Use this Grand Theft Auto IV guide to jump straight to the right cheat, trophy, achievement or secret, then continue with a spoiler-conscious overview of the three campaigns, their version differences, Liberty City, gameplay, development and legacy.
GTA 4 uses numbers entered through the in-game phone rather than traditional button combinations. It has no official money, invincibility or true infinite-ammunition code.
Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition combines Niko Bellic's original campaign with The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony. The three stories take place across the same core Liberty City map and cross over at important moments, but each retains its own protagonist, missions, activities, features and save progress.
| Platform | Available version and content | Trophies or achievements | Important details |
|---|---|---|---|
| PC | The current digital release is Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition, containing GTA IV and both episodes. | See all 55 GTA 4 Steam achievements. | Activation requires a Rockstar Games account and the Rockstar Games Launcher. The current PC edition is single-player only. |
| PlayStation 3 | Original GTA IV; the two downloadable episodes; standalone Episodes from Liberty City; and the Complete Edition. | 66 trophies: 51 from GTA IV and 15 from the episodes. | There is no native or backward-compatible PS4/PS5 release, and PS5 does not support PS3 discs. |
| Xbox 360 | Original GTA IV; downloadable episodes; standalone Episodes from Liberty City; and the Complete Edition. | The base game has 50 achievements and 1,000G; both episodes raise the total to 65 achievements and 1,500G. | The downloadable episodes require GTA IV. The standalone Episodes from Liberty City package does not. |
| Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S | These consoles run the backward-compatible Xbox 360 release, not a native remaster. | They use the same Xbox 360 list: 50 achievements and 1,000G for GTA IV, or 65 and 1,500G with both episodes. | A physical copy requires a console with a disc drive and the disc must remain inserted. Xbox 360 saves can transfer through Cloud Saved Games. |
Availability checked in September 2026: the Complete Edition remains available on Steam for PC. The legacy Xbox 360 Store closed in July 2024, but GTA IV and its episodes remain available as backward-compatible Xbox titles for Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. On PlayStation 3, new digital purchases depend on both the country and the title's local on-console listing: Sony began closing the PS3 Store in Mexico, Honduras and Nicaragua in August 2026, scheduled further regional closures for late 2026 and plans to close the remaining PS3 and PS Vita stores in July 2027. Previously purchased PlayStation content will remain downloadable for the foreseeable future.
The Complete Edition is the simplest option for a new player who wants all three stories. Each campaign remains separate in the menu, so the game does not force you to complete Niko's story before starting an episode.
Release order is the clearest route for a first playthrough. GTA IV establishes Niko, Liberty City and the central conflicts; TLAD revisits the city through Johnny's biker world; and TBoGT provides the most spectacular conclusion while resolving several shared events. A strict chronological playthrough is possible, but requires repeatedly switching campaigns and weakens their individual pacing.
Grand Theft Auto IV is an open-world action-adventure game centered on Niko Bellic, an Eastern European veteran who travels to Liberty City after years of hearing his cousin Roman describe a prosperous new life. Instead, Niko finds debt, danger and another criminal world waiting for him.
| Developer | Rockstar North; Windows version by Rockstar Toronto in conjunction with Rockstar North |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Rockstar Games |
| Original console release | April 29, 2008, on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360; October 30, 2008, in Japan |
| Windows release | December 2008 |
| Genre | Open-world action-adventure |
| Setting | Liberty City and Alderney in 2008 |
| Main protagonist | Niko Bellic |
| Episode protagonists | Johnny Klebitz and Luis Lopez |
| Core technology | Rockstar Advanced Game Engine and NaturalMotion Euphoria |
| Complete package | Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition |
GTA 4 narrows the geographical variety of San Andreas into a dense metropolitan region and gives movement, driving and collisions much more physical weight. Cars lean and transfer their mass under braking, characters respond dynamically to impacts, and gunfights place greater emphasis on cover and positioning.
