Every GTA game ranked by review scores

GTA IV is the best-reviewed GTA game, with a Metascore of 98 on Xbox 360 and PS3. GTA V and GTA III follow at 97, then Vice City and San Andreas at 95. At the bottom is 2021’s Trilogy Definitive Edition, which scored between 46 and 56.

Metacritic averages the scores critics gave a game into one number out of 100, the Metascore. It is the closest thing to an agreed verdict on each GTA, and Take-Two’s own CEO uses it as the benchmark for Rockstar. Below, each game is ranked by its best Metascore on any platform. We checked every score on Metacritic on November 2, 2026.

The ranking

The original Grand Theft Auto (1997) and its London 1969 mission pack have no Metascore, because Metacritic lists no critic reviews for them.

User scores are out of 10 and come from players, not critics. They are easy to flood, so treat them as a mood reading rather than a verdict.

Scores by platform

Ports often scored differently from the original release. The ones with enough reviews for a Metascore:

GTA V’s PS5 and Xbox Series X scores are for the 2022 Expanded and Enhanced version, which critics reviewed as a re-release of a nine-year-old game. It scored 16 to 18 points lower than the same game on older consoles.

What the ranking shows

The top five are all main numbered games or the big PS2 trilogy. Every one of them scored 95 or more. Rockstar’s main releases stayed in that narrow band for more than a decade, from GTA III in 2001 to GTA V in 2013.

The handheld games did well too. Chinatown Wars on the DS (93) is the best-reviewed GTA outside the main series, and the two PSP “Stories” games both scored in the high 80s.

The remasters scored worst of all. The Definitive Edition was adapted by Grove Street Games, and the Trilogy launched in November 2021 with so many bugs that Rockstar apologised, saying it “did not launch in a state that meets our own standards of quality”, according to Kotaku. Its user scores sit around 1 out of 10 on every platform.

For each of the three PS2 games and GTA V, our review pages list every major outlet’s score with a link to the full review: GTA V, San Andreas and Vice City.

What to expect from GTA 6’s score

Confirmed Take-Two holds Rockstar to this standard in public. On its November 2025 earnings call, CEO Strauss Zelnick said Rockstar’s Metacritic scores have, with very few exceptions, been over 95, and called GTA V “the standard bearer”, Kotaku reported. Kotaku’s own count found seven Rockstar releases at exactly 95 and four above it.

Analysis So 95 is the bar GTA 6 will be judged against, and 98 would make it the joint best-reviewed GTA. Our GTA 6 review dates post covers when to expect them. Once GTA 6 has a Metascore, we will add it to this ranking.

Common questions

What is the highest-rated GTA game?

GTA IV, with a Metascore of 98 on both Xbox 360 and PS3. It came out in April 2008.

Is GTA V rated higher than San Andreas?

Yes. GTA V scored 97 on PS3, Xbox 360, PS4 and Xbox One, and San Andreas 95 on PS2. Among players, though, San Andreas has the higher user score: 9.1 against GTA V’s 8.0 to 8.5 on those consoles.

What is the worst-reviewed GTA game?

The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition, with Metascores from 46 (Switch) to 56 (Xbox Series X). Among the original games, GTA Advance (68) and GTA 2 (70) scored lowest.

Where can I play these games now?

Our where to play older GTA games guide lists every current way to buy and play them. For the full story of each release, see the GTA history timeline.