Every GTA Game Ranked, From Best to Worst
GTA IV is the best-reviewed Grand Theft Auto game, 98 on Metacritic, one point ahead of GTA III and GTA V at 97. Vice City and San Andreas share fourth place at 95. GTA V is by far the best-selling, with over 230 million copies. The ranking below uses each game's critic score on the platform it launched on, so it is a measure of reception, not a matter of taste.
| # | Game | Metacritic | Other platforms | Copies sold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2008 | 98 PS3 and Xbox 360 | PC 90 | Over 25 million by 2013 |
| 2 | 2001 | 97 PS2 | Xbox 96, PC 93 | Over 14.5 million |
| 2 | 2013 | 97 PS3 and Xbox 360 | PS4 97, Xbox One 97, PC 96 | Over 230 million by June 2026 |
| 4 | 2002 | 95 PS2 | Xbox 96, PC 94 | Over 17.5 million |
| 4 | 2004 | 95 PS2 | Xbox 93, PC 93 | 27.5 million |
| 6 | 2009 | 93 Nintendo DS | PSP 90 | n/a |
| 7 | 2009 | 90 Xbox 360 | PS3 88 | n/a |
| 8 | 2009 | 89 Xbox 360 | PS3 87 | n/a |
| 9 | 2005 | 88 PSP | PS2 78 | Over 8 million by March 2008 |
| 10 | 2006 | 86 PSP | PS2 75 | n/a |
| 11 | 1999 | 70 PlayStation | n/a | n/a |
| 12 | 2004 | 68 Game Boy Advance | n/a | n/a |
How This Ranking Works
Each game is ranked by its Metacritic score on its original platform: PS2 for GTA III, Vice City and San Andreas, PS3 and Xbox 360 for GTA IV and GTA V, and so on. Every score is the game's Metacritic score. Scores on later platforms are shown alongside, because they sometimes tell a different story: GTA IV's PC port scored 90, eight points below the console versions. Two games tied on the same score share the same place. Sales figures are the latest published for each game.
What Is the Best GTA Game?
It depends on what you count. Critics put GTA IV first, on the strength of its 2008 console release. Players bought GTA V in numbers no other game in the series comes close to: over 230 million copies by June 2026, the second best-selling video game of all time, and roughly nine times GTA IV. GTA III, the first 3D game, ties GTA V at 97 and is the one the rest of the series is built on.
The Handheld Games Rank Higher Than You Might Think
Chinatown Wars on the Nintendo DS scored 93, more than either GTA IV episode and more than both PSP Stories games. The two top-down originals are at the bottom: Grand Theft Auto 2 at 70 and GTA Advance at 68. Every 3D game in the series scores 86 or more.
The Games Without a Score
Two games came out before Metacritic tracked them, so they are left out of the ranking and shown with their GameRankings score on PC instead: Grand Theft Auto (1997, GameRankings 79), GTA: London 1969 (1999, GameRankings 75). GTA Online: Part of GTA V, so it has no separate critic score. Grand Theft Auto VI: Due in November 2026, so it has no score yet. Every game in the series, in release order, is on the GTA games page.
More GTA Rankings
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