Grand Theft Auto 2

Updated 28 October 2026 · Fan site. Not affiliated with Rockstar Games or Take-Two Interactive.

Grand Theft Auto 2 is the second main game in the series, released on 22 October 1999 for PlayStation and Windows. DMA Design made it and Rockstar Games published it. It is a top-down crime game set in Anywhere City, a retro-futuristic city split into three districts, where Claude Speed takes jobs from rival gangs.

What is GTA 2 about?

Grand Theft Auto 2 follows the 1997 original and keeps its top-down view. It drops the real-city parodies for Anywhere City, a retro-futuristic place whose time period is never stated. The city has three districts, Downtown, Residential and Industrial, and each acts as a level. Keith Hamilton led programming at DMA Design in Dundee again.

Who is the main character in GTA 2?

The player is Claude Speed, a career criminal. Actor Scott Maslen plays him in the live-action intro. Despite the name, Wikipedia notes that he is not the same person as Claude, the silent hero of GTA III.

How does the gang respect system work?

This is the game's main new idea. Each district has three gangs that hand out jobs. Two are unique to that district and one appears in all of them. Doing work for a gang raises your respect with it, which unlocks harder and better-paid jobs. It also lowers your standing with its rivals, whose members start shooting on sight. Players have to balance who they work for.

Other changes include a health meter, garages that modify cars, side missions, hidden packages and wanted levels. Saving costs money and happens at a church, the same spot where you start each district.

The live-action short film

Rockstar promoted the game with an eight-minute live-action short filmed in New York City. Dan Houser wrote the screenplay and Alex De Rakoff directed it. It was posted on Rockstar's website.

Release, reception and sales

Reviews were middling. Metacritic lists the PlayStation version at 70 out of 100. GameRankings averaged about 72% for PC, 71% for Dreamcast and 70% for PlayStation, while the Game Boy Color version averaged only 35%. Edge gave it 8 out of 10 and GameSpot 6.9. Critics liked the soundtrack and the gang system but felt the graphics and controls had not moved forward much.

More than 1.2 million copies were shipped to shops, and about 2 million were sold worldwide, according to Wikipedia. In the UK, ELSPA gave the PlayStation version a Platinum award and the PC version a Silver award.

Is GTA 2 free?

For some years Rockstar offered GTA 2 as a free download through its Rockstar Classics site, together with the first game. That service is no longer available, according to Wikipedia.

Legacy

GTA 2 was the last top-down main game. Two years later Grand Theft Auto III moved the series to full 3D and set the template for every main game since. The top-down view came back on a handheld in 2004 with GTA Advance.