The single chronological view of GTA modding. Useful as reference - links out to deeper coverage on each era.

1997-2001: GTA 1, GTA 2, top-down era

Limited modding. Vehicle and texture replacement on PC versions. No real map editing. Community was small.

2001-2005: GTA III, Vice City

First serious GTA modding scene. III and VC PC ports launched within a year of console. Tools like IMG editors emerged. Texture and model replacement became standard. Map editing remained difficult.

2005-2010: San Andreas era

San Andreas custom maps history expands here. SA-MP launched. Total conversion projects emerged. The scene matured.

2008-2014: GTA IV era

GTA IV custom maps - smaller scene than SA. RAGE engine introduced. OpenIV emerged. ScriptHook appeared.

2015-present: GTA V era

GTA 5 custom maps - the largest GTA modding scene by far. OpenIV extended. CodeWalker emerged. FiveM and RAGE MP transformed multiplayer modding. The 2017 Take-Two cease-and-desist and reversal happened. NoPixel-driven RP scene exploded.

2026 and beyond: GTA 6 era

The scene yet to come. We track expectations on the GTA 6 PC release piece and the modding tools expectations.