IGN fits every GTA into one timeline before GTA VI

IGN has published a video of 39 minutes that puts the whole Grand Theft Auto series in one timeline. Rockstar Games keeps the 2D, 3D and HD universes officially apart. IGN blends them anyway, and ends with GTA VI in Vice City.

The rule behind the timeline

IGN treats the events of the 2D and 3D games as valid, unless an HD game contradicts them. That way the video keeps what fits and drops what does not. The reason is the marketing of GTA VI, according to IGN. It is full of nods to the Vice City of 1986, such as the Vercetti estate and Phil Cassidy.

The video is in 19 chapters, from the 1960s to 2026. It is also on the YouTube channel of IGN.

From London to Vice City

The timeline starts in the 1960s, with the London games of the 2D era. Then the video moves to the three cities that Rockstar keeps returning to: Liberty City, San Andreas and Vice City.

In 1984, Victor Vance builds up the drug trade of Vice City, in Vice City Stories. In 1986, Tommy Vercetti comes down from Liberty City for the Forelli family. He later takes over the mansion of Ricardo Diaz. That house still carries the name Vercetti estate 40 years later, IGN notes.

The fall of the Forelli family

The thread through the 3D era is the decline of the Forelli family, according to IGN. In San Andreas, set in 1992, CJ kills Marco Forelli in Liberty City for Salvatore Leone. In Liberty City Stories, set in 1998, Toni Cipriani helps Leone in his war against the Forellis.

In 2001, GTA III follows Claude, who already met CJ in San Andreas as a rival for Catalina. Claude kills Salvatore Leone at the end. With that, IGN closes the era of the Italian mob in Liberty City.

Lucia in the timeline

Around the same time, IGN places the birth of Lucia Caminos in Liberty City. The video gives no exact year. Rockstar itself writes that her family once lived in Liberty City. Her father taught her to fight at a young age, as the page about Lucia describes.

The HD era

In 2004, the robbery in Ludendorff goes wrong for Michael, Trevor and Brad. Michael fakes his death and starts over in Los Santos. In 2008, Niko Bellic arrives in Liberty City for GTA IV. A year later, Huang Lee follows in Chinatown Wars.

The longest chapter covers GTA V, set in 2013, with Michael, Franklin and Trevor. IGN points to Lazlow as one of the links between the universes. Lazlow is on the radio in the Vice City era and hosts a talent show in GTA V.

GTA VI

GTA VI is the fourth visit to Vice City since 1997, IGN counts. Lucia lives there with Jason, her partner in crime and in life. According to IGN, the two carry out a big robbery in Port Gellhorn.

Phil Cassidy may be the first character to appear in person in both the 3D and HD universes, according to IGN. He looks the same in 2026 as in 1986, and seems to have his lost arm back. IGN concludes that it is not exactly the same character.

The video does not change the official line of Rockstar. IGN calls its own timeline a unifying theory. In October, IGN also traced the cinematic style of GTA VI back to San Andreas.

What is not known

Details of the story of GTA VI cannot be confirmed before release, IGN says. Whether Lucia was born in Liberty City, Rockstar does not say. Grand Theft Auto VI comes out on 19 November for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S.