feed and explore the interactive map of Leonida. Follow GTA 6 Universe on X for what comes next.