Beta Releases

Before the release of any Grand Theft Auto game, there were features that were removed from the final product. These changes range from deleted vehicles and player skins to the removal of entire characters and mission strands.

Grand Theft Auto

 * Accessible Trams were removed early in the games development for San Andreas.
 * Originally, the Superbike was supposed to be called "Bike".
 * The antenna was removed from TV Van.
 * Limousine was called Limo.
 * Kids were probably supposed to appear in-game, because School Buses were cut.
 * Tanker was called "Hi Explosive Truck", later "Explosives Truck".
 * SWAT Van was cut from GTA. However, it can be seen in the official site in section "Special Cars".

Grand Theft Auto II

 * A weapon called the "Microwave" was removed.
 * A weapon called the "Instant Vehicle Bomb" was removed.
 * A weapon called the "ElectroBaton" was removed.

Grand Theft Auto III


Characters
 * Claude's appearance went through many different designs. Some screenshots show a poorly detailed Claude, who looks completely different from the final version. Other pictures show a more final Claude with different hair and a chubbier appearance.
 * The character Curtly was cut.
 * The character Darkel was cut.
 * Tom Novy was meant to make an appearance in the game as himself, but was removed along with his song, "Back to the Streets" for unknown reasons.
 * 8-Ball's real name was going to be Mullan.
 * Joey Leone's original surname was Sorvino.
 * Salvatore's original name was Frankie Sorvino.
 * Asuka Kasen's original name was Kemuri.
 * Maria Latore originally wore a leopard print crop top and black miniskirt with hoop earrings with jewellery and had longer hair.
 * The Triads originally sported black outfits and had tattoos..
 * Toni Cipriani originally wore a brown sweater and looked completely different.
 * Catalina originally wore a skirt and leggings.
 * There was a character called Butler but he never made the final cut, no one knows what his purpose was but many believe he was Salvatore Leone's butler.
 * Misty originally wore a black miniskirt, red bra and a white jacket with gold high heels.
 * The FBI has a different uniform.

Weapons
 * The Land Mine was cut.
 * The Baseball Bat originally was red and yellow, with a red grip.

Peds
 * Certain player skins, accessible with cheat codes, were removed.
 * Elderly pedestrians with walkers were removed.
 * Children were planned for the game.
 * Police Officers had mustaches, which can actually be seen in the game's instruction manual.
 * Fire Fighters had yellow uniforms.
 * Buskers were cut/disabled from the game and later introduced in GTA IV. Existence of buskers in GTA III, can be seen in default.ide file at the bottom line that says "#83, busker1, busker1, CIVMALE, STAT_BUSKER, man, 0" . Note that the " # " marks the line as "disabled"

Missions
 * Originally, when doing Vigilante, Paramedic, or Firefighter missions, the vehicles radio could go out of range - requiring the player to drive closer to the nearest police station/hospital/fire station.
 * Originally, most of the missions could not be taken at any time, since the leaders were busy. Example extracted from the files: "Toni's taken his Momma to the opera - Call in some other time!"

City
 * The city during development stage (see picture) was very different than the finished version and has more streets and roads.
 * Punk Noodles was originally just with a small grass park with two statues. The statue model still exists in the game's files.
 * The Callahan Bridge was going to be named West Port Bridge.
 * The Callahan Bridge also had two suspensions.
 * The airport was once in Staunton Island and there were many roads in Shoreside Vale. Callahan Bridge was also absent.
 * There were other area names that supposedly going to be included in the game. These are The Towers, Sewers, Swanksville, Projects, Luigi's Place, Little Italy and Industrial Park. Waterfront Promenade, Westport and Westport Bridge could be seen in some directions going to Trenton and Atlantic Quays.
 * Porter Tunnel was supposedly be in the area names on the screen.
 * 8-Ball's Garage was supposedly be in the area names on the screen (Observed in the archives of the PS2 version).
 * According to an early review of the game, there were ferries in Liberty City, they were possibly removed due to the inclusion of Callahan Bridge and Porter Tunnel.[]
 * In the beta, the Hepburn Heights buildings were surrounded by metal fencing.
 * In the beta also, the Shoreside Lift Bridge has many roads leading to the bridge. However, a picture of GTA III has the beta picture without the lift bridge. It is possible that the Callahan Bridge took its place in the beta.
 * The trees in Hepburn Heights were also absent.
 * Salvatore Leone's mansion wasn't in the game.
 * The Hope Medical College had the same size and width as the Sweeney General Hospital, being a perfect copy.

Gameplay
 * The Airtrain was originally destructible with weapons, much like the DeadDodo.
 * The ability to blow limbs off of non-playable characters was cut, but only from the PS2 version of the game.[] This can still be activated in the PS2 version via cheat codes.
 * Claude could originally run with the baseball bat.
 * Online multiplayer was cut.
 * Originally, if the player picked up money, the script showed how much money was just picked up. This feature still exists in files, and it's possible to enable it.
 * The beta HUD was different.

