Coming to digital stores this November,Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – Definitive Editionwill resurrect the identities of three beloved protagonists who have becomefaded relics of Rockstar’s past. Players will get the chance to revisit these legendary characters whilst experiencing improved graphics and gameplay, replaying forgotten stories, and rediscovering their origins.
WithGTA 3being set in 2001 andGTA: Vice Citytaking place in the mid-eighties, the trilogy covers a decent time span and features protagonists of varying natures, from the mysteriously silent Claude to street-gang member Carl Johnson “CJ.” Each of the three titles begins with the main character having a goal or vendetta, usually because of events that occurred in the character’s life prior to their appearance in the game. As the storylines progress, the hidden identities of these characters are eventually revealed to the player, giving them life and purpose.
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GTA 3: Claude
Theoldest title in the trilogyGrand Theft Auto 3, set and released in 2001, was the firstGTAedition to fully introduce the concept of an open-world game design with three-dimensional geometry. The protagonist who hosted this introduction was the silent Claude, whose second name is thought to be Speed. Out of all three protagonists, Claude is by far the most mysterious, and there is still not much known about his criminal past aside from the few snippets of story revealed in severalGTAtitles.
As well as taking the spotlight inGTA 3, Claude also appeared as a side character three years later inGTA: San Andreas, where players see a young Claude lose his garage toSan Andreasprotagonist Carl Johnson in the mission “Farewell, My Love.” The woman featured in this mission is a younger version of the Catalina fromGTA 3, who is a recent ex-girlfriend of CJ. Following the mission, Claude decides to leave San Andreas after losing his garage and having no reason to stay, with Catalina joining him. They become a couple who commit crimes while traveling across various states, eventually ending up in Liberty City.
After their nine-year honeymoon period of being partners in crime, Catalina betrays her introverted boyfriend during a bank robbery, shooting him and leaving him either for dead or conviction. These events take place at the beginning ofGTA 3, setting the game up for a series of revenge missions, which involve him trying to hunt Catalina down by doing jobs for the various bad guys ofLiberty City’s criminal network.
GTA: Vice City - Tommy
Roll the clock back fifteen years and head on over to Vice City, and a man called Thomas “Tommy” Vercetti can be found, the protagonist ofGrand Theft Auto: Vice City. Born in Liberty City during the fifties, Tommy sought to grow up like his father, who worked in the print works business. Proof of this can be heard in Tommy’s dialogue when he buys the print works asset, in the mission “Spilling the Beans,” as he talks to one of the workers about his father and childhood. He says “My old man used to work on these. I used to spend the evenings with him, cleaning the rollers,” and that he wanted to follow his father’s trade, but “lived a different life.”
The starting point for the game isTommy’s release from prison, where he served a fifteen-year sentence. AsGTA: Vice Cityis set in nineteen-eighty-six, Tommy must have been convicted before the 70s when he was part of the most powerful Mafia family of Liberty City. With his power increasing, one member of the family—Sonny Forelli— grew threatened and planned to have him killed. In a surprising turn of events, Tommy managed to take out all eleven men sent to kill him, resulting in him being convicted and facing the death penalty. Ironically, the same man who sought to have him killed then sought to save his life, having him released from his death sentence.
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GTA: San Andreas - CJ
Compared to the aura of mystery thatGTA 3protagonist Claude generates, the main character ofGrand Theft Auto: San Andreasis pretty much an open book. Carl “CJ” Johnson belonged to theGrove StreetFamilies street gang of Los Santos, along with his brother Sean “Sweet” Johnson and several childhood friends. However, following the probable murder of his younger brother Brian, CJ escaped his troubles and moved to Liberty City for five years.
In aid of avoiding the demons of his past, CJ builds a life for himself as an adult in Liberty City, forming connections with the Leone family who were featured as antagonists inGTA 3. Engaging in car theft and other criminal acts, CJ forms a bond with Joey Leone, and would later go on to befriend his infamous father Salvatore who has a vendetta against the Forelli family fromGTA: Vice City. Whilstpursuing illegal businesses, CJ’s mother Beverly Johnson is shot and murdered in a rival gang’s drive-by shooting back in Los Santos, prompting him to return and seek revenge alongside his remaining family and friends.
There is evidence of CJ’s haunting past throughout the gameplay, including Sweet’s dialogue when he accuses CJ of “running away from another funeral” just like he did with his younger brothers’. There is also an uttering that CJ “let him die,” whilst completing the last story mission “End of the Line.” CJ and Sweet also share another younger brother, Kendl Johnson. Before the death of Brian and their mother,the Johnson’s all lived togetherin the Johnson house on Grove Street. CJ’s father is not present in the game, although there are mentions of him being absent, with Sweet being the main man of the house, much to CJ’s displeasure growing up.
Seventeen years after the release ofGTA: San Andreas, the remastered trilogy is on its way and players can expect to re-explore the depths of these fascinating characters in vivid new detail. Even if there is no additional insight into their backgrounds, Rockstar fans will still enjoy reliving the stories and experiencing Liberty City, Vice City, and San Andreas, through the improved perspectives of theGTA: The Trilogylegends.
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - Definitive Editionreleases June 18, 2025 on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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