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.

See Beta Vehicles for information about the vehicles.

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 ingame, 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.
 * Curtly was removed from the final version.
 * The character Darkel, a revolutionary domestic terrorist, 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.
 * 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.

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 with mustaches, which can actually be seen in the game's instruction manual.

Missions
 * Some, but not all of Darkel's missions were subsequently given to other characters. It has been said that Darkel had 13 missions for Claude, though most of them were cut.
 * 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.

City
 * The Old School Hall changed appearance. It previously looked newer and lit up.
 * 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.
 * Accorded to the GXT files, metro stations were named like in Liberty City Stories (with the same name).
 * 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.

Gameplay
 * The airplane landing at Francis International Airport was destroyable with a Rocket Launcher.
 * 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.
 * Police cars could be seen on the radar as icons. These icons are still in the game files.
 * 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. Beta_Hud.jpeg

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 yellow.

Others Some of these changes are thought to have been as a result of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, although others were made as well before that time.
 * The original GTA III logo looked different Gta3_logo_01.jpg
 * The ability to name the character, much like in Grand Theft Auto, was cut. An unused line of text reads "[DEFNAM] Claude--" - interestingly, this confirms that the protagonist’s name is Claude.
 * 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 "Busted!" text and target arrows were originally red instead of blue.
 * There was a bus company named Felly Tours.
 * The route of the aircraft was changed to not seem like it would pass too close to buildings (a consequence of 9/11)
 * Certain dialogues pedestrian and some radio conversations were cut (a consequence of 9/11)
 * The Rocket Launcher's original scope looked alot 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.Head_radio_beta.jpg logo.]]

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Characters Missions City
 * 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.
 * 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 a mission.
 * According to some screenshots, there was no Leaf Links in the beta.
 * Fort Baxter Air Base originally included an air traffic control tower and a runway. The runway is totally absent, but the tower can still be seen in the distance from Vice Beach.
 * There was no stadium in the beta.
 * The northeast part of the beach didn't exist.
 * Vice Port had a waterway and ships were absent.
 * There are no shacks in the sea.
 * Some roads didn't exist in the beta version.
 * 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'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 Others
 * The PSG-1 never had a silencer.
 * 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 again.
 * The AK-47 was cut.
 * The Nailgun was cut.
 * The Grenade Launcher was cut.
 * The Tazer was cut.
 * The Steyr Aug was cut.
 * There were many phone conversations between Tommy and Mercedes Cortez.
 * There were many lines cut from characters such as Kent Paul, Umberto Robina, Mercedes Cortez, Mr. Moffat and BJ Smith in Sunshine Autos. []
 * Tires were able to be slashed and recorded into the stats.
 * There was going to be an additional outfit called "MC Tommy," but it was taken out. It was originally a brown biker jacket that could be found in Howlin' Petes Biker Emporium.
 * 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.

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
 * Carl's stance was similar to Tommy's.
 * 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.
 * 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.
 * According to a strategy guide, the Triad members were originally different.
 * According to a preview before the games release, Steve Scott was originally going to return for a "big" action movie in San Andreas.
 * In a screen before the games release Carl Johnson looked slightly older than the current one.
 * In gta3.img there are files for an unused 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.

Missions City Weapons Others
 * 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.
 * In the first version of Saint Mark's Bistro, CJ had to chase Marco Forelli with a car in the streets of Portland, but for some reason, Portland is not full in the final version (only Saint Mark's, Red Light District and some place of Chinatown and Portland View) and the road isn't solid everywhere.
 * Fish in a Barrel was supposedly an actual mission instead of a mere 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.
 * 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.
 * Originally, if Carl Johnson killed a pedestrian, a news van would arrive and the crew would report on the event.
 * If Carl crashed into a lamp post a mechanic would arrive to fix it. If the player killed the mechanic the lamp post would remain broken for a time, even if the player left the immediate area.
 * 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'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 was cars driving around the car parks and may park there in San Fierro. (Along the Valet car park)
 * 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.
 * Las Venturas had a different name by the initials "LG". In early screen shots of Las Venturas, Police cars had the initials "LG" printed on their doors. One can only guess what "LG" stood for.
 * 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 second beta name for Las Venturas (after LG) was Las Venturra.
 * 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
 * The Skateboard was cut.
 * Strategy guides and other prints speak of a Gun Cane available alongside the Cane. The Gun Cane does not appear anywhere in the game.
 * The Parachute was originally smaller and blue (it can be seen in the demonstration video in Flight School showing how to control parachute).
 * Accorded to some early preview of the games, 150 weapons were originally included in-game.
 * The Micro-SMG was removed, it can be seen in early screenshots of the game.
 * The Parachute icon was originally a bit different.
 * The AK-47 icon was originally different.
 * 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.
 * Originally, there were over 300 gang territories to be taken over all over the map.
 * 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 enable 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.
 * 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 the 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.
 * The game was originally going to be released on 2 DVD's. The final version was released on one DVD.
 * According to american.gxt, there was several phone call 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 modification.
 * Originally, the prostitute with a braid had short hair.