Graphics
 * The graphics were originally "cartoonish".[] (possibly due to a rumored cancelled Sega Dreamcast release)
 * A very early HUD was very different, there was a life bar instead of percentage.Gta3_29.jpg
 * The radar was light blue instead of orange.

Soundtrack
 * Tom Novy - Back to The Street's
 * AC/DC - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

Others
 * In the recent interview about GTA III, the logo was used to be stencil font and other one, a pill-shaped logo similar to GTA 2 logo. Gta3_logo_01.jpg
 * Unused lines of text within the game's text files contain phrases, such as "You're perfectly healthy, get out of here!" and "I'll just fix you up". These lines of text seem to imply that the game's hospitals were, originally, accessible/usable.
 * The route of the aircraft was changed to not seem like it would pass too close to buildings (a consequence of 9/11).
 * The Rocket Launcher's original scope looked a lot like the one of sniper rifle.
 * Safehouses would gradually improve in their appearance as the player progressed and gained more money.
 * Head Radio had a different logo.
 * The Airtrain was destroyable.
 * Jesus Saves from GTA 2 was going to return but was replaced as safehouse. Head_radio_beta.jpg logo.]]

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Characters

Missions
 * A character called Mr. Moffat was removed from the game.
 * Tommy Vercetti wore a dark blue Hawaiian shirt.
 * Ricardo Diaz was originally named Fernando Diaz.
 * BJ Smith was originally named BJ Jones.
 * Lance Vance originally wore a purple suit and a black under-shirt according to artwork.
 * Ken Rosenberg originally wore a light pink suit and a yellow under-shirt according to left-over files.
 * Sonny Forelli originally wore a light pink suit and a black under-shirt from the artwork.
 * It is believed by some fans that trash collecting missions based on the Paramedic missions were in the beta.
 * A mission involving the removed character Mr. Moffat was cut.
 * An additional mission for the film studio asset, given by Steve Scott over the phone, was cut.
 * An additional mission for Avery Carrington, given by him over the phone, was cut.
 * Pastor Richards was rumored to have given the player some missions.

City
 * Escobar International Airport originally was larger; replacing Fort Baxter Air Base with a extended runway, which also included an air traffic control tower, and a un-identified building along side.
 * There was no stadium in the beta.
 * The northeast part of the beach didn&apos;t exist.
 * Vice Port originally had a waterway.
 * There are no shacks in the sea.
 * Some roads didn&apos;t exist in the beta version.
 * The facade of the Vercetti Estate was different, with square glass windows, yellow dye and without arches of marble.
 * There were no rocks and even the lighthouse was absent.
 * There were bus shelters around the city. The bus shelter model, bustopm.dff, is still inside Vice City&apos;s files.
 * The long road from the police station going to the Ammu-Nation is absent in the beta map.
 * The deli across from the Little Havana Police station had its large Exploder billboard replaced with a different, smaller one.

Weapons
 * The MAC-10 was supposed to have a silencer.
 * A shorter version of the MP5, the MP5-K, was cut.
 * The Land Mine was cut.
 * The AK-47 was cut.
 * The Grenade Launcher was cut.
 * The Tazer was cut.
 * The Steyr Aug was cut.
 * When standing still Tommy was able to hold the Chainsaw with one hand.
 * The Ruger has a wooden color.
 * The Pump Action Shotgun from Grand Theft Auto III was also cut.
 * The Micro Uzi from Grand Theft Auto III was also cut again.
 * The Sniper Rifle was going to have an ammo clip.
 * The Combat Shotgun had a longer barrel.
 * The Silenced 9mm was cut.

Others
 * There were many phone conversations between Tommy and Mercedes Cortez.
 * There were many lines cut from characters such as Kent Paul, Umberto Robina, Ken Rosenberg, Mercedes Cortez, Mr. Moffat and BJ Smith in Sunshine Autos. []
 * Tires were able to be slashed and recorded into the stats.
 * The Haitian gangster who wears the blue shirt used to have a picture on the shirt instead of the word "Relax".
 * There was once a blond-haired prostitute with pigtails and a red skirt. She was supposed to appear around the streets of the Downtown area, and dance in the Malibu Club as shown in several trailers.
 * According to TXD files, a radio station named VCN (Vice City News) was cut late in the development.
 * According to three TXD files, a first person view was proposed.
 * The sky in the beta version was a darker blue.
 * The beta HUD was very different.
 * The radar originally had a more decent, gradient look.
 * The water was more light and reflective in the beta.
 * The SWAT team would have a bright blue uniform instead of dark blue.
 * The safehouse icon from Grand Theft Auto III was meant to appear.
 * The health and armor has a different color.
 * According to files found on the PS2 Disc, there is an Interior for the Inside Track Betting in Vice Point indicating that betting was initially for Vice City but delayed until San Andreas.
 * (Some of the Interior textures have actually been reused in San Andreas betting shop interiors)


 * There were several unused ped models. One man wearing a blue suit, one woman carrying a basket, another woman is wearing a orange shirt and another woman is carrying two shopping bags.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Out of all the Grand Theft Auto games, San Andreas may have had the most changes before release. The player was able to have uncensored sex, drink, and do drugs. There were many interiors that were left unused, though many remain in the game files. There were a considerable amount of missions cut, as well as numerous vehicles and character models.