Its comedy is still recognizably Grand Theft Auto. Radio, television, advertising, politics, consumer brands, email and fictional websites satirize celebrity, nationalism, technology and the pursuit of status. What changes is the surrounding drama: the jokes coexist with a story unusually concerned with trauma, family, loyalty and the consequences of violence.
Minor-spoiler warning: this section explains the premise, major relationships and themes without revealing the final outcomes. Later sections clearly identify stronger crossover spoilers.
Niko arrives aboard the cargo ship Platypus, expecting at least part of the success Roman has promised in his messages. He instead finds a modest Broker apartment, a struggling taxi depot and dangerous gambling debts. Protecting Roman pulls Niko from neighborhood disputes into organized crime, corrupt government work and a personal search for the surviving men connected to the betrayal of his military unit.
Niko is capable, observant and often brutally effective, but rarely shares the enthusiasm of his employers. His scepticism makes him an ideal witness to Liberty City's contradictions. He wants security for Roman and answers about his past, yet the same skills that keep them alive repeatedly lead him back into violence. The game confirms that he is Eastern European and fought in an unnamed war, but never establishes a precise nationality; confidently calling him Russian or Serbian goes beyond the text.
Roman is Niko's emotional opposite: an optimistic exaggerator who still believes in the American dream after reality has repeatedly contradicted him. His vulnerability drives the opening conflict, while his desire for a home and family gives Niko something tangible to defend. Raising Roman's friendship can also unlock a free taxi service.
Little Jacob becomes one of Niko's most dependable allies and can unlock a discounted mobile weapon service. Brucie introduces street races and Exotic Exports, with helicopter transport as his friendship reward. Packie McReary can provide car bombs, while Dwayne can offer armed backup if he remains available after an important choice.
Patrick, Kate, Derrick, Francis and Gerry McReary form a declining Irish-American family divided by crime, policing, addiction and resentment. Mikhail Faustin and Dimitri Rascalov pull Niko into the Russian-speaking underworld; Ray Boccino, Phil Bell and Jimmy Pegorino connect him to the city's Italian-American organizations. United Liberty Paper adds the uncomfortable suggestion that official power and criminal power can use very similar methods.
Ending-spoiler warning: several missions allow Niko to decide whether another character lives or dies, affecting later encounters, friendships or rewards. The final decision branches into Deal and Revenge, with different missions and consequences. Neither route offers a simple, consequence-free happy ending.
GTA 4's Liberty City is a new HD-era interpretation of New York rather than an enlarged version of the map from Grand Theft Auto III. Rockstar compresses recognizable districts, architecture and landmarks into a dense region designed around street-level detail. Bridges initially restrict access, with more of the map opening as Niko advances through the story.
Broker, based principally on Brooklyn, contains Roman's first apartment and taxi depot. Dukes draws from Queens and combines the airport, parkland, suburbs and industrial areas. Bohan, modeled on the Bronx, is the smallest borough. Algonquin compresses Manhattan's skyscrapers, financial districts, theaters, parks and Times Square-inspired Star Junction. Alderney, based largely on northern New Jersey, is a neighboring state rather than a Liberty City borough and contains suburbs, highways, abandoned industry, a prison and The Lost's territory.
Landmarks become parodies: Happiness Island holds the Statue of Happiness, Rotterdam Tower dominates Algonquin and Star Junction surrounds the player with giant advertising displays. Television, radio, email and changing news reports make the city an active commentator on the plot rather than a passive backdrop.
Vehicles have pronounced suspension movement, body roll, momentum and braking distance. Fast corners require attention to weight transfer, while damage affects bodywork, windows, tires and eventually the engine. Severe impacts can throw occupants through the windshield. This heavy handling remains one of GTA 4's most recognizable and divisive features.
The game also introduced a dedicated cover system to the series. Niko can lock onto targets, aim manually, blind-fire and move between surfaces. Melee combat adds blocks, dodges and counters, while Euphoria allows characters to brace, stumble and react dynamically to forces and nearby objects.
