GTA Timeline
This is a timeline of GTA product announcement and releases, not the storyline of the games.
If you have reliable sources for any important dates not mentioned here then please use my contact details to let me know. This is an ongoing project which I will update occassionally – like all my work, really.
Announcements & Releases
| 1987-??-?? | Dave Jones starts work on “Menace” which leads to the creation of DMA Design. |
|---|---|
| 1995-02-20 | GTA 1 Cityscape Documentation written by Keith Hamilton. |
| 1997-10-21 | GTA 1 released for PC (MS-DOS). |
| 1998-02-28 | GTA 1 released for PC (Windows). |
| 1998-06-30 | GTA 1 released for Playstation. |
| 1999-04-31 | GTA London 1969 released for PC. |
| 1999-04-28 | GTA 1+GTA London 1969 “Director’s Cut” double pack released for Playstation. |
| 1999-05-10 | GTA London 1969 released for Playstation. |
| 1999-09-30 | GTA 2 released for PC. |
| 1999-10-25 | GTA 2 released for Playstation. |
| 1999-11-29 | GTA 1 released for Gameboy Colour. |
| 2000-05-08 | GTA 2 released for Dreamcast. |
| 2000-12-19 | GTA 2 released for Gameboy Colour. |
| 2001-10-22 | GTA 3 released for Playstation 2. |
| 2002-05-20 | GTA 3 released for PC. |
| 2002-05-21 | GTA Vice City announced for Playstation 2. |
| 2002-10-15 | GTA Vice City goes gold, meaning it sold over 500,000 pre-ordered copies. |
| 2002-10-29 | GTA Vice City released for Playstation 2. |
| 2003-02-18 | GTA Vice City annouced for PC. |
| 2003-05-13 | GTA Vice City released for PC. |
| 2003-09-03 | GTA 3+GTA Vice City double pack annouced for Xbox. |
| 2003-10-22 | Sony Computer Entertainment, Take-Two Interactive and Rockstar Games face $246 million lawsuit, which gets dismissed. |
| 2003-10-22 | GTA 3+GTA Vice City double pack released for PlayStation 2. |
| 2003-11-04 | GTA 3+GTA Vice City double pack released for Xbox. |
| 2004-03-01 | GTA San Andreas announced for Playstation 2. |
| 2004-10-26 | GTA San Andreas released for Playstation 2. |
| 2004-12-16 | GTA San Andreas announced for Xbox. |
| 2004-12-21 | GTA 2 re-released for PC via Rockstar Classics. |
| 2005-04-15 | GTA Advance released for GBA. |
| 2005-05-17 | GTA Liberty City Stories announced for Playstation Portable. |
| 2005-06-07 | GTA San Andreas released for PC. |
| 2005-06-07 | GTA San Andreas released for Xbox. |
| 2005-09-05 | GTA Trilogy (GTA 3+GTA Vice City+GTA San Andreas) announced for Xbox. |
| 2005-09-23 | GTA San Andreas Special Edition announced for Playstation 2, featuring extra media content. |
| 2005-09-05 | GTA Trilogy (GTA 3+GTA Vice City+GTA San Andreas) released for Xbox. |
| 2005-10-18 | GTA San Andreas Special Edition released for Playstation 2. |
| 2005-10-24 | GTA Liberty City Stories released for Playstation Portable. |
| 2006-04-18 | GTA Liberty City Stories announced for Playstation 2. |
| 2006-05-09 | GTA 4 announced for Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. |
| 2006-05-10 | GTA Vice City Stories announced for Playstation Portable. |
| 2008-04-29 | GTA 4 released for Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. |
| 2008-07-15 | GTA: Chinatown Wars announced for Nintendo DS. |
| 2008-08-06 | GTA 4 announced for PC. |
| 2008-12-02 | GTA 4 released for PC. |
| 2008-12-15 | GTA 4 title update patch released for PC. |
| 2008-11-20 | GTA 4: The Lost and Damned (TLaD) announced for Xbox 360. |
| 2009-02-17 | GTA 4: The Lost and Damned (TLaD) released for Xbox 360. |
| 2009-02-17 | GTA 4 Soundtrack released for iTunes. |
| 2009-03-17 | GTA: Chinatown Wars released for Nintendo DS. |
| 2009-06-22 | GTA: Chinatown Wars announced for Playstation Portable. |
| 2009-08-31 | GTA: Chinatown Wars announced for iPhone and iPod Touch. |
| 2009-10-20 | GTA: Chinatown Wars released for Playstation Portable. |
| 2009-10-29 | GTA 4: The Ballad of Gay Tony (TBoGT) released for Xbox 360. |
| 2009-10-29 | GTA: Episodes from Liberty City (TLaD+TBoGT) released for Xbox 360. |
| 2010-01-18 | GTA: Chinatown Wars released for iPhone and iPod Touch. |
| 2010-01-29 | GTA: Episodes from Liberty City (TLaD+TBoGT) announced for Playstation 3 and PC. |
| 2010-04-13 | GTA: Episodes from Liberty City (TLaD+TBoGT) released for Playstation 3 and PC. |
| 2010-09-09 | GTA: Chinatown Wars HD released for iPad. |
| 2010-10-27 | GTA 4: Complete Edition (GTA 4+Episodes from Liberty City) released for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. |
| 2010-11-12 | GTA Trilogy (GTA 3+GTA Vice City+GTA San Andreas) released for Apple Mac. |
| 2011-10-13 | GTA 3 10th Anniversary edition announced for iOS and Android. |
| 2011-10-13 | GTA 5 announced. |
| 2011-12-15 | GTA 3: 10 Year Anniversary Edition released for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. |
| 2011-12-15 | GTA 3: 10 Year Anniversary Edition released for Android. |
| 2012-10-26 | GTA Vice City 10th Anniversary edition announced for iOS and Android. |
| 2012-12-04 | GTA 5 release date announced as Spring 2013 for Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. |
| 2012-12-06 | GTA Vice City: 10th Anniversary Edition released for iPad, iPhone and iPod [T]ouch. |
| 2013-01-31 | GTA 5 release date announced. |
| 2013-09-17 | GTA 5 released for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. |
| 2013-10-?? | GTA 5 due for release for Xbox One, Playstation 4 and PC. |
Nearly all of the release dates are here.
Unknown Dates
| ? | GTA 1 re-released for PC via Rockstar Classics. |
|---|---|
| ? | GTA London 1961 released for PC via Rockstar’s website. |
| ? | GTA 1+GTA London 1969 “Director’s Cut” double pack released for PC. |
Bibliography (Sources)
- Delfi
- Archived many notable GTA sites and all official documentation.
- IceyBoard Calendar
- Includes GTA dates collected by Icey.
- IGN
- Dates for obscure editions, such as the GameBoy Colour ones.
- GTA 4 News by Rockstar Games
- The official site for the game has a news section with a few more entries than Take 2’s news section.
- The DMA History Site
- Written by Mike Dailly, a former employee. DMA started the GTA series.
- Rockstar Games’ GTA Website
- Lists dates for the earliest release of old editions in the series.
- Take2 Games Press Releases
- Archive of the GTA series publisher and owner since 2000.
New Sources
I recently found GTAnet’s release dates for GTA 3.
GTA Series Videos on Twitter provided the specific day in October 1997.