Characters
 * Characters including Officer Carver, Larry and Poncho were removed.
 * Both Sweet and Big Smoke had their appearances changed. Sweet was originally dressed in black and wore a black skully, Big Smoke wore a white jersey and did not wear a hat, exposing his shaved head.
 * In the Strategy Guide, Jethro is seen in the mission Riot, suggesting he had a larger role.
 * Kendl Johnson's facial model and clothing were altered.
 * Gang members looked different and wore different clothing.
 * Each city had their own unique motor officers, however the final version of the game uses the same model for each city. These beta officers still remain in the game files and can be spawned with trainers.
 * In gta3.img there are files foransed ped (likely taxi driver) and a female valet. Judging from the bad details of the valet, she was cut in the early stages of development.
 * Originally, the prostitute with a braid had short hair.
 * A Female pedestrian was cut.
 * There were many pedestrians cut from the game. Some still exist in version 1.

Missions
 * There are many deleted missions which include The Truth is Out There and Impounded, or missions with different objectives which include Doberman, Photo Opportunity and Beat Down on B Dup.
 * Pulaski originally drove a Sentinel in High Noon instead of a Buffalo.
 * Fish in a Barrel was supposedly an actual mission instead of a more cutscene.
 * In Sweet's Girl, originally Sweet did not have a gun, so CJ escorted him out.
 * In Photo Opportunity, unused text implies that CJ hijacked and used a helicopter.
 * The Car Salesman side-mission was removed.
 * The AWOL Angel side-mission was removed.
 * There was going to be a mission involving a search for Big Smoke.
 * There was going to be a different race in the Los Santos Stadium.
 * There were San Fierro Rifa gang tags. The texture is still in the game files.
 * Ryder was supposed to be killed on the pier ,and T-Bone Mendez was supposed to escape on the boat but it was changed into the final version.

City
 * The Mulholland Safehouse seemed to have a full interior that can be seen from the outside. The change on final version causes a glitch which allows the player to go through the wall.
 * Donut shops such as Rusty Brown&apos;s Ring Donuts were places where Carl Johnson could eat.
 * San Fierro in the beta had very few docks and more parks. The beta map of San Fierro was very detailed and can be seen in Driving School.
 * There were cars driving around the car parks and may park there in San Fierro. (Along the Valet car park)
 * Hankypanky Point was only a hilltop.
 * The construction yard near the hospital in Downtown Los Santos had a crane.
 * The Easter Basin Naval Base had a different outline, it had a dock and the ship is missing.
 * San Andreas was different and had several different land masses, such as a different San Fierro (which resembled San Francisco more closely) with more parks and less docks. A full beta map of San Andreas can be found on a wall in the Lil' Probe'Inn.
 * Santa Flora Medical Center had two helipads on its roof. These pads were most likely meant for the Maverick and Raindance that spawn there in the alpha. Oddly enough, these helipads were absent in the alpha, so the choppers simply spawned on the roof.
 * The Clown's Pocket casino was originally called The Ringmaster, its original name can still be seen on the paper map included inside the game box.
 * The village of Bayside didn't exist in the beta version.
 * The village of Dillimore was smaller in the beta version.
 * The Hunter Quarry was smaller in the beta version.
 * Some roads present in the Red County beta are absent in the final version.
 * According to the beta map, there was a small island in San Fierro bay which was most likely based on Alcatraz.Beta_San_Fierro.jpg

Weapons
 * The Skateboard was cut.
 * The Parachute was originally smaller and blue (it can be seen in the demonstration video in Flight School showing how to control parachute).
 * According to early previews of the game, 150 weapons were originally included in-game but there is only 42 weapons in the final version.
 * The Micro-SMG was removed, it can be seen in early screenshots of the game.
 * The Parachute icon was originally a bit different.
 * Many weapon icons were less detailed, as seen in the Strategy Guide.
 * The Jetpack and the cell phone originally had icons on the HUD like the other weapons.
 * As seen in the cutscene of the mission High Noon, the Shovel was going to be wooden and shorter.
 * The Camera was supposed to be white and slightly bigger, as seen in Badlands