Police search inside a visible circular zone instead of knowing the player's exact location indefinitely. Escaping requires leaving that area without being spotted again. Higher wanted levels bring tactical units, roadblocks and helicopters, culminating in a six-star pursuit. GPS routes and taxis provide practical ways to cross the city.
The mobile phone handles calls, messages, photographs, social invitations, selected jobs, multiplayer access in the original releases and cheat codes. After a cheat has been entered successfully, it is normally stored in a dedicated phone menu. Computers provide EyeFind email, dating profiles, advertisements, police records, news and mission-specific pages.
Niko can invite friends to restaurants, bars, bowling, darts, pool, shows and other activities. Selected friendships unlock Roman's taxi, Jacob's weapons, Brucie's helicopter, Packie's car bombs and, depending on a story choice, Dwayne's armed backup. Some girlfriends contacted through online dating provide additional benefits; the story relationships do not unlock comparable special abilities.
Optional content includes street races, Exotic Exports, vehicle thefts, assassination contracts, vigilante work, Most Wanted assignments, drug deliveries, Random Characters, minigames, 50 Unique Stunt Jumps and 200 pigeons called Flying Rats. Compared with San Andreas, GTA 4 removes countryside, flyable airplanes, much of the RPG-style character development and the large property empire, concentrating instead on a coherent urban setting. Only selected activities count toward 100%, so completionists should follow a checklist.
The original releases included competitive matches, races, cooperative missions and Free Mode. Console games supported up to 16 players, while selected modes in the original Windows version could reach 32. Ten PS3 trophies and ten Xbox achievements require ranked play.
Official multiplayer was removed from the current PC Complete Edition in 2020 together with Games for Windows – Live and leaderboards. The original PS3 and Xbox releases retain legacy multiplayer components, but present-day matchmaking availability can vary and is not guaranteed. PS3 sign-in now requires a PlayStation Device Setup Password; Xbox console multiplayer requires a subscription tier that includes online console multiplayer. Test access and organize the necessary players before beginning an online completion.
Development began after Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and lasted about three and a half years. Contemporary accounts placed Rockstar North's central team at roughly 220 people, with close to 1,000 staff members, contractors and collaborators contributing across the production. Producer Leslie Benzies estimated a cost of about $100 million, while reports described a script of roughly 1,000 pages; both figures illustrate the scale of the project rather than serving as audited measurements.
Leslie Benzies produced the game; Dan Houser and Rupert Humphries led the writing; Aaron Garbut served as art director; and Michael Hunter composed the main theme, Soviet Connection. Rockstar Toronto worked with Rockstar North on the Windows version.
Teams photographed, filmed and studied New York neighborhoods, traffic, architecture and daily life. Contemporary reports described more than 100,000 reference photographs, field work with police officers and rooftop cameras used to observe heavy rainfall. Designers then compressed recognizable places according to their visual identity and usefulness for gameplay rather than reproducing New York at full scale.
The Rockstar Advanced Game Engine powers the world, while NaturalMotion's Euphoria generates procedural character reactions. RAGE provides the rendering and simulation foundation; Euphoria lets bodies adapt to impacts, balance and nearby objects rather than depending entirely on fixed sequences. Facial animation and performance capture complete the dramatic presentation.
The original console release offered 19 selectable radio stations spanning music and talk programming, with news and advertising segments. Presenters included Iggy Pop, Juliette Lewis, Karl Lagerfeld, DJ Green Lantern, Roy Ayers, Femi Kuti and Daddy Yankee. Windows added Independence FM for user music. Calling ZiT on 948-555-0100 identifies a supported song currently playing on the radio and sends the artist and title by text message.
