The start of a new "universe" is indicated by the graphics used in the game. Individual games in the series have been categorized into different "universes", which mostly depend on the storyline and the graphics engine used. Xbox 360 (Shutting down on December 16, 2021) PlayStation 3 (Shutting down on December 16, 2021) The games have been released for various platforms, including the PC, PSX, PS2, Xbox, PS3, Xbox 360, PS4, Xbox One, GBC, DC, GBA, PSP, DS, iPhone and Android with all but two of the games released on multiple platforms. There are currently sixteen games in the series, including two expansion packs for the original and two expansions for GTA IV and a dedicated multiplayer title. Gameplay takes place in settings ranging from the largest cities in the country to small towns and remote wilderness and desert areas.
With the exception of the London expansion/mission packs for the original game and The Cayo Perico Heist update for Grand Theft Auto Online, the games are set in a fictional, heavily satirical recreation of the United States of America with references made to the rest of the world. Other activities like taxi driving, firefighting, pimping, street racing, or learning to fly fixed-wing aircraft are also involved as alternate adventures, which can be done at any time during the game, with the exception of the periods performing main missions. Assassinations and other crimes feature regularly. Various missions are set for completion by the figureheads of the city underworld, generally criminal, which must be completed to progress through the storyline. The plot of the games generally allows the player to take on the role of a criminal in a big city, typically an individual who rises through the ranks of organised crime through the course of the game. There are exceptions: missions follow a linear, overarching plot, and some city areas must be unlocked over the course of the game. The cities of the games can also be roamed freely at any point in the game, offering many accessible buildings and minor missions. Unlike most traditional action games, which are structured as a single-track series of levels with linear gameplay, in GTA the player can determine the missions they want to undertake, and their relationships with various characters are changed based on these choices.
The Grand Theft Auto series, belonging to, and to some extent defining the genre of free-roaming video games called "sandbox games", grants a large amount of freedom to the player in deciding what to do and how to do it through multiple methods of transport and weapons.