5 Best Grand Theft Auto Missions To Replay Before GTA 6

It's been almost 30 years at the time of writing since the very first "Grand Theft Auto" was unleashed upon the masses. What better way to commemorate such an anniversary than by releasing what is sure to be the biggest title in gaming history? "Grand Theft Auto 6" is almost upon us, and gamers around the world have already booked the week off work and told their loved ones to cease all contact until further notice as of November 19, 2026. Rockstar Games confirmed that "GTA 6" pre-orders had already brought in $400 million in pre-orders by mid-August 2026, so yeah, this is going to be a big deal.

Unfortunately, no amount of pre-orders will make the game materialize before its scheduled release date. We've all lost count of how many times "GTA 6" has been delayed, and there's still that lingering suspicion that Rockstar will snatch it all away from us at the last minute. For now, though, that November release date remains about as rock solid as it can be, meaning this long-awaited entry in the saga is now tantalizingly close.

In the interim, we have no choice but to keep ourselves busy by revisiting some of the finest missions in "GTA" history. Luckily, we have almost three decades of games to choose from. Here are the best "Grand Theft Auto" missions to replay before "GTA 6."

"The Ballad of Gay Tony" was one of two "Grand Theft Auto 4" expansions (the other being "The Lost and Damned"). While the add-on revolved around a "GTA" character that hasn't aged all that well, it also delivered some of the best-designed missions Rockstar ever devised, including what might be the greatest of the lot: "Dropping In."

While "Ballad of Gay Tony" featured some famously impossible "GTA" missions, "Dropping In" was exactly the right blend of difficulty and all-out fun. As Luis Fernando Lopez, players had to take out Georgian businessman Marki Ashvilli, owner of the Liberty City Rampage hockey team. Plenty of "GTA" missions have revolved around assassinating specific characters, but not all of them require you to do so alongside a Russian henchman while parachuting into action before jumping from a skyscraper to escape.

Yes, you have to fly through those annoying floating hoops before the action really gets going. But when it does, it's a heck of a lot of fun. Parachuting down onto the MeTV building is a real thrill. As is gunning down wave after wave of Ashvilli's goons in the building's service corridors, giving the whole thing a "Die Hard"-esque feel. The grand finale comes when you finally off Ashvilli by shooting him out of a window and witness him land with a satisfying crunch on the ground below. That would have been a great mission by itself, but "Dropping In" allows you one final flourish when you leap from about 50 stories up, only to land on a moving flatbed and make your getaway. Chef's kiss!

"Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" changed gaming forever and allowed a generation raised on hip-hop culture to live out a 128-bit hood experience. But the game was also notable for its variety. Things start off in Grove Street before players take protagonist Carl "CJ" Johnson on an epic San Andreas odyssey. As such, some of the most memorable moments came from CJ's adventures in the desert region known as Bone County. It's here, for example, that we all took to the skies in a jetpack.

"Black Project" blended "Metal Gear Solid"-like espionage with alien conspiracy theory lore to create one of the most memorable missions in the entire "GTA" saga. Elderly hippie The Truth tasks you with breaking into a top-secret government facility, which is essentially the game's version of Area 51 (though, predictably given the series' sense of humor, this version is called Area 69). To do so, you must snipe your way past soldiers stationed outside while avoiding the searchlights. Alternatively, you can sneak your way past the guards, adding an element of variety to the mission. 

Once inside, you're forced to shoot your way to the secret "black project," which turns out to be a jetpack. Handily, that same "black project" provides you with the perfect mode of escape. There's a real sense of satisfaction that comes from sailing across the desert, having single-handedly infiltrated a top-secret government base — though it would have been better if The Truth hadn't driven off with the jetpack at the end.

We might have been robbed of a thrilling drug mission that ultimately didn't make it into "Grand Theft Auto 5," but the game was full of highlights regardless. "Caida Libre" is just one example (and honestly, we could have gone with multiple other missions for this entry).

"Caida Libre" felt like the kind of mission that would only have been possible in "Grand Theft Auto 5." Like when we sank the freighter during "Bomb Da Base: Act II" in "GTA 3" and immediately got a sense of how Rockstar had upped the ante from the 2D "GTA" games, racing across the map, jumping trains, and dodging traffic to catch up with a smoking jet as it plummeted back to Earth really brought home how much the series had evolved since the 3D era.

Like so many "GTA" missions, all players have to do is take out a target, but it's the way in which they do so in "Caida Libre" that makes it so thrilling. The mission made use of the game's expanded scale to send players hurtling across the San Andreas terrain in pursuit of a plane carrying a mark. Shooting the plane out of the sky while standing next to the "GTA 5" version of Los Angeles' Griffith Park Observatory was enough of a highlight — an unforgettable vignette packed with famous iconography. But it's the chaotic chase across the map that really makes the mission worthy of a spot on this list.

"GTA 6" might be the biggest game launch in history, but back in 2004, "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" seemed almost as momentous. The game was a stunning expansion of what Rockstar had accomplished with previous entries in the franchise, and those who bought the game upon its original release will surely recall being blown away by the level of detail, map size, sprawling narrative, and general scale of one of the games that defined the PlayStation 2 era.

With that in mind, it was fitting that the final mission in "San Andreas" felt grand, chaotic, and oddly apocalyptic. "End of the Line" saw protagonist Carl "CJ" Johnson and his older brother Sean "Sweet" Johnson venture across a Los Santos plunged into chaos following the trial of corrupt police officer Frank Tenpenny, in which he was found not guilty. Citizens riot in the streets as CJ and Sweet drive to lay siege to former friend Melvin "Big Smoke" Harris' crack fortress.

The mission requires players to shoot their way through waves of enemies from every gang in the game before killing Big Smoke. They then race across the city in pursuit of Officer Tenpenny, fending off attacks from rival gangs and the police. It's a thrilling and suitably grandiose conclusion to a game that genuinely astonished players upon its initial release, making "End of the Line" easily one of the most memorable and greatest missions in "GTA" history.

Replaying the original "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" is the obvious choice for getting as close to "GTA 6" vibes as possible. The upcoming release will take us back to Vice City some 24 years after Tommy Vercetti rose to prominence in 2002. Those who did play the original game upon its release will recall how heavily indebted it was to Brian De Palma's "Scarface," essentially allowing players to take control of a character inspired by Al Pacino's Tony Montana and embark on a mission to seize control of Miami's Vice City's criminal underworld.

That was the most obvious in the final "Vice City" mission, "Keep Your Friends Close...," wherein Tommy Vercetti, having conquered the city, is visited at his mansion by Forelli Crime Family Don Sonny Forelli. Turns out Forelli wants his cut of Tommy's illicit profits. Once he arrives, however, Tommy tries to deceive him by handing over counterfeit cash, before he's immediately betrayed by that double-crossing scoundrel Lance Vance. All-out war erupts as Tommy chases Lance through the mansion, gunning down Forelli's goons before finally claiming victory in a set-piece more than a little reminiscent of the "Scarface" denouement.

"Keep Your Friends Close..." has it all — satire, shootouts, and betrayal. But beyond being a memorable finale to your "Vice City" odyssey, "Keep Your Friends Close..." sort of sums up what was great about the 3D era of "GTA." In what was essentially one long parody of the "Scarface" finale, you had a bunch of Scottish developers simultaneously paying homage to — and taking the piss out of –  American culture. Which, for anyone who grew up playing these games, especially British gamers, really sums up the essence of their original appeal.