Grand Theft Auto Advance

 * The Barrel was cut from the final version.

Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
Characters Missions
 * Joseph Daniel O'Toole's glasses were originally blue.
 * Toni Cipriani originally looked older.
 * It's widely believed that Leon McAffrey was to give a mission to Toni to help a gang of Irish gangsters (based off the Westies) start a gang war against the Yardies for control of Newport, which may explain why the Yardies attack Toni. Toni was also supposed to befriend these Irish gangsters.
 * A screenshot suggests that Toni could wear the Leone Suit when doing missions for Joseph

Others
 * Toni's casual clothes were a light blue shirt with a green vest and boots.
 * The police wore black uniforms.BetaToni1.jpg

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Characters
 * Bryan Forbes originally had a mustache.
 * Lance is shown wearing his outfit from the beggining of the game instead of his blue soriee suit on certain missions such as Burning bridges, Blitzrieg strikes again and Last Stand as seen on the 1st and 2nd trailer

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.
 * The Fort Baxter Air Base said "Semper Fi" on one of the buildings.

Grand Theft Auto IV
Mission
 * The mission involving killing lawyer Tom Goldberg originally called Small Fish in Big Pond.
 * Missions American Dad, Jacob's Ladder, American Dream and I and High were cut.
 * In the Deconstruction for Beginners, Niko was used to destroy some warehouses.
 * Originally, It's Your Call was set at night.
 * As seen in the third trailer, The Cousins Bellic took place in the early afternoon.
 * As seen in the third trailer the end of A Revengers Tragedy is shown to be sunny when it is supposed to be raining

Peds
 * There were originally female police officers, but scrapped due to some players not wanting to kill or injure female pedestrians.

Characters City {C
 * 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'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's face was paler, and was less detailed.
 * Carmen Ortiz had a shorter ponytail.
 * Francis McReary was originally to have blonde hair.
 * Originally, Real Badman, Phil Bell and Bernie Crane could be taken on friend activities.
 * 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.
 * 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.

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.
 * Nikos clothes originally did not have stripes. This can be seen clearly in the trailer Things Will be DifferentNiko_Beta_shirt.jpg.

Weapons
 * Beta weapons included a Silenced 9mm, Pool Cue, and Revolver. These weapons, were featured in San Andreas and Vice City respectively and were likely to return.
 * The Baseball Bat was originally wooden, like in GTAIII. Niko_MP5.jpg
 * 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 because it had a 15 shot magazine
 * The weapon pickups were originally yellow instead of orange

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 & The Wailers
 * Restless - UNKLE (feat. Josh Homme)
 * They Say Vision - Res
 * Junior Kirkstart - The Go! Team
 * Shit it 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' songs could be heard on Liberty Rock Radio.

Others
 * The second trailer shows the Annihilator helicopter having a different model.
 * 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 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.
 * Pedestrians were to carry planks. A model is still present in the game files.
 * 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 'pulled' from the bus.
 * According to previews, Niko could climb telephone poles.
 * Niko would have been able to get limo rides just like taxi rides.
 * According to the model names of Roman's taxi depot, he was originally supposed to use limos. This may have a connection with the limo rides mentioned above.
 * Health pickups originally glowed yellow and not orange.
 * Niko would originally bring prostitutes to his home.
 * There were two deleted cheats : the first one gave money to the player, it was probably "729-555-0100" ("729" for "PAY"); the second one made the game advance the time by one hour, probably something like "???-555-8463" ("8463" for "TIME").
 * Originally, the bailing out animation involved Niko diving forward, as seen in the second trailer.
 * The Police helicopter originally flew very low.
 * Cars could explode very differently, and turn on their sides and catch fire in the cabin.
 * 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.
 * 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.
 * Originally, a car called "Fenton" would be featured in the game. It was removed from the game for unknown reasons.
 * The weapons in the beta version had different names.
 * United Liberty Paper's contact's office was much more dirty, as seen in the second trailer.
 * Higgins Helitours was called Magnum Helitours.
 * In the beta vehicles had more intense reflections.
 * 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.

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's files.
 * The Lost MC Clubhouse originally had a newer exterior, it had white walls with the door moved more to the right, 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's phone numbers.



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 all yellow in the beta

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

 * The alpha map looked very different.