Music-licensing changes on April 26, 2018, removed and replaced selected tracks, especially on Vladivostok FM. An unpatched installation on original PS3 or Xbox 360 hardware may therefore differ from current downloads. Using an original Xbox 360 disc on Xbox One or Series does not preserve the old soundtrack by itself because the console downloads the backward-compatible build.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| May 2006 | Grand Theft Auto IV is announced for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 during E3. |
| March 29, 2007 | The first trailer, Things Will Be Different, introduces Niko and the new Liberty City. |
| August 2007 | Take-Two delays the planned October launch while Rockstar completes both console editions. |
| April 29, 2008 | GTA IV launches internationally on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. |
| October 30, 2008 | The console editions launch in Japan, published there by Capcom. |
| December 2008 | The Windows version arrives with expanded graphics settings, a video editor, Independence FM and larger supported multiplayer matches. |
| February 17, 2009 | The Lost and Damned launches first on Xbox 360. |
| October 29, 2009 | The Ballad of Gay Tony and standalone Episodes from Liberty City launch on Xbox 360. |
| April 2010 | Both episodes and Episodes from Liberty City reach PlayStation 3 and Windows. |
| October 2010 | Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition packages all three campaigns. |
| February 2017 | GTA IV and Episodes from Liberty City become backward compatible on Xbox One and later run on Xbox Series X|S. |
| April 26, 2018 | A licensing update removes and replaces selected music. |
| March 19–24, 2020 | Older PC releases are consolidated into the Complete Edition; it returns to sale on March 24 without GFWL, official multiplayer or leaderboards. |
Take-Two reported approximately 3.6 million copies sold on the first day, representing an estimated retail value of $310 million. After one week, it reported around six million copies and more than $500 million in estimated retail value. These were consumer retail-value estimates, not Rockstar's net revenue. By July 2013, Take-Two reported 25 million sales, a historical milestone rather than a current lifetime total.
The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 releases both hold a Metacritic score of 98/100. GTA IV won Game of the Year and Best Action Adventure Game at the 2008 Spike Video Game Awards, while Michael Hollick received the male-performance award for playing Niko.
Critics particularly praised Liberty City's density, Niko's characterization, the cast, physics, animation, environmental detail and integration of phones, media and online systems. Points of division included heavy vehicle handling, frequent friendship calls, rigid mission scripting and the removal of airplanes, countryside and several customization systems from San Andreas. The demanding original Windows port also became known for inconsistent performance.
Rockstar expanded GTA IV with two substantial episodes built around new protagonists rather than a disconnected mission pack. Each campaign changes the social world, tone, vehicles, weapons and activities encountered in the same city.
| Campaign | Protagonist | Story and tone | Notable features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Theft Auto IV | Niko Bellic | Immigration, revenge, organized crime and the American dream | The main campaign, friendships, dating, broad side content and 16 phone codes |
| The Lost and Damned | Johnny Klebitz | Biker brotherhood, leadership, addiction and the collapse of The Lost | Formation riding, Gang Wars, bike races, new weapons and six exclusive vehicle codes |
| The Ballad of Gay Tony | Luis Lopez | Nightlife, celebrity, wealth, loyalty and high-level criminal deals | Mission scoring, Drug Wars, Base Jumps, clubs, golf, cage fighting and nine exclusive codes |
Johnny Klebitz is vice-president of The Lost Motorcycle Club's Alderney chapter. During president Billy Grey's absence, Johnny tries to maintain truces and keep the gang alive. Billy's return destroys that fragile stability, renews the conflict with the Angels of Death and forces members to decide whether loyalty to their leader matters more than the club's survival.
TLAD adds formation riding, motorcycle races, Gang Wars, new weapons and a clubhouse that anchors Johnny's life. His motorcycle handling is more forgiving than Niko's. Terry and Clay can accompany him, improve by surviving eligible missions and Gang Wars, and provide useful services.
The episode contains six exclusive vehicle cheats. Every number appears in our GTA 4 PC cheat guide, GTA 4 PS3 cheat guide and GTA 4 Xbox cheat guide.