Others
 * Usable car-washes, similar to those in GTA IV, were cut.
 * The ability to ride the trolleys in San Fierro was cut.
 * It was possible to hear many vague sounds from your car if it was broken. These sounds can be heard from Rockstar Games's beta gameplay video or some of the trailers.
 * You can also hear many minor sounds included in beta release which are useless in the final game, but these files are still in GENRL file and can be enabled with mod tools.
 * The mobster who Carl kills in Saint Mark's was originally going to be called Marco Forelli but due to deleted audio, his name was never mentioned in the final version.
 * The Grove Street Families were originally going to be called The Orange Grove Families.
 * The Ballas were originally going to be called The Flats.
 * Pedestrians would walk into and out of accessible places like stores, clubs, etc. and GSF members would walk into and out of / hang out in your safehouses.
 * There is a shorter, green colored 'artict3' trailer that is used to be pulled by a Roadtrain.
 * Pool tables were originally going to be colored green instead of blue.
 * The Motor Officers had a different design.
 * Carl Johnson was able to use drugs, which would make the camera wobble around making it more difficult to control CJ.
 * The ability to drink beer was cut from the final version.
 * Through the hidden interiors universe, unused brothels can be found, these were most likely to be placed on top of Strip Clubs.
 * Pre-release magazine articles showed that stealing cars was to be much more difficult. In early screen shots, car jacking was shown to involve smashing the car's window and then hot wiring it. This was all removed, possibly due to the limitations posed by the PS2. A similar system is present in GTA IV.
 * Accorded to a strategy guide, adrenaline pills from previous GTA games were in the beta version. However their effect can still be activate with a cheat code. Model and textures for the pill can still be found in the game files.
 * According to a picture from the strategy guide, there was originally a pool table inside Madd Dogg's Mansion.
 * According to american.gxt, there were several phone calls and lines which were cut.
 * According to gta3.img, there are several more items of clothing available at the clothes stores, including t-shirts, trousers, caps and more - these were all in the game but not used.
 * There was a Boxcar that the Freight would presumably have pulled instead of, or in addition to the flatcars present in the final version. These still exist in the game, and can be modded onto a train with relative ease.
 * A path file exists for the railroad track into Easter Basin, suggesting that it was to feature at some point. This can be utilized through modifications.
 * In the Strategy Guide, it mentions a collectibles called Flowers.
 * A cutscene depicting the drive-by that killed Beverly Johnson, including Sweet and Kendl's reactions, and Ryder shooting back at the Sabre, indicating that he was not originally involved with Big Smoke and C.R.A.S.H. in the killing.
 * CJ can buy furnitures for his safehouses but that feature was cut instead.
 * Spike Strips was supposed to be in the game, but it can be see on the Driving School screen.

Grand Theft Auto Advance

 * The Barrel was cut from the final version.

Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
Characters Weapons Missions
 * Joseph Daniel O'Toole's glasses were originally blue.
 * Toni Cipriani originally looked older.
 * Salvatore Leone had a different face.
 * The Avenging Angels originally wore a red hat instead of black.
 * Miguel originally has the same outfit from Grand Theft Auto III.
 * Roger C. Hole was meant to appear in a suit in the mission A Walk in the Park.Textures and model still exist.
 * A screenshot suggests that Toni could wear the Leone Suit when doing missions for JD.
 * Mission for Phil Cassidy was cut. Only HUD Icon remains.
 * Unknown Phone Missions were cut. Only HUD Icon remains. It is possible that the icon replaced the "S" from Salvatore phone Missions.
 * After "Driving Mr. Leone", there would be a news report about Shoreside Lift Bridge and Porter Tunnel Under Construction.
 * A mission called Firetruck Frenzy was cut.
 * Massacres were cut.
 * A Mission called Mobile Massacre! was cut.
 * Assasination Contracts were cut.

Others
 * Toni's casual clothes were a light blue shirt with a green vest and boots.
 * The police wore black uniforms.
 * BetaToni1.jpg SWAT team had the same design as in Grand Theft Auto III.
 * Player could buy properties. Only HUD Icon remains.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Characters
 * Bryan Forbes originally had a mustache.
 * Lance is shown wearing his outfit from the beginning of the game instead of his blue soirée suit on certain missions such as Burning Bridges, Blitzkrieg Strikes Again and Last Stand as seen on the 1st and 2nd trailer.
 * Vic has a different appearance with hair on his head and tattoo on his upper right arm.

Mission
 * According to screenshots, there was going to be a mission where Bryan and Vic were attacked by the Mendez Cartel.
 * In the mission, Last Stand, Vic also had to kill Armando Mendez, not just Martinez and Diego Mendez.
 * In a trailer, a scene in Jive Drive was shown, where Lance and Vic jumped the last ramp. Instead of a red Stinger, it was a beige Stallion being driven.

Others
 * The casual clothes were originally yellow and light blue.2casual.jpg
 * The Army Fatigues originally read "USMC" on the shirt, meaning that originally, Vic would join the Marines instead of the army.
 * Victor wore the Pastel Suit on the mission D.I.V.O.R.C.E even though it is not unlocked until Brawn of the Dead.
 * Victor wore the Cuban Suit on the mission Got Protection? even though the Cuban Outfit is unlocked after completing all of Umberto&apos;s missions which is after killing Marty.
 * Ionic Real Estate was supposed to be called Mpirian Real Estate as seen on Rockstar&apos;s official website on the news article called Criminals building empires, investing in city infrastructure. 
 * The wetsuit was originally blue.

