GTA cheats

Updated 29 October 2026 · Fan site. Not affiliated with Rockstar Games or Take-Two Interactive.

Grand Theft Auto has had cheat codes since 1997. The first game read them from the player name, the 3D games used button combinations on consoles and typed words on PC, and GTA IV and GTA V let you dial them on the in-game phone. In GTA V, cheats switch off trophies and achievements for the current session only, and mission medals are capped at bronze.

How do cheats work in GTA?

Cheats in the Grand Theft Auto series are built in by the developers. They are not hacks or mods. Each game has a fixed list of codes, and entering one gives an instant effect: full health, a set of weapons, a vehicle dropped next to you, a change in the weather or a higher or lower wanted level. How you enter them has changed with each generation of the series.

Cheats in the 2D games

In the original Grand Theft Auto (1997), codes went into the name entry field before a game started, according to the GTA Wiki. Typing a special word as your name switched the cheat on for that session. On PC, for example, ITCOULDBEYOU started the player with 999,999,999 points. The PlayStation version used its own words on the same screen.

What are the cheats for GTA III and San Andreas?

The 3D games made cheats part of normal play. On PlayStation 2 and Xbox you press a sequence of buttons during gameplay, and on PC you type a word on the keyboard. The GTA Wiki says a message confirms each successful code. In GTA III, the PC words are often plain English, such as GUNSGUNSGUNS for every weapon or GIVEUSATANK for a Rhino tank.

San Andreas moved to strings of letters that look random, which made them harder to stumble on. HESOYAM, one of the best-known codes in the series, restores health and armour and adds $250,000. The GTA Wiki warns that some San Andreas cheats, such as the pedestrian riot codes, stay on for good if you save while they are active. Others can break particular missions.

A handy trick in both games is to repeat a weapons code. The GTA Wiki notes that entering GUNSGUNSGUNS in GTA III, or LXGIWYL in San Andreas, again and again keeps topping up ammunition, which works as a form of unlimited ammo. GTA III also has codes that push the wanted level up instead of down, such as MOREPOLICEPLEASE, which adds two stars.

How do phone cheats work in GTA IV and GTA V?

GTA IV (2008) dropped button combos and moved cheats to the protagonist's mobile phone. Wikipedia notes that Niko Bellic's phone is where codes are dialled. The codes are ordinary-looking phone numbers built around 555, such as 482-555-0100. Once dialled, a code is saved in a Cheats menu on the phone, so it can be used again without retyping. The same system works for Johnny and Luis in the episodes.

GTA V (2013) offers three methods. Controller button combos are back. On PC you press the tilde (~) key to open a text bar and type the code. On later consoles you can dial a number starting 1-999 on the phone. The numbers spell the PC word on a phone keypad, so 1-999-TOOL-UP is TOOLUP. GTABase notes that phone cheats are not available on PlayStation 3. Unlike GTA IV, the phone does not save codes, so a cheat that wears off has to be entered again.

Well-known GTA cheat codes

Do cheats disable achievements in GTA V?

Yes, but only for a while. According to GTABase and the GTA Wiki, entering any cheat in GTA V switches off trophies and achievements for the rest of that play session. It also caps the medal for a mission played with a cheat at bronze. You can still save. Restarting the game and loading a save brings achievements back, even if that save was made with cheats active, and 100% completion stays possible. GTABase recommends keeping a clean manual save before you start.

Some cheats are blocked in certain moments, and the game shows a "Cheat Denied" message. GTABase adds that some cheats, such as five minutes of invincibility, cannot be used during missions at all.

Do cheats affect saves and achievements in GTA IV?

In GTA IV the rules are tied to the save file. The GTA Wiki lists which cheats lock which achievements. The health and armour codes, for example, block "Cleaned the Mean Streets", "Finish Him" and "One Man Army" on that save, and the wanted level cheat blocks "Walk Free". Loading a save made without those cheats, or restarting the console and loading a clean save, removes the block. No cheat stops 100% completion.