Luis Lopez works as bodyguard, assistant and business partner to nightclub owner Anthony "Gay Tony" Prince. Tony's clubs connect them to celebrities and wealthy clients, but debt and criminal pressure threaten everything they have built.
TBoGT deliberately brings brighter color and greater spectacle after the darker base game and TLAD. Helicopters, parachutes, explosive weapons, luxury cars and elaborate action sequences produce a faster rhythm. Optional content includes Drug Wars, 15 Base Jumps, golf, dancing, club management and the L.C. Cage Fighters tournament.
Its scoring system records separate performance objectives for 26 story missions. Reaching at least 80% on every rated mission earns Past the Velvet Rope; completing every individual score objective earns Gold Star. The episode also adds nine exclusive phone codes.
Crossover-spoiler warning: the following overview describes the structure of shared events but does not reveal the campaigns' endings.
The three stories occur concurrently rather than as linear sequels. Niko, Johnny and Luis meet directly at several points and affect one another without always knowing it. The stolen diamonds form the clearest connection, passing through a chain of thefts, negotiations, kidnappings and betrayals witnessed from different sides.
The museum exchange is another major intersection. What appears to be a self-contained mission in one campaign gains new motives and consequences when replayed from another protagonist's perspective. Together, the episodes turn Liberty City into a shared narrative rather than three unrelated adventures.
GTA 4 uses phone numbers rather than button combinations. In Niko's campaign, complete the early mission It's Your Call to obtain the phone; Johnny and Luis already have phones in their episode campaigns. The same numbers are used on PC, PS3 and Xbox, although controls and trophy or achievement warnings differ by platform.
The base-game numbers also work in the episodes, although certain effects — especially the weapon sets in TBoGT — change with the campaign. Use the complete GTA 4 PC cheat list, GTA 4 PS3 cheat list or GTA 4 Xbox cheat list for the exact effect of each code.
Computers at TW@ Internet Cafés and other usable locations open Liberty City's fictional web. This guide catalogs 92 known base-game addresses, 13 added by TLAD and nine added by TBoGT, producing a directory of 114 unique addresses. Some lead to unavailable pages or redirects rather than distinct functional websites.
Useful destinations include EyeFind email, Love-Meet, Auto Eroticar, the LCPD criminal-record database and www.whattheydonotwantyoutoknow.com, which displays maps for weapons, vehicles, stunt jumps and other secrets. Visiting www.littlelacysurprisepageant.com sets the wanted level to five stars once Algonquin has been unlocked; earlier in the story, the result is capped at four stars. The wanted level appears after leaving the in-game browser.
See the complete GTA IV in-game website list for the exact address and purpose of every site. These are fictional domains; avoid opening them in a real browser because their present-day ownership may have no connection to Rockstar.
The Statue of Happiness conceals GTA 4's most famous Easter egg. Reach its upper pedestal by helicopter, pass through the apparently solid door beneath the plaque reading No Hidden Content This Way, and climb the ladder inside to find a giant beating heart suspended by chains.
Each of the three campaigns tracks its own completion. The following overview applies specifically to Niko's GTA IV base-game statistic. Finishing the story is only one part of it: selected Random Characters, friendships, minigames, police work, vehicle jobs, collectibles and exploration objectives also contribute. Major tasks include:
Reaching 100% allows ammunition to be purchased and carried beyond the normal caps. It is not true infinite ammo: rounds are still consumed and still cost money.
The current Steam edition has a separate list of 55 achievements: 40 for GTA IV, five for TLAD and ten for TBoGT. The former Games for Windows – Live multiplayer achievements are not included. See our complete GTA 4 Steam achievement guide for every requirement, roadmap and troubleshooting fix.
PlayStation 3 has 66 trophies across the three campaigns. The Platinum trophy, Taking A Liberty, requires the other 50 base-game trophies but not the 15 trophies added by the episodes. Ten base-game trophies require ranked multiplayer. Our GTA 4 PS3 trophy guide explains every condition.