Grand Theft Auto IV
Mission
 * The mission involving killing lawyer Tom Goldberg originally called Small Fish in Big Pond.
 * Missions American Dad, Jacob&apos;s Ladder, American Dream and I and High were cut.
 * Originally, It&apos;s Your Call was set at night.
 * As seen in the third trailer, The Cousins Bellic took place in the early afternoon.
 * Originally in the mission Pest Control, the player would get to choose whether they killed Ray Boccino or Phil Bell, much like in missions The Holland Play and Blood Brothers, but the final version instructs the player to kill Boccino.
 * As seen in the third trailer the end of A Revengers Tragedy is shown to be sunny when it is supposed to be raining
 * As seen in the third trailer there was going to be a mission involving Niko, Roman, and two unnamed people who were trying to escape on a boat with police boat&apos;s chasing them.

Peds
 * There were originally female police officers.

Characters City
 * A mobster, Raymond Alberga, was deleted from the final version.
 * Little Jacob originally did not wear glasses, and prominently wore a zebra patterned jacket. This is obvious if you look closely at him during the short cutscene of him selling guns during First Date (GTA IV).
 * Michelle had a different looking face.
 * Playboy X used to have a plain maroon hoodie.
 * United Liberty Paper had a different voice.
 * Real Badman did not wear a hat.
 * Roman&apos;s face and clothes were different.
 * Faustin had grey hair and his hairstyle was different.
 * Ilyena Faustin had different clothes, as seen in 2nd trailer.
 * Ray Bulgarin&apos;s face was paler, and was less detailed.
 * Carmen Ortiz had a shorter ponytail.
 * Originally, Real Badman, Phil Bell and Bernie Crane could be taken on friend activities.
 * Roman had a different outfit. The clothing was a white jacket, much like Roman&apos;s brown and tan jacket, and white pants. Roman&apos;s beta clothing was seen in the second trailer.
 * Niko&apos;s hair was a bit longer in the front. This is seen in the third trailer.
 * Some areas named Anger Bay, Norfolk, Jefferson Heights, Acter Bay, Richmond, Frogtown, Washington Heights were cut. Two areas called Hedgebury and Goatherd can be seen on roadsigns on the Broker-Dukes Expressway. It is likely that they are two more cut neighborhoods, or they could be beta names of the neighborhoods that are where Hedgebury and Goatherd supposedly lead to (Firefly Projects for Goatherd, and Outlook for Hedgebury).
 * The setting of the game was originally going to be Liberty State, rather than just Liberty City, and it would have included countryside surrounding Liberty City, mountains based on the Adirondacks and Catskills, and possibly The Caraways. The article mentioned that there were three cities. First is Liberty City, next is possibly The Caraways and the last could be Carcer City mentioned as "nearby".
 * A street called Liberation St was either cut or renamed.
 * A street called 128th St was either cut or renamed.
 * The Statue of Happiness was originally going to be called Statue of Freedom.
 * The Statue of Happiness had a different face.
 * The body of water had a different color than blue.
 * Liberty city was different and only had three islands like in Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars.
 * There was probably an airport in Alderney according to an extraspace in the south-western part of the state.
 * In Alderney State, there was a peninsula in the north-western part that shows only land. It is unknown what was located here.

Clothing
 * Fingerless gloves were probably available during gameplay. Pre-release screenshots, posters, trailers and videos of the PC version also show Niko with fingerless gloves but were still not available in the game. They still however can be found in the game files.
 * Binco was going to be the first clothing store. It is replaced by the Russian Shop, while ZIP became Modo.
 * The Rockstar Games hoodie had been removed.
 * Niko&apos;s clothes originally did not have stripes. This can be seen clearly in the trailer Things Will be DifferentNiko_Beta_shirt.jpg.
 * The Perseus suit has a yellow tie.
 * The Blue Jacket had been cut

Weapons
 * Beta weapons included a Silenced 9mm, Pool Cue, Revolver and the Minigun. These weapons, were featured in San Andreas and Vice City respectively and were likely to return.
 * The Baseball bat was originally wooden, like in GTA III.
 * In an early preview, Little Jacob would sell a rocket launcher to Niko. It was originally attached to the underside of his car.
 * The MP5 was to be included but was cut.
 * The weapon pickups were originally yellow instead of orange.
 * Originaly There was an Yugoslav Zastava M70, which appered in trailers and several screenshots. But was cut and Replaced by an AK-47.

Soundtrack
 * As mentioned in early previews or heard in trailers there were several songs that were removed from the final version:
 * Burn it all Down - VHS or Beta
 * Downtown Swinger - MOP
 * Cocaine - Humble Pie
 * Hollaback Girl - Gwen Stefani
 * How About Some Hardcore - MOP
 * Get Up, Stand Up - Bob Marley &amp; The Wailers
 * Restless - UNKLE (feat. Josh Homme)
 * They Say Vision - Res
 * Junior Kirkstart - The Go! Team
 * Shit is Real - Fat Joe
 * Sucker M.C.s - Run-D.M.C.
 * Tuff Gong Radio was called Babylon.
 * According to a French preview, a few of Rolling Stones&apos; songs could be heard on Liberty Rock Radio.
 * Head radio was meant to carry on and appear but was dropped during development.

