Most of this hub covers GTA 5 Story Mode. GTA Online has separate characters, money, properties and progression; any page that also contains Online information is clearly labelled.
Choose the page that matches your platform. Button combinations, keyboard commands and phone inputs are not interchangeable, and several vehicle codes are unavailable in the original PS3 and Xbox 360 editions.
You do not need to finish every icon, activity or side mission to reach 100%. GTA 5 uses a specific checklist, while several memorable activities remain entirely optional.
Spaceship Parts and Letter Scraps are both required for 100% completion. Standard and Golden Peyote Plants are optional and only appear in supported later editions.
GTA 5 has no money cheat. In Story Mode, the most effective long-term strategy is to preserve the protagonists' heist earnings, delay four of Lester's assassination missions and invest with all three characters at the correct times.
This is the only current article in the English GTA 5 guide that deliberately combines Story Mode and GTA Online. Check the mode and availability information before trying to buy or find a vehicle: Online prices, shops and rotating stock do not apply to the single-player campaign.
Grand Theft Auto V contains two distinct experiences. They share Los Santos and many vehicles, but their characters, progression and economies are separate.
| Feature | GTA 5 Story Mode | GTA Online |
|---|---|---|
| Characters | Michael, Franklin and Trevor | Your separate custom Online character |
| Cheat codes | Available outside many missions; platform-specific restrictions apply | Not available |
| Completion | Uses the fixed single-player 100% Checklist | Uses separate ranks and awards; supported newer editions also include Career Progress |
| Money and stocks | Heist payouts and Lester's LCN/BAWSAQ investment strategy | A separate economy; Story Mode stock strategies do not apply |
| Properties | Character-specific businesses and storage | Separate apartments, garages, businesses and service properties |
| Coverage in this hub | Primary focus of 15 linked pages | Included only where explicitly labelled, principally in the Cars list |
The core campaign remains recognisable across every edition, but cheat inputs, optional single-player content, technical features and vehicle availability can differ. Always use the guide for the version you are actually playing.
| Platform or edition | What to know | Relevant guide |
|---|---|---|
| PlayStation 3 | The original console version. GTA Online closed on this platform in 2021, but Story Mode was not affected. | PS3 cheats |
| Xbox 360 | The original Xbox version. GTA Online closed on this platform in 2021, but Story Mode was not affected. | Xbox 360 cheats |
| PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 | Later PlayStation editions use the same main button combinations and support in-game phone codes. | PS5 and PS4 cheats |
| Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S | Later Xbox editions share the main button combinations and in-game phone codes. | Xbox Series and Xbox One cheats |
| PC Legacy | The original PC branch, retained for older hardware and compatibility. | PC cheats |
| PC Enhanced | The newer PC edition, released in March 2025 with higher system requirements and additional technical features. | PC cheats |
Rockstar publishes separate PC system requirements for GTA 5 Legacy and Enhanced. Both PC versions retain the same core Story Mode, while Enhanced requires substantially newer hardware and SSD storage.
| Developer | Rockstar North |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Rockstar Games |
| Original release | 17 September 2013, on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 |
| Setting | Los Santos and Blaine County, a fictionalised version of Southern California |
| Protagonists | Michael De Santa, Franklin Clinton and Trevor Philips |
| Modes | GTA 5 Story Mode and the separate GTA Online experience |
| Released on | PS3, Xbox 360, PS4, Xbox One, PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC |
GTA 5 followed the darker and more grounded Grand Theft Auto IV. Rockstar retained that cinematic ambition while restoring the breadth, variety and sense of freedom associated with Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Los Santos and the surrounding countryside combine city streets, mountains, desert, coastline and military territory within a satirical version of modern Southern California.
The defining change was the use of three playable protagonists. Michael is a retired bank robber trapped in an unhappy family life; Franklin is a young criminal looking for a route into more ambitious work; and Trevor is a volatile career criminal living in Blaine County. Switching between them gives the story three distinct perspectives, while large-scale heists connect character drama, crew selection, planning and cinematic action.
Rockstar released GTA 5 on 17 September 2013 for PS3 and Xbox 360, then expanded it to PS4, Xbox One, PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. GTA Online turned the setting into a separate persistent online world and helped keep the game relevant across multiple hardware generations. On PC, Rockstar now maintains distinct Legacy and Enhanced editions.
It is primarily a Story Mode guide. Cheats, the 100% Checklist, Lester's investments, the main property guide and the listed collectibles concern the single-player campaign. The Cars list covers both Story Mode and GTA Online and labels the relevant mode.
No. GTA 5 has no official cheat code for money in any version. Use the Story Mode money guide and Stock Market guide instead.
No. GTA 5 cheat codes are restricted to Story Mode. Do not use mods, external tools or exploits to alter GTA Online progression or currency.
You need 69 Story Mission entries, 20 required Franklin Strangers & Freaks entries, 42 specific Hobbies and Pastimes, any 14 qualifying Random Events and 16 fixed Miscellaneous objectives. The full GTA 5 100% checklist explains every requirement and reward.
Yes. The required cleanup can be completed after any ending, and nothing required by the formal checklist is permanently missable. Ending C is the most convenient option because Michael, Franklin and Trevor all remain available.
Use the page matching your platform. PS5 and PS4 share one guide; Xbox Series X|S uses the Xbox One guide; PC Legacy and PC Enhanced share the PC guide; PS3 and Xbox 360 each require their original button-code page.
Yes. GTA Online services ended on those two platforms on 16 December 2021, but Rockstar states that GTA 5 Story Mode was not affected. The single-player campaign and its 100% completion target remain available.
