Grand Theft Auto III marked the series' leap into a fully 3D open world. The original PlayStation 2 version includes 23 cheat codes covering weapons, money, health, armor, vehicles, wanted level, pedestrians, weather, and gameplay speed. Enter each button combination during normal gameplay without pausing, and use the D-pad instead of the analog sticks for directional inputs.
Before using cheats, create a separate save and do not overwrite your clean file. In particular, Pedestrian Riot and Pedestrians Attack You cannot be safely reversed once saved and may disrupt certain missions.
The tables below list all 23 standard cheat codes included in the original PlayStation 2 release of Grand Theft Auto III, together with their exact button combinations and effects.
| Cheat | PS2 Button Combination | Effect and Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Get All Weapons | R2, R2, L1, R2, Left, Down, Right, Up, Left, Down, Right, Up | Gives Claude every standard weapon and ammunition. Re-enter the combination to receive additional ammunition. |
| Full Health | R2, R2, L1, R1, Left, Down, Right, Up, Left, Down, Right, Up | Restores Claude's health. If he is inside a vehicle, it also restores the vehicle's health and engine condition; visible body damage may remain. |
| Full Armor | R2, R2, L1, L2, Left, Down, Right, Up, Left, Down, Right, Up | Restores Claude's armor to 100. |
| Get $250,000 | R2, R2, L1, L1, Left, Down, Right, Up, Left, Down, Right, Up | Adds $250,000 to your current balance. The combination can be entered repeatedly. |
| Raise Wanted Level | R2, R2, L1, R2, Left, Right, Left, Right, Left, Right | Adds two wanted stars, up to the maximum currently available through story progress. |
| Clear Wanted Level | R2, R2, L1, R2, Up, Down, Up, Down, Up, Down | Removes all wanted stars. |
| Change Character Model | Right, Down, Left, Up, L1, L2, Up, Left, Down, Right | Changes Claude into a random character model. Re-enter the combination to select another random model. |
| Cheat | PS2 Button Combination | Effect and Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Spawn a Rhino Tank | Circle, Circle, Circle, Circle, Circle, Circle, R1, L2, L1, Triangle, Circle, Triangle | Spawns a Rhino tank nearby; it can be entered immediately. |
| Destroy All Vehicles | L2, R2, L1, R1, L2, R2, Triangle, Square, Circle, Triangle, L2, L1 | Destroys most active vehicles, including Claude's vehicle if he is inside one. The police helicopter and NPC-controlled Dodo are unaffected. |
| Flying Cars | Right, R2, Circle, R1, L2, Down, L1, R1 | Gives road vehicles Dodo-style flight physics so cars can take off and glide after gaining enough speed. Re-enter the combination to disable the effect. Unique Stunt Jumps do not register while this cheat is active. |
| Improved Vehicle Handling | R1, L1, R2, L1, Left, R1, R1, Triangle | Improves vehicle grip and handling. Press the horn button (L3 by default) while driving to make the vehicle jump. Re-enter the combination to disable the effect. Unique Stunt Jumps do not register while this cheat is active. |
| Invisible Cars | L1, L1, Square, R2, Triangle, L1, Triangle | Hides vehicle bodies while leaving their wheels, drivers, and passengers visible. Re-enter the combination to disable the effect. |
| Cheat | PS2 Button Combination | Effect and Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Pedestrian Riot | Down, Up, Left, Up, X, R1, R2, L2, L1 | Makes pedestrians fight one another and may also cause them to attack Claude. This effect cannot be safely reversed once saved, so reload a clean save to remove it. |
| Pedestrians Attack Claude | Down, Up, Left, Up, X, R1, R2, L1, L2 | Makes pedestrians hostile toward Claude. This effect cannot be safely reversed once saved, so reload a clean save to remove it. |
| Pedestrians Carry Weapons | R2, R1, Triangle, X, L2, L1, Up, Down | Toggles random weapons for newly spawned civilian pedestrians. Existing pedestrians keep their current weapons, and some pedestrian types are unaffected. |
| Cheat | PS2 Button Combination | Effect and Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Clear / Sunny Weather | L1, L2, R1, R2, R2, R1, L2, Triangle | Immediately changes the weather to clear and sunny. |
| Cloudy Weather | L1, L2, R1, R2, R2, R1, L2, Square | Immediately changes the weather to cloudy. |
| Rainy Weather | L1, L2, R1, R2, R2, R1, L2, Circle | Immediately changes the weather to rainy. |
| Foggy Weather | L1, L2, R1, R2, R2, R1, L2, X | Immediately changes the weather to foggy. |
| Faster In-Game Clock | Circle, Circle, Circle, Square, Square, Square, Square, Square, L1, Triangle, Circle, Triangle | Accelerates the in-game clock and weather cycle without changing gameplay speed. Re-enter the combination to disable the effect. |
| Faster Gameplay | Triangle, Up, Right, Down, Square, L1, L2 | Doubles gameplay speed with each entry, up to 4x. Use the Slower Gameplay combination to return toward normal speed. |
| Slower Gameplay | Triangle, Up, Right, Down, Square, R1, R2 | Halves gameplay speed with each entry, down to 0.25x. Use the Faster Gameplay combination to return toward normal speed. |
| Increased Gore and Dismemberment | Square, L1, Circle, Down, L1, R1, Triangle, Right, L1, X | Toggles increased gore and dismemberment. This combination displays no confirmation message and may produce no visible change in uncensored versions. |
Enter the button combination during normal gameplay without pausing, using the D-pad rather than the analog sticks for every directional input. You do not need to open a menu. A successful code usually displays a "Cheat activated" message; Increased Gore is the exception and activates without an on-screen confirmation.
No. The original PS2 version of GTA 3 has no built-in invincibility or god mode cheat. Full Health restores Claude's health but does not prevent future damage, while Full Armor must be entered separately.
No. The Money cheat adds $250,000 each time it is entered, so you can repeat it whenever you need more cash. The All Weapons cheat gives Claude every standard weapon with a fixed amount of ammunition and can be repeated to restock, but it does not provide infinite ammo.
Some can. Enter the same combination again to toggle Pedestrians Carry Weapons, Faster In-Game Clock, Flying Cars, Invisible Cars, Improved Vehicle Handling, or Increased Gore. Weather codes replace the current weather, while the opposite gameplay-speed combination can return the game toward normal speed. Pedestrian Riot and Pedestrians Attack You cannot be safely reversed, so reload a save created before activating them.
Using a cheat does not automatically reduce the completion percentage in the original PS2 release. However, cheats can interfere with missions or produce unwanted effects in a saved game. Pedestrian Riot and Pedestrians Attack You are especially risky because their effects become permanent if you save after activating them. Always keep a separate clean save and quit without saving after experimenting with cheats.
This list is specifically for the original PlayStation 2 release. The 2015 PS4 conversion, including the same version when played on PS5 through backward compatibility, uses the original PS2 button combinations. The native PS4 and PS5 versions of Grand Theft Auto III – The Definitive Edition are separate releases with a slightly different cheat selection: Invisible Cars and Increased Gore are unavailable, while Big Head Mode was added. See our GTA 3 PS4 cheats page for version-specific details.