Others ]]There was a helicopter with only two propellers, and a design which looked just like the Police Maverick but with no LCPD logos on the side. This could have been the earlier version of the Police Maverick or it could have been an earlier version of the Maverick, although it is unlikely because the design is not similar in any way.
 * The second trailer shows the Annihilator helicopter having a different model.
 * A fighter plane was probably scheduled to appear due to hidden "Fighter" handling lines.
 * The first removed haircut design for Niko was a cut that seemed to resemble helmet-hair.
 * The second removed haircut design for Niko was a buzz cut.
 * The Well Stacked Pizza Co. was originally meant to return but was removed before release. Outside Pizza This, the logo can still be seen and employees in the Alderney branch have "Well Stacked Pizza Co." on the back of their shirts. This may also indicate that this was once the original location for one of the stores.
 * According to early in-game previews, a city bus service was available for Niko to use, with a bus schedule popping up after walking to a bus stop. A bus driver character model is also found in the in-game files. Occasionally, an operating bus with the driver will be seen exiting the runway roads of Francis International Airport, however, if the player attempts to get in, the driver is &apos;pulled&apos; from the bus.
 * Niko would have been able to get limo rides just like taxi rides.
 * According to the model names of Roman&apos;s taxi depot, he was originally supposed to use limos. This may have a connection with the limo rides mentioned above.
 * Niko would originally bring prostitutes to his home.
 * Originally, the bailing out animation involved Niko diving forward, as seen in the second trailer.
 * Niko had these contacts in his phone: Cab, City, and Dock.
 * Snow was a weather condition but it is only seen as an unused scenario for pedestrian behavior in the game files.  However if you leave Niko sitting there for a bit, you may see him rubbing his hands and warming them, showing that the weather is cold.
 * Developers originally considered letting players purchase music by going to an in-game record shop and for Niko to have an MP3 player, but both ideas were cut.
 * Niko's cell phone had a different shape.
 * The weapons in the beta version had different names.
 * United Liberty Paper&apos;s contact&apos;s office was much more dirty, and his voice sounded different, as seen in the second trailer.
 * Higgins Helitours was called Magnum Helitours. There is a calander in Brucie Kibutz garage with the Magnum Helitours logo on it. (This can be seen in multiplayer as the garage is open.)
 * In the beta vehicles had more intense reflections.
 * There were meant to be flyable planes and jets that the player would fly, however according to a recent Q&amp;A by Rockstar Games, they were cut because the map was too small.
 * The porn shop looks different.
 * [[File:Beta_Reflection.jpeg|thumb|Beta Reflection
 * The old death animation from 3D Universe was returned but it was cut to replace with Ragdoll Physics. It can obviously seen during the mission Entourage where the first guard who died in the ambush uses the old death animation, and even in free roam if the game runs slow and you take out peds from afar with sniper.

Grand Theft Auto: The Lost and Damned

 * Content from the mission Politics was cut.
 * A Game Informer preview states Johnny could originally change outfits: Johnny had 2 outfits, one from GTA IV and the one he wears in TLAD.
 * According to previews, Johnny had the ability to date girlfriends.
 * TAC-700 was cut. However, files exist in the game&apos;s files.
 * The Lost MC Clubhouse originally had a newer exterior; It had white walls with the door moved more to the right and it was also much smaller, which can be noticed in several early pictures.
 * Jason Michaels had a bigger role in the game, as seen in several trailers.
 * Malc gave missions to Johnny.
 * Johnny had Jason, Malc and DeSean&apos;s phone numbers.
 * There was going to be a mission where Johnny, Billy, Brian and Jason did drive bys on a police car.
 * Terry wore a different outfit.
 * Jason wore the outfit he wears in GTA IV instead of the one he wears in TLAD.



Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony

 * An early interview stated that there would be a random character encounter where a crazy ex-girlfriend of Luis would rig a bomb to his car (possibly Margot).
 * Tony wore different glasses that were tinted purple instead of clear as seen in the main game and the TLAD expansion.
 * Armando would be able to sell every weapon in the game from his gun van including the Desert Eagle and the Micro Uzi.
 * The Automatic Shotgun was fully automatic.
 * The Advanced Sniper's scope was not tinted green.
 * The Assault SMG did not have a silencer.
 * The Skylift was white, not blue, and had a different design.
 * Armando and Henrique had a bigger role in the game.
 * Tony, Mori Kibbutz and Yusuf Amir could be taken on friend activities
 * The Parachute was entirely yellow in the beta.
 * In the Meet: Luis Lopez trailer for TBoGT, Luis is seen wearing the brown and black Perseus suit, but with blue jeans. This implies that it may have been one of Luis' already available outfits.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

 * The alpha map looked very different.
 * The screwdriver, that is used to hotwire cars, was blue instead of green, as seen in an image on the back of the game box.

Grand Theft Auto V
Characters
 * In Franklin's trailer, Denise Clinton can be seen originally having a different appearance with a different hairstyle, glasses and a green hoodie representing the Families but was changed before the game's release.
 * According to popular beliefs before GTA V's release, Michael's beta name was Albert De Silva.
 * All three protagonists looked similar to their voice actors.