Xbox has 50 base-game achievements worth 1,000G. TLAD and TBoGT add 15 achievements and 500G, bringing the complete total to 65 achievements and 1,500G. See the complete Xbox achievement guide for requirements and compatibility details.
GTA IV established the HD Universe, a continuity separate from the 3D-era versions of Liberty City, Vice City and San Andreas. Later games retain it through returning characters, organizations and references. Patrick McReary, Johnny Klebitz and The Lost provide some of the clearest links with GTA 5; the new Liberty City is a reinterpretation, not the same map seen in GTA III.
Niko also helped establish a model Rockstar continued to refine: a protagonist capable of terrible acts, but written with enough history, humor and vulnerability to carry a long drama. The unresolved tension between player freedom and Niko's regret remains central to discussion of the story.
The city itself communicates through communities, economic divisions, advertising, radio, television, news and internet. Letting Niko, Johnny and Luis inhabit different versions of the same place shows how money, work and social position change its meaning. TLAD and TBoGT demonstrated that downloadable episodes could transform a reused world through new protagonists, mechanics and intersecting perspectives.
GTA 5 is broader, faster and more immediately accessible. It offers three switchable protagonists, a more varied map, flyable airplanes, extensive vehicle customization and the continuing GTA Online ecosystem. GTA 4 favors one dense city, heavier driving, more reactive body physics and a somber central story.
Neither approach makes the other obsolete. GTA 5 maximizes breadth and freedom, whereas GTA 4 derives much of its identity from density, friction and narrative focus.
Open the protagonist's mobile phone, display its keypad, enter the relevant number and call it. After successful activation, the code is normally stored in the phone's Cheats menu. See the complete GTA 4 PC cheat guide, GTA 4 PS3 cheat guide or GTA 4 Xbox cheat guide for every effect.
Yes. The phone numbers are identical across the three platforms. The controls and platform-specific trophy or achievement warnings differ, and some base-game weapon-set effects change in TBoGT. Episode-exclusive numbers work only in their corresponding campaign.
No. GTA 4 has no official phone code for money or invincibility. Completing the base game to 100% removes ordinary ammunition purchase and carrying limits, but shots still consume ammo, so the reward is not true infinite ammunition.
Certain codes temporarily affect Cleaned The Mean Streets, Finish Him, One Man Army or Walk Free during the active session. Published sources disagree about whether TBoGT's Buzzard code also affects the latter two, so treat it as unsafe. Make a separate manual save before entering cheats, fully quit the game and load a clean pre-cheat save before attempting an affected objective.
Nine phone codes also invalidate a scored TBoGT story-mission attempt. Avoid cheats when replaying missions for Past the Velvet Rope or Gold Star.
The current Complete Edition has 55 Steam achievements: 40 for GTA IV, five for TLAD and ten for TBoGT. See the complete GTA 4 Steam achievement guide for every requirement.
For a first playthrough, use release order: GTA IV, The Lost and Damned and then The Ballad of Gay Tony. The stories overlap chronologically, but this sequence introduces their characters and shared events most clearly.
Yes, if you have the standalone Episodes from Liberty City release. It contains TLAD and TBoGT without Niko's campaign. The downloadable episode versions require GTA IV, while the Complete Edition contains all three stories.
As of September 2026, GTA IV has no native remaster and no native or backward-compatible PS4 or PS5 release. Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S run the Xbox 360 version through backward compatibility and use its cheats and achievement list. Physical copies require a console with a disc drive; Xbox 360 saves transfer through Cloud Saved Games.
The current PC Complete Edition no longer contains official multiplayer, Games for Windows – Live or leaderboards. The original PS3 and Xbox releases retain legacy multiplayer components, but current access and matchmaking can vary and are not guaranteed. This matters because ten base-game trophies on PS3 and ten achievements on Xbox require ranked play.
