Prologue (GTA V)

Updated 2 November 2026 · Fan site. Not affiliated with Rockstar Games or Take-Two Interactive.

Prologue is the opening mission of Grand Theft Auto V (2013). Set in Ludendorff, North Yankton, in 2004, three robbers, Michael Townley, Trevor Philips and Brad Snider, hit a cash depot run by Bobcat Security. The escape collapses, Brad is shot and Michael appears to die, while Trevor flees. A later funeral scene shows Michael alive and in a deal with the FIB.

What is the Prologue in GTA V?

Prologue is the first mission of Grand Theft Auto V and its tutorial. It takes place nine years before the main story, in the snowy town of Ludendorff in North Yankton. The player switches between Michael Townley, who will later call himself Michael De Santa, and Trevor Philips. Wikipedia's plot summary opens with this failed robbery. Our GTA V missions list starts here.

What happens in the robbery?

Michael, Trevor and a third partner, Brad Snider, storm a Bobcat Security depot and herd the staff into a room. Trevor sets a charge on the vault door and Michael triggers it from his phone. Gta.wiki puts the take at a little under $180,000. On the way out a guard pulls off Michael's mask; Michael tells him to walk away, but Trevor shoots him.

Outside, local police are waiting. The crew fight their way to the getaway car, and the hired driver is killed during the chase, so Michael takes the wheel. A roadblock forces a detour across a level crossing, where a train clips the car and spins it into a tree. Michael insists on reaching the planned helicopter pick-up on foot.

Is Michael really killed in the Prologue?

No. Near a farmhouse a hidden FIB agent, Dave Norton, opens fire with a rifle. Brad is hit, and Michael falls as if shot, telling Trevor to go on alone. Trevor holds off the police for a while, grabs a hostage, lets her go and escapes across the fields. The final scene is Michael's own funeral, which he watches from a distance while Norton oversees it.

Wikipedia explains the twist: Michael had arranged the ambush with the FIB to get out of crime, Brad was the one buried in his grave, and Trevor was led to believe Michael was dead. This lie drives much of the later story, including the reunion and the three endings.

How does the Prologue lead into the main game?

After the funeral the story jumps to the present day in Los Santos. According to gta.wiki, Michael's family moves there under the De Santa name, Trevor settles in Sandy Shores, and Norton later works for the FIB in Los Santos. The next mission, Franklin and Lamar, introduces the third lead, Franklin Clinton.

Prologue facts

North Yankton returns once more late in the game; see its place page for that part of the story.