Missions
 * Franklin was originally supposed to take Trevor's role in Caida Libre.
 * In the second trailer, Trevor Philips was seen driving the Crusader out the back of the Cargo Plane in Minor Turbulence, but was switched by driving a Mesa out the Cargo Plane.
 * Caida Libre was originally going to be called Vinewood Babylon.
 * Three's Company was originally going to be called The Extraction.
 * Hood Safari was originally going to be called Urban Safari.
 * In The Jewel Store Job, Michael and the crew entered in Loud And Dumb while wearing the bugstars outfits.
 * In The Long Stretch, Lamar Davis originally wore his green cap backwards, and his T-shirt had a logo on it as seen in Franklin's Trailer.
 * In the Protagonist and gameplay trailer, scenes shown in them were different compared to the actual game itself. e.g. the scene where Trevor turns to Michael and Franklin and says: "So, now what?", was supposed to happen in the mission Blitz Play and the scene where Trevor tells Michael "Jesus your therapist has a lot to answer for" was originally going to play in Three's Company. Although it is likely that Rockstar simply riskinned these cutscenes to mask their context.
 * In Prologue, Trevor's and Brad's Balaclava had a different design.
 * In Father/Son, Michael was seen shirtless.
 * In Did Somebody Say Yoga?, Amanda wore a white robe and towel on her head as if she got out of the shower.
 * In Minor Turbulence, when Trevor got up from his nap, he was shirtless and wore gray sweat pants.
 * In Repossession, Simeon Yetarian was Employee of the Month.
 * Trevor took Franklin's place In The Bureau Raid roof entry.

City

Weapons

Soundtracks

According to GTAForums user NightSpectre, there were several soundtracks removed from the game. It is suspected that there might have been more songs cut from the soundtrack than featured in the actual game.  A complete list can be found here:

