The dance floor of the Malibu Club in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, the first club in the series.
Nightclubs, also commonly known as clubs, are clubs used as a place to dance and socialise, as opposed to more sexually orientated strip clubs. Unlike strip clubs, however, interactive nightclubs in the Grand Theft Auto series are relatively rare, only appearing in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Grand Theft Auto IV, The Ballad of Gay Tony and Grand Theft Auto Online. Most other games in the series also feature nightclubs but these are inaccessible and play no part in the storyline.
Description[]
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City[]
Exterior of the Malibu Club in GTA Vice City.
The Malibu Club in GTA Vice City is the first interactive nightclub in the series. It becomes accessible early in the game, containing a lively interior complete with an active dancefloor, a bar, and an overhead office. The club may even be purchased by Tommy Vercetti after Shakedown, and its office used as a meeting place to stage a heist. There are also entertainers onstage, parodying the Village People.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas[]
In GTA San Andreas, clubs may be used by the player to dance with a girl, in a minigame similar in fashion to the Lowrider Challenge. The interior of clubs also comes complete with video games, and snack and drink machines. There are three clubs in GTA San Andreas:
- The Alhambra in Los Santos. The building is a copy of the real-life Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in Los Angeles (which is mostly a venue for celebrity awards ceremonies, but has hosted rave parties in its Expo Center in the past).
- Gaydar Station, a gay bar located in Queens, San Fierro.
- An unnamed club in Las Venturas adorned with neo-new-age murals, found east of The Camel's Toe right across the street from the basketball courts. It may or may not be based on Club 662 in Las Vegas, owned by Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight, and Tupac Shakur's intended destination the night he was shot.
Two songs from SF-UR usually play in the background when the player is not dancing, these songs being Frankie Knuckles' "Your Love" and A Guy Called Gerald's "Voodoo Ray". For songs played when the player dances, see this article.
Grand Theft Auto IV[]
Three nightclubs are named in GTA IV, but none are accessible. Maisonette 9 in particular is occasionally mentioned in GTA IV media, but does not appear, while Bahama Mamas is not accessible due to a temporary closure.
The only interactive club is Club Liberty, a semi-interactive club in Northwood, Liberty City, which serves as a bar where the player and a friend or girlfriend can drink.
The Ballad of Gay Tony[]
Nightclubs take center stage in The Ballad of Gay Tony, with three clubs being central to the game's plot:
- Maisonette 9, Tony Prince's straight/celebrity club.
- Hercules, Tony's gay bar.
- Bahama Mamas LC, a competing club only accessible during Boulevard Baby and in multiplayer.
While in Maisonette 9 or Hercules, the player can partake in dancing and taking shots of liquor. Maisonette 9 also allows the player to perform Club Management side activities, as well as engage in champagne drinking contests.
Two of the nightclubs in The Ballad of Gay Tony are only open at night, and are closed during the day. On the contrary, Hercules is open 24 hours a day.
Grand Theft Auto V[]
Grand Theft Auto V features several nightclubs but, with the exception of one Strangers and Freaks mission, none of them are accessible. The clubs are:
- Tequi-la-la – Featured during the S&F mission Vinewood Souvenirs - Willie. Can be bought by the player.
- Bahama Mamas West
- Singleton's
- The Hen House – Can be bought by the player.
- Clappers
- Cockatoos
- The Lust Resort
- Society
- The Vault
- The Dungeon Crawler
- Eclipse Lounge
Grand Theft Auto Online[]
Grand Theft Auto Online features fully accessible, interactive and customizable Nightclubs as part of the After Hours update. They can be purchased on Maze Bank Foreclosure and can be customized with an array of designs, names, lights and more, and serve as both a safehouse and business property that the player can relax in.
In The Cayo Perico Heist update, a new nighclub, The Music Locker, was introduced. It is located directly underneath The Diamond Casino & Resort, and it is accessible to all players; however, owners of a Master Penthouse will have no entry fee, exclusive access to table service in the club's VIP section, and the only ones allowed direct entry into the club through The Diamond's elevator.