Grand Theft Auto (GTA) is an award-winning video game series created by Dave Jones, later by Dan Houser and Sam Houser, and game designer Zachary Clarke and primarily developed by Scottish company Rockstar North (formerly DMA Design) and published by Rockstar Games.
The gameplay consists of a mixture of action, adventure, driving, and occasional role-playing, stealth and racing elements and has gained controversy for its adult nature and violent themes. The series focuses around many different protagonists who attempt to rise through the ranks of the criminal underworld, although their motives for doing so vary in each game. The antagonists are commonly characters who have betrayed the protagonist or their organization, or who has the most impact impeding their progress.
The series began in 1997 and currently has nine stand-alone games with two expansion packs for the original and two expansion packs being released for the latest console installment. Film veterans such as Danny Dyer, Michael Madsen, Burt Reynolds, Dennis Hopper, Gary Busey, Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Penn, James Woods, Joe Pantoliano, Frank Vincent, Robert Loggia, Kyle MacLachlan, Peter Fonda and Ray Liotta have all voiced major characters in many installments in the series. The name of the series and its games are derived from grand theft auto, a term referring to motor vehicle theft.