Grand Theft Auto III is an open world action-adventure video game developed by DMA Design and published by Rockstar Games. It was released on 22 October 2001 for the PlayStation 2 console, on 20 May 2002 for Microsoft Windows, and on 31 October 2003 for the Xbox console. It is the fifth title in the Grand Theft Auto series, and the first main entry since 1999's Grand Theft Auto 2.

Grand Theft Auto III is played from a third-person perspective in an open world single-player environment, allowing the player to interact with the game world at their leisure. The game is set within the fictional city of Liberty City, which is loosely based on New York City. The story features a mute, nameless protagonist, although he is later referred to as Claude in his cameo in the prequel Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Claude is a bank robber who is left for dead by his girlfriend, and quickly becomes entangled in a world of gangs, crime, and corruption.

Upon its release, the game was acclaimed by many reviewers who praised its concept and gameplay, which was coupled with the use of a 3D game engine for the first time in the series. However, the game's violent and sexual content has been the source of much public concern and controversy. It became the best-selling video game of 2001, and has sold over 17 million copies as of 2011. The game is cited as a landmark in video games for its far-reaching influence within the industry. The success of Grand Theft Auto III was a significant factor in the series' subsequent popularity; as of 2008, five prequels set before the events of Grand Theft Auto III have been released, particularly Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories which revisits the Liberty City setting just three years prior.

Grand Theft Auto or grand theft auto may refer to:

Video games

Motor vehicle theft is the criminal act of stealing or attempting to steal a car (or any other motor vehicle). Nationwide in the US in 2012, there were an estimated 721,053 motor vehicle thefts, or approximately 229.7 motor vehicles stolen for every 100,000 inhabitants. Property losses due to motor vehicle theft in 2012 were estimated at $4.3 billion.

Methods

Some methods used by criminals to steal motor vehicles include:

Grand Theft Auto is a handheld console game developed by Digital Eclipse, published by Rockstar Games, and released on October 26, 2004 for the Game Boy Advance. It is the only Grand Theft Auto game to not be developed by a Rockstar Games studio. The game is referred to as Grand Theft Auto Advance on its title screen; the game's cover art and all promotional material refer to it as simply Grand Theft Auto.

The game is played from a top-down perspective; this view angle was seen on the first two games in the series, Grand Theft Auto and Grand Theft Auto 2, but vehicle-based side-missions (such as "Vigilante" and "Paramedic"), the heads-up display and a large majority of the weapons, first introduced in the three-dimensional counterparts, have also been included. Unlike previous top-down Grand Theft Auto games, vehicles can now flip over. It is the first game from the Grand Theft Auto series which got a 16+ rating from PEGI and an M rating (recommended for mature audiences though any age is still allowed access) from the Australian Classification Board. The game was released on the same day as the North American release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.