Four GTA games that time forgot

Four games for handheld consoles were released between the main entries. They are not side stories outside the narrative — three are direct prequels, while one takes place in the same city and period as GTA IV.

Checked 26 August 2026. The website does not yet have dedicated hubs for them; the FAQ below explains why.

The series has eight main entries, which this website covers in detail. Alongside them came four games that receive far less attention — because they were released on consoles that almost nobody owns today, and most were never released elsewhere.

This page openly acknowledges a gap; it is not a hub. It explains what these games are and how they fit into the series, but it will not guide you through them. Pretending we had covered them would mean claiming more than is true.

Four games

From oldest to newest

GTA Advance 2004

Unavailable
Released
26 October 2004
Platforms
Game Boy Advance
Developer
Digital Eclipse
Where and when
Liberty City, 2000
Protagonist
Mike
View
Top-down, like the first two games
What makes it different
The only game in the series not developed by a Rockstar studio. Digital Eclipse built it for Game Boy Advance, hardware that had no chance of handling a three-dimensional Liberty City — so the team returned to the top-down view of GTA 1 and 2.
How it fits into the series
It takes place one year before GTA III and belongs to its world, even though it looks like the older games.
Today
It was never re-released. It remained on Game Boy Advance.

GTA Liberty City Stories 2005

Mobile only
Released
25 October 2005
Platforms
PSP, later PlayStation 2, iOS and Android
Developer
Rockstar Leeds and Rockstar North
Where and when
Liberty City, 1998
Protagonist
Antonio „Toni“ Cipriani
View
Third-person, like GTA III
What makes it different
The first attempt to bring three-dimensional GTA to a handheld console. Players know Toni Cipriani as a supporting character from GTA III — here he is the protagonist, three years earlier.
How it fits into the series
A prequel to GTA III, set three years before it.
Today
On mobile as part of a GTA+ subscription. There is no official PC version.

GTA Vice City Stories 2006

Unavailable
Released
31 October 2006
Platforms
PSP, later PlayStation 2
Developer
Rockstar Leeds and Rockstar North
Where and when
Vice City, 1984
Protagonist
Victor „Vic“ Vance
View
Third-person, like Vice City
What makes it different
It introduced an empire-building system — the player takes businesses from enemy gangs and runs them. It combined the properties of Vice City with the gang wars of San Andreas, and it never returned in any later game.
How it fits into the series
It takes place two years before Vice City. Vic is the brother of Lance Vance, whom players know from that game.
Today
There is no official version for modern platforms. The 2013 digital PlayStation 3 release was withdrawn in 2017.

GTA Chinatown Wars 2009

Mobile only
Released
17 March 2009
Platforms
Nintendo DS, later PSP, iOS and Android
Developer
Rockstar Leeds and Rockstar North
Where and when
Liberty City, 2009
Protagonist
Huang Lee
View
Rotating top-down camera, comic-book shading
What makes it different
The most visually daring game in the series: cel shading and a comic-book look, used for the first and last time. It added drug dealing as a separate supply-and-demand game, while wanted stars can be removed by destroying police cars rather than escaping.
How it fits into the series
It takes place in the same Liberty City as GTA IV, at the same time.
Today
On mobile as part of a GTA+ subscription.

Frequently asked questions

Why do these games not have their own hub on the website?

Because we have not played through them thoroughly enough to cover them in the same detail as the main games. One honest page is better than eight empty ones. Once we have played through one of them, it will get its own hub and this page will link to it.

Are they part of the series' story, or are they spin-offs?

They are part of it. All four take place in the same worlds as the main games, and three are direct prequels — Advance and Liberty City Stories to GTA III, and Vice City Stories to Vice City. Chinatown Wars takes place in the same Liberty City as GTA IV.

Which one is most worth playing?

This is our opinion, not a fact: Chinatown Wars for how differently it looks and plays, and Vice City Stories for the empire building that never returned. Advance is more interesting from a historical perspective.

Can any of them be played on PC?

None officially. Liberty City Stories and Chinatown Wars run on mobile through a GTA+ subscription; the others remained on the consoles for which they were released.

Why does GTA Advance look like GTA 2?

Because it ran on Game Boy Advance, where a three-dimensional city was not possible. Digital Eclipse therefore returned to a top-down view. It has no story connection to the old games, however — it belongs to the world of GTA III.

Where are the main games?

The eight main entries have their own hubs on the website, covering their stories, missions, vehicles and mods. There is also a dedicated page if you want to know which of them can still be bought today.

What can be bought →The series from GTA III to GTA 6