7 times GTA games did the unthinkable, ranked

Rockstar Games has been setting the benchmark for the gaming industry for an incredibly long time with the Grand Theft Auto (GTA) franchise. Each release in this action-adventure series has managed to meet fans' expectations as well as surpass them in various aspects. This is exactly how it has emerged as one of the most successful entities of all time in entertainment media.

Fans are now looking forward to the next entry in the series, Grand Theft Auto 6, and are hoping that it continues to surprise them just like previous titles. While we wait for its release, here are seven times GTA games did the unthinkable, ranked.

Note: This article is subjective and reflects the writer's views.

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Ditching the 3D Universe and 6 other times when GTA games did the unthinkable, ranked

7) Introducing multiple playable protagonists

Grand Theft Auto games had always featured a single protagonist until GTA 5. This title introduced three playable lead characters: Michael De Santa, Franklin Clinton, and Trevor Phillips.

This was something no one had expected, let alone being able to switch between them almost seamlessly at will. Having a single protagonist is the norm in most games even today, but Grand Theft Auto 5 did the unthinkable way back in 2013.

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6) CJ buries the foreman alive

GTA San Andreas' protagonist Carl "CJ" Johnson is usually an easy going individual. However, we get to see a completely different side of him during the mission Deconstruction, wherein he sets out for revenge against some construction workers who disrespected his sister.

The mission is initally fun, but things quickly change as the game instructs players to bury one of the foreman alive in cement. This is arguably the most brutal moment in the entire franchise, and is yet to be rivalled.

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5) Killing Trevor or Michael

There are three endings to Grand Theft Auto 5's story mode, and two of them involve killing either Michael or Trevor. There aren't any twists in these endings, and both conclude with one of two certainly dying.

This marks the first time in this series that a game's protagonist can die in its story mode. These unconventional approaches are among the many reasons for this title's huge success. Unfortunately, Rockstar didn't do anything special for GTA 5 and GTA Online's 10th anniversary update.

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4) Michelle betrays Niko

Almost every Grand Theft Auto protagonist has had a major love-interest during their corresponding game's story mode. Sadly, the roles of these supporting characters are mostly negligible, and very rarely impact the campaign.

That changed in Grand Theft Auto 4, when Niko's girlfriend, Michelle, was shockingly revealed to be working for the IAA. This was absolutely unthinkable seeing how unimportant love-interests had been in previous games.

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3) Ditching the 3D Universe

While Grand Theft Auto games have been around since 1997, things really took off in 2001 with the release of Grand Theft Auto 3. This game is set in the 3D Universe, in which games like Vice City and San Andreas also take place. However, Rockstar completely ditched that in favor of the HD Universe with Grand Theft Auto 4's release in 2008.

All original titles released since then are set in the latter. Grand Theft Auto 6 also looks to be set in the HD Universe. Details about it are scarce, but fans are eagerly waiting for a GTA 6 announcement.

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2) 188 vehicles removed from GTA Online

Rockstar Games dropped the San Andreas Mercenaries DLC update for GTA Online in June 2023, introducing a bunch of story and Freemode missions, among other fresh content. Unfortunately, this update is infamous for removing 188 vehicles from the popular multiplayer game.

Players had never witnessed such a massive vehicular exodus before. These removed rides are now made available for a limited time during one or the other GTA Online weekly update.

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1) Johnny Klebitz is killed

Johnny Klebtiz is the protagonist of Grand Theft Auto 4's story mode DLC, The Lost and Damned. Although he isn't a very popular lead character, his unceremonious death in Grand Theft Auto 5 upset quite a few.

He is ruthlessly beaten to death by Trevor Phillips early on in that game's story mode. This wasn't the first time a protagonist had died in some other game, but the manner in which Johnny was disposed was shocking and completely unthinkable.