The 26-year evolution of the GTA logo – from the original Grand Theft Auto to GTA 6
Dec. 11, 2023Grand Theft Advent | A visual tour of how the GTA logo has changed over the last quarter of a century
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For a moment there, we didn’t know for certain thatGTA 6existed. We knew that Rockstar was definitely on the cusp of premiering the next entry of its esteemed Grand Theft Auto series, but whether or not it’d be explicitly named number six was unconfirmed. That is, until the end of the much-anticipated, and since much-dissected,GTA 6 trailer– whose impressive glimpses of Vice City and protagonist Lucia in action concluded with a title card that boasted the series' now signature lowercase ‘grand theft auto’ logo sitting in front of an imposing ‘VI’ (or 6 in Roman numerals), colored orange and pink with palm tree silhouettes drawn inside its lines.
Grand Theft Auto
Welcome to Grand Theft Advent – a month-long celebration of Rockstar’s enduring crime sim series. Be sure to check in on ourGTA 6 coverage hubfor more every day throughout December.
Release date:November 28, 1997Platform(s):PC, PS1, Game Boy Color
The one that started it all. Despite being set in the current day at the time, a lot of the original DMA Design-developed Grand Theft Auto’s promotional material echoed a 1970s vibe – something that extended to its logo, with its cartoonish flames and font. The stars on either side of the letters here are interesting because while the series eventually adopted its now signature ‘stars’ wanted level system, the original GTA used talking policeman icons to signify how aggressive law enforcement were in pursuit. Moreover, while this logo is definitely cool, it wasn’t used in-game – certainly not at the time – with this logo instead featuring on the start menu:
Not nearly as eye-catching, I’m sure you’ll agree – but that was soon to change.
Release date(s):April 30, 1999; June 1, 1999Platform(s):PS1, PC
Grand Theft Auto’s first expansion took us back in time and to the UK capital with flare and finesse. That’s reflected in both the GTA: London 1969 expansion logo, and its follow-up, GTA: London 1961, with its Austin Powers-style badge and union flag colors.
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Release date:October 22, 1999Platform(s):PC, PS1, Game Boy Color, Dreamcast
The term ‘Grand Theft Auto 2’ exists today on wiki pages and digital storefronts, but at the time the second mainline GTA game was known simply as GTA 2. While a natural evolution of the first game in mechanical, visual and top-down perspective terms, its logo struck out on its own with a yellow taxi cab in the sights of a distant sniper (despite the game not actually including sniper rifles as weapons).
1997’s Grand Theft Auto may have started it all, but it was GTA 3 thatchangedit. This was the first game to adopt the now iconic lowercase font that we associate with the series – and with some promo material at the time running with simply ‘gta 3’, this logo both looked back and forward.
Another interesting feature of the GTA 3 logo is tied to its box art. In the PAL region, a collection of the game’s characters featured against a white background, whereas the US region was the first to use the grid style character splash that’s consistent with the series' later entries.
Having landed on what would become a discernible and consistent font and logo with GTA 3, Vice City said so much with very little – its neon pink cursive a distinct nod to Tommy Vercetti’s faux-Miami exploits in the mid-1980s.
Similar to Vice City before it, GTA: San Andreas used Old English lettering to subtly nod to the street-level themes of the latest Grand Theft Auto installment; this one set in the early 1990s and weaved around street gang culture.
The respective prequel off-shoots of GTA 3 and GTA: Vice City, these logos portrayed the grit of the 3D Universe’s Liberty City and the same beachfront 80s vibes of Vice. Where these games' logos came into their own, however, was in their box arts – each cover posting characters from their base games' timelines that fueled speculation before release.
Release date:April 28, 2008Platform:PS3, Xbox 360, PC
A darker game in tone called for a darker logo in presentation. The standard logo was pretty cut and dry for GTA 4 to be fair, but the first steps of the series' HD universe in 2008 appear to prompt Rockstar to get creative with its promo logos – with the skyline one shared here my own favorite.
Release date(s):February 17, 2009; October 29, 2009Platform(s):Xbox 360, PC, PS3
Like its base game, GTA 4’s story mode DLC had cool standalone logos, again accentuated by their character-led box art. The jump in visual quality GTA 4 had over its predecessors was especially reflected by The Lost and Damned to this end.
Release date:March 17, 2009Platform(s):PSP, Nintendo DS, iOS, Android
Like GTA 4’s off-shoot DLC, this portable mainline off-shoot borrowed the same windowed branding style as its forerunners, with some bespoke lettering designed to reflect protagonist Huang Lee’s heritage.
The logo we’ve spenta longtime with, and surely the series' most famous. With the signature ‘grand theft auto’ logo sitting alongside a massive V (or 5 in Roman numerals) that was colored green with a ‘five’ wraparound akin to US paper currency.
The latest of the lot, revealed at the very end of the GTA 6 trailer, and the culmination of everything that’s come before it. Bold, bright and beautiful, with the same silhouetted stylings as GTA 4’s Liberty City skyline – this time with a neon blue-to-pink-to-orange fade and waving palm trees.
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