5 reasons why GTA Chinatown Wars is not canon

GTA Chinatown Wars is one of the most unique and underrated installments in the Grand Theft Auto series. Rockstar Games released it in March 2009 as part of the HD Universe. However, the game did not follow the style of its predecessor (Grand Theft Auto 4), and it instead resembles the 2D Universe Grand Theft Auto games. The player base often debates whether the title is canon or not. While there is no definitive answer, people supporting the non-canon argument have more convincing theories.

This article discusses five reasons why the GTA Chinatown Wars cannot be considered canon.

Note: Some parts of this article are subjective and only reflect the writer’s opinions.

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5 things that make GTA Chinatown Wars non-canon in the series

1) Different Liberty City map

A screenshot of the Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars Liberty City map (Image via GTA Wiki)

GTA Chinatown Wars was released after Rockstar Games established the HD Universe Liberty City map in Grand Theft Auto 4. However, it did not include the same map. Instead, the game used a slightly different version of Liberty City.

The most noticeable difference is that the entire island of Alderney is missing from the game. Rockstar Games released Grand Theft Auto 4: The The Ballad of Gay Tony after Chinatown Wars and included all three major islands. This means that Chinatown Wars is not canon in the series.

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2) No character references

None of the characters from GTA Chinatown Wars have been referred to in other Grand Theft Auto titles to date. This is also applicable in reverse as none of the popular Grand Theft Auto 4 characters re-appeared in Chinatown Wars. This is totally strange as Rockstar Games always brings back at least one character from previous titles to a new one.

After GTA Chinatown Wars, Rockstar Games released The Ballad of Gay Tony, Grand Theft Auto 5, Grand Theft Auto Online, and its multiple DLCs. However, Chinatown Wars characters were never seen outside of the game to date. There is also a very low chance that they’ll re-appear in Grand Theft Auto 6.

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3) Different gameplay style

A screenshot from Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars (Image via GTA Wiki)

Rockstar Games ditched the top-down perspective for its Grand Theft Auto series in 2001. Since then, all the mainstream titles in this franchise have used the third-person camera. As GTA Chinatown Wars reverted to the top-down perspective, it is clearly an indication that the game is not part of the main series and hence not canon in the lore.

Despite having HD graphics, the top-down-only perspective makes it different from other canon titles. Several gameplay mechanics also had to be changed due to the camera angle. Therefore, the game is typically considered a spinoff in the Grand Theft Auto series rather than canon.

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4) It is missing from mainstream gaming platforms

Another unique thing about GTA Chinatown Wars is that it is missing from all major gaming platforms, including PlayStation consoles, Xbox consoles, and PCs.

GTA Chinatown Wars was first released for the Nintendo DS and later ported to PlayStation Portable, Apple iOS, and Android. These are the only platforms where you can play the game. However, all major titles (including the 2D Universe titles) were released on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.

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5) It has a different police mechanism

The police AI in GTA Chinatown Wars on Android and iOS has a unique mechanism that has never been seen before. Typically, in GTA games, you have to flee from the cops or hide at discreet locations. However, in Chinatown Wars, you have to ram cop cars to lose them.

This is a bizarre mechanism that was never seen after the 2009 title. In other titles, if you attack the cops, they’ll become more hostile and your wanted level will increase. Since it is the only title with such unconventional mechanisms, Chinatown Wars is likely not canon.