Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories

Updated 28 October 2026 · Fan site. Not affiliated with Rockstar Games or Take-Two Interactive.

Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories is a 2005 game by Rockstar Leeds and Rockstar North. It launched on PlayStation Portable on 25 October 2005 in North America and reached PlayStation 2 in 2006. Set in Liberty City in 1998, three years before GTA III, it follows mobster Toni Cipriani as he rises in the Leone crime family.

Who is the main character in Liberty City Stories?

The hero is Toni Cipriani, a Leone family mobster who first appeared as a mission giver in GTA III. In that game Michael Madsen voiced him. In Liberty City Stories the role went to Danny Mastrogiorgio. He returns to the city at the start of the game after time away, and his mother, Ma Cipriani, is never far from his mind.

Story

In early 1998 Toni comes back to Liberty City and goes back to work for Don Salvatore Leone. The Leones are caught in a power struggle with the Sindacco and Forelli families, while the Sicilian Mafia watches from the sidelines. Toni climbs the ranks by taking on rival crews and doing favours for the family.

Along the way he gets mixed up in a rigged mayoral election and helps the family through Salvatore's time in prison. Later he turns on the Yakuza. By the end the Leones control the city and Toni is made a caporegime. Several characters from GTA III appear in younger form, including Salvatore, Maria Latore, Donald Love and 8-Ball.

How does Liberty City Stories play?

It plays like a handheld version of the 3D games. The map is largely the GTA III layout. It is smaller than San Andreas's state. There are more interiors than in GTA III, Toni can change outfits, and motorbikes are drivable.

Some features from San Andreas are missing. There are no flyable aircraft, and Toni cannot swim or climb, so deep water kills him straight away.

The PSP version supports up to six players over local Wi-Fi in seven multiplayer modes. It also lets players add their own music through Rockstar Custom Tracks. Both features were removed from the PS2 and mobile versions.

Release dates and platforms

Reception

Reviewers liked it, especially on PSP. Metacritic lists the PSP version at 88 out of 100 and the PS2 version at 78. IGN gave the PSP version 9 out of 10 and the PS2 version 8. Eurogamer gave them 9 and 8. The PS2 port, released later, scored lower with most outlets. It was nominated for Handheld Game of the Year at the Interactive Achievement Awards, which went to Nintendogs.

How many copies did Liberty City Stories sell?

It is one of the best-selling PSP games. Take-Two said about 8 million copies had been sold across platforms as of 26 March 2008. Guinness World Records reported more than 7.5 million units on PSP alone as of July 2013. In the US the PSP version sold about 980,000 copies by August 2006, and the PS2 version passed 1 million by February 2007.

Legacy

Its success led Rockstar Leeds and Rockstar North to make a second PSP prequel, Vice City Stories, released in October 2006. Liberty City itself was rebuilt from scratch two years later for GTA IV.