Non-Stop Pop FM: Los Santos Rock Radio: West Coast Classics: Radio Los Santos: Lowdown FM: Rebel Radio: Space 103.2: Vinewood Boulevard Radio: Channel X: Blue Ark FM: FlyLo FM: Radio Mirror Park:
 * The Black Eyed Peas - Meet Me Halfway (2009)
 * Beyonce ft. Jay-Z - Deja Vu (2006)
 * Cassie - Me & U (2006)
 * Cobra Starship ft. Sabi - You Make Me Feel... (2011)
 * Crowded House - It's Only Natural (1991)
 * Duncan Sheik - She Runs Away (1997)
 * Duran Duran - Serious (1990)
 * Enrique Iglesias - I Like It (2010)
 * Estelle ft. Kanye West - American Boy (2008)
 * Jamiroquai - Love Foolosophy (2002)
 * Kevin Rudolf - Let It Rock (2008)
 * Kiki Dee - Star (1981)
 * Kylie Minogue - 2 Hearts (2007)
 * Mike Posner - Cooler Than Me (Single Mix) (2010)
 * Moloko - The Time Is Now (2000)
 * Morcheeba - Tape Loop (1996)
 * Neon Trees - Animal (2010)
 * Robbie Williams & Kylie Minogue - Kids (2000)
 * Seal - Future Love Paradise (1991)
 * Sneaker Pimps - 6 Underground (1996)
 * The Supermen Lovers - Starlight (2001)
 * Tears For Fears - Everybody Wants To Rule The World (1985)
 * Timbaland ft. Keri Hilson & D.O.E. - The Way I Are (2007)
 * Wilson Phillips - Hold On (1990)
 * The Charlatans - The Only One I Know (1990)
 * Cheap Trick - Surrender (1978)
 * The Cult - 'Lil Devil (1987)
 * Def Leppard - Hysteria (1987)
 * Faith No More - The Real Thing (1989)
 * Golden Earring - Radar Love (1973)
 * Kenny Loggins - I'm Alright (1980)
 * Mansun - Wide Open Space (1996)
 * Michael McDonald - Blink Of An Eye (1993)
 * Oasis - (It's Good) To Be Free (1994)
 * Paul Weller - Round And Round (1992)
 * The Prime Movers - As Strong As I Am (1986)
 * Ram Jam - Black Betty (1977)
 * Rare Earth - Get Ready (1970)
 * Robbie Dupree - Steal Away (1980)
 * The Small Faces - Tin Soldier (1967)
 * Staind - It's Been Awhile (2001)
 * Stereophonics - Mr. Writer (2000)
 * Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel - Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me) (1975)
 * Stevie Nicks - Sable On Blond (1983)
 * Travis - Side (2001)
 * 2Pac (feat. K-Ci & JoJo) - How Do U Want It (1996)
 * 2Pac - Outlaw (1995)
 * Bone Thugs-N-Harmony - Mr. Bill Collector (1995)
 * Kam - Whoop Whoop (1997)
 * Nate Dogg - I Got Love (2001)
 * Spice 1 - 187 Proof (1992)
 * Spice 1 (feat. MC Eiht) - The Murda Show (1993)
 * Mack 10 (feat. Ice Cube & WC) - Westside Slaughterhouse (1995)
 * Warren G (feat. Nate Dogg) - Regulate (1994)
 * ASAP Rocky ft. Drake, 2 Chainz & Kendrick Lamar - f*ckin' Problems (2012)
 * Buddy - Awesome Awesome (2012)
 * French Montana ft. Rick Ross, Drake & Lil Wayne - Pop That (2012)
 * Glasses Malone ft. Jay Rock - No Sympathy (2011)
 * T.I. ft. Trae tha Truth - Check This, Dig That (2012)
 * Tyga - Rack City (2011)
 * Waka Flocka Flame - Rooster In My Rari (2012)
 * The Dramatics - Whatcha See is Whatcha Get (1971)
 * The Delfonics - Funny Feeling (1969)
 * Edwin Starr - Easin' in (1974)
 * Jackson 5 - Dancing Machine (1974)
 * The Jackson Sisters - I Believe in Miracles (1973)
 * Johnny Guitar Watson - Superman Lover (1976)
 * Marvin Gaye - I Want You (Vocal) (1976)
 * The Meters - Cissy Strut (1969)
 * The Pointer Sisters - Yes We Can Can (1973)
 * Silver Convention - Magic Mountain (1976)
 * War - Slippin' into Darkness (1971)
 * Weldon Irvine - We Gettin' Down (1975)
 * Bob Dylan - Subterranean Homesick Blues (1965)
 * Charlie Feathers - Get With It (1956)
 * Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen - Hot Rod Lincoln (1972)
 * Hank Williams III - D. Ray White (2006)
 * Jimmy Martin - Run Pete Run (1977)
 * Johnny Cash - Bad News (1964)
 * Johnny Paycheck - (Pardon Me) I've Got Someone To Kill (1978)
 * Kenny Rogers & The First Edition - Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In) (1968)
 * Con Funk Shun - Ffun (1978)
 * George Duke - Reach For It (1977)
 * The Kay-Gees - Master Plan (1974)
 * Kleeer - Intimate Connection (1984)
 * The Ohio Players - Fopp (1976)
 * Zapp - Be Alright (LP Version) (1980)
 * Cold War Kids - Hang Me Up To Dry (2007)
 * Hanni El Khatib - Head in the Dirt (2013)
 * Moving Units - Until She Says (2011)
 * No Age - Eraser (2008)
 * Psychic Ills - I Get By (2013)
 * Sweethead - The Great Disruptors (2009)
 * The Alley Cats - Nothing Means Nothing Anymore (1978)
 * Bad Religion - We're Only Gonna Die Young (1982)
 * The Clash - This is Radio Clash (1981)
 * D.R.I - I Don't Need Society (1983)
 * The Descendents - Ride The Wild (1979)
 * The Germs - Manimal (1979)
 * The Gun Club - Sex Beat (1981)
 * Red Kross - Linda Blair (1982)
 * X - Los Angeles (1980)
 * The Zeros - Don't Push Me Around (1980)
 * Bramma feat. Elephant Man - Duh Weh Mi Waah (2011)
 * Busy Signal feat. Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley - Kingston Town (2012)
 * Danny Hensworth - Mr. Money Man (1978)
 * Dennis Brown - Westbound Train (1978)
 * Junior Murvin - Police and Thieves (1976)
 * Lee Perry & The Upsetters - Jungle Lion (1973)
 * Leo Graham - Want a Wine (1973)
 * Linval Thompson - Jah Jah The Conquerer (1975)
 * Sean Paul - Temperature (2006)
 * Sizzla - Live Up (2003)
 * SebastiAn feat. Mayer Hawthorne - "Love In Motion" (2011)
 * !!! - One Girl/One Boy (2012)
 * DIIV - Doused (2012)
 * Ducktails - Assistant Director (2013)
 * Friendly Fires - Hurting (2011)
 * Future Islands - Before the Bridge (2011)
 * Gold Fields - Thunder (2013)
 * Junior Boys - EP (2011)
 * Mitzi - Truly Alive (2013)
 * Niki & The Dove - The Drummer (2011)
 * Panama - One Piece (2013)
 * Rainbow Arabia - Blind (2011)
 * The Ruby Suns - In Real Life (2013)
 * The Shoes - Time to Dance (2010)
 * Tame Impala - Solitude Is Bliss (2010)
 * Toro y Moi - Day One (2013)
 * Toro y Moi - New Beat (2011)
 * Twin Shadow - Run My Heart (2012)
 * Ultraísta - Smalltalk (Four Tet remix) (2012)
 * Yeasayer - O.N.E. (2010)

Others
 * Michael's mansion had a different look.
 * According to a Game Informer interview released in November 2012, it seems that grass had a glossy sheen of morning dew, and alarm systems installed in rich houses on Vinewood Hills and Richman. In the actual release, these features are dropped.
 * The ability to buy properties on the internet was cut for Grand Theft Auto Online.
 * The interior of an apartment in GTA Online had a different look.
 * The player was meant to buy Drugs from Smoke on the Water but was removed for unknown reason.