: Modern versions provide $4 million in starter cash. It is recommended to choose the Bunker or Nightclub as your first business for long-term income.

Grand Theft Auto III is widely considered a landmark title that pioneered the modern open-world genre. It moved the series into a fully 3D Liberty City, offering players unprecedented freedom to explore and cause chaos.

: Always apply "Full Coverage" insurance at Los Santos Customs so your car can be replaced if destroyed. Heist Preparation & Equipment

: Use tools like the IGN Interactive Map to track 50 Spaceship Parts, 50 Letter Scraps, and 50 Stunt Jumps required for 100% completion. Essential Prep for GTA Online

The original developed by DMA Design (later Rockstar North) was revolutionary for its time, but quaint by today's standards. Using a top-down perspective, players viewed the carnage from a helicopter-like vantage point in the fictional cities of Liberty City, San Andreas, and Vice City. The core loop was simple: take jobs from crime lords, commit felonies, and evade the cops.

The single-player campaign acts as a training ground for mechanics you will use throughout the series.

: In Story Mode, save Lester's assassination missions for the end of the game to maximize your returns by investing character funds before and after each hit.

As of 2026, fans are desperate for the next chapter. Rockstar released Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition (2021) to mixed results, but the silence on GTA VI is deafening. Leaks in 2022 confirmed that the next game is likely set in a modern-day Vice City (renamed "Leonida") and will feature the series' first female protagonist, Lucia.