1997
The original Grand Theft Auto by DMA Design.
Grand Theft Auto: where the series began from a bird's-eye view
Before three-dimensional Liberty City, the series was built on fast cars, telephone jobs, score multipliers and three cities that later games would repeatedly revisit.
The game at a glance
Verifiable essentials without mixing editions
3
Liberty City, San Andreas and Vice City in their original 2D form.
Points
Reaching the required score unlocks the next chapter, rather than completing a linear list of every mission.
Cities and vehicles in pictures
Original illustrations without copied game maps or textures
Three faces of the city
The comparison explains the character of the three cities without copying their exact game maps.
Original GTA HUB illustration · not a screenshot or an exact game map.
Historical context: New York in 1999
The photograph shows the real arrangement of islands, bridges and harbour facilities.
Source: NOAA / Wikimedia Commons · public domain
Vehicle types in the original GTA
A compact car, saloon, coupe, van, police car and motorcycle represent different roles within the driving model.
Original GTA HUB illustration · not a screenshot or an exact game map.Complete guide
Every subject has its own indexable page
History
From the Race'n'Chase concept to the Grand Theft Auto series.
Cities and chapters
How maps, points and unlocking the next section work.
Missions and telephones
Jobs, the score multiplier and why survival matters more than chaos.
Vehicles
Driving from above, equipment and the police system.
London 1969 and 1961
The period Mission Packs and how they relate to the base game.
Platforms
DOS, Windows, PlayStation, Game Boy Color and WebAssembly.
Play in a browser
The genuine Carnage3D/WASM engine loads only after you click.