# What is the best Grand Theft Auto game ever made?

> From neon-soaked 80s crime sprees to sprawling modern open worlds, this lineup spans nearly three decades of chaos, comedy, and criminal ambition. Which one tops your list?

*By YPB Team · Published September 1, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/what-is-the-best-grand-theft-auto-game-ever-made*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **GTA V** — score 1000/1000
   The 2013 open-world crime epic set in Los Santos, one of the best-selling video games of all time.
2. **GTA: Chinatown Wars** — score 700/1000
   The 2009 handheld entry for DS and PSP, praised for reinventing the top-down formula with touch-screen mechanics.
3. **GTA San Andreas** — score 566/1000
   The 2004 entry set across the state of San Andreas, famed for its massive open world and RPG-lite mechanics.
4. **GTA III** — score 559/1000
   The 2001 entry that pioneered the fully 3D open-world format the series became known for.
5. **GTA: Vice City Stories** — score 500/1000
   The 2006 PSP prequel to Vice City, following a soldier turned criminal in the 1984 setting.
6. **GTA Vice City** — score 500/1000
   The 2002 entry set in a neon-soaked 1980s Miami-inspired city, celebrated for its soundtrack and style.
7. **GTA IV** — score 357/1000
   The 2008 entry that brought a grittier, more realistic tone and physics engine to Liberty City.
8. **GTA 2** — score 357/1000
   The 1999 top-down sequel that expanded the original's chaos with gang factions and multiple cities.
9. **GTA IV: The Lost and Damned** — score 357/1000
   The 2009 expansion following biker gang member Johnny Klebitz in Liberty City.
10. **Grand Theft Auto** — score 357/1000
   The original 1997 top-down game that started the franchise's crime-driven open-world formula.
11. **GTA IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony** — score 167/1000
   The 2009 expansion following nightclub promoter Luis Lopez through Liberty City's party underworld.
12. **GTA: Liberty City Stories** — score 167/1000
   The 2005 PSP prequel to GTA III, expanding on Liberty City's criminal underworld.

Tags: games, franchises, action, crime