While most enthusiasts of the series know this, casual Grand Theft Auto fans might be surprised to learn that these games are actually divided into three separate universes. By name, they are known as 2D, 3D, and HD, and are essentially separated based on the period of time in which they were released, along with their graphical quality. The 2D universe consists of the games that were released in the 1990s: Grand Theft Auto, both of the spin-off games based on London, and Grand Theft Auto 2, all of which were top-down.

The 3D universe started with the release of Grand Theft Auto III in 2001. Claude's adventures in Liberty City were our first foray into 3D mayhem and we never looked back. The rest of the 3D universe consists of Vice City, San Andreas, GTA Advanced, Vice City Stories and Liberty City Stories. For those who aren't keeping track, everything that comes after Vice City Stories exists in the HD universe. Those games are of course GTA IV, The Lost and The Damned, The Ballad of Gay Tony, Chinatown Wars, GTA V, and Online. 

Rockstar has said that the purpose of the separation into these three worlds is essentially to allow maximum creative freedom when making new games. They have said that the different universes are completely separate and that while the cities have the same names, they exist in entirely different worlds. But with that said, there are some people, landmarks, and businesses that do seem to exist in multiple universes.  

15 Lazlow Jones

via grandtheftauto.net

This character, who has been featured in multiple universes, also (kind of) exists in real life. He is based on the real Jeffrey "Lazlow" Jones, a radio personality. In the 90s, he was the host of the radio show Technofile, and in the early 2000s he had started working for Rockstar and wrote the material for the radio stations in the game. We listed his character first because he is the most obvious and anyone with a shred of attention to detail picked up on his presence in multiple universes.

The Lazlow Jones in the series is a veteran of multiple radio stations with a career that has lasted decades. The only game in which we see him on screen is GTA V however, so technically the character, who is probably the same guy, is in multiple universes, but only visually seen in HD.

14 Donald Love

via gta.wikia.com

Real estate mogul and businessman Donald Love appeared in multiple games in the 3D universe. While we first met him in GTA III when he hired Claude to do some tasks in order to help the "old Oriental gentleman" escape captivity at the hands of the Cartel. Prior to that, however, he learned the ropes of the business and real estate word from Avery Carrington (who is later killed and implied to have been cannibalized by Love) during the events of Vice City, and then ran for the position of mayor of Liberty City in Liberty City Stories. In GTA V, he is one of the many celebrities featured on the Vinewood Walk of Fame. Obviously, we don't see him in these games, but he evidently exists in the HD universe.

13 Jock Cranley

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Back in the 1980s Jock Cranley was a stunt man and actor who became famous putting himself at risk, similar to the guys from Jackass. His first appearance was in Vice City Stories, but he only had a small part in that game. By the events of Grand Theft Auto V, things had taken a real turn for Cranley, who had become active in politics. He was the conservative candidate in San Andreas' gubernatorial election and was running on a platform that parodied the Republican Party. He has little love for just about anyone (citing immigrants, cops, the elderly, and homosexuals as his least favorites) and had a campaign slogan that said "We've cared about people for too long! I'm not extending a helping hand, I'm giving you all the finger!"

Hilariously, Nigel and Mrs. Thornhill constantly mistake Trevor Philips for Jock Cranley during their celebrity-obsessed missions.

12 Marvin Trill

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Conspiracy theorist Marvin Trill first appears in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. His claim to fame is that he is a radio personality and has some very interesting views. On West Coast Talk Radio in that game, he hosts the "Area 53" radio show and basically discusses all manner of conspiracy theories from "his trailer in the desert," including the idea that the Second World War never happened.

Trill doesn't appear in the HD universe or have any radio presence, but there is a website in GTA IV, which tells of his whereabouts. According to area53site.com, which has not been updated since just a few minutes before the year 2000, Trill believed that Y2K would be the end of the world, and concealed himself in an underground bunker, with the promise that he will emerge sometime in 2009.

11 Radio Stations

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There are a number of radio stations with names that suggest they transcend the universe rule in Grand Theft Auto games. The first of these is Head Radio, which is first seen in Grand Theft Auto and GTA 2 which are two of the games in the 2D universe. With the release of GTA III and later Liberty City Stories, we were entertained by Head Radio once again, with the brilliantly named DJ Michael Hunt (get it, Mike Hunt, say it slowly).

Similarly, Radio Los Santos, which plays contemporary West Coast hip hop in San Andreas along with West Coast Talk Radio were both present in GTA V, despite being institutions from the 3D universe. While the hosts have changed, along with the locations of the stations within the city, they do have similar content.

10 Cris Formage

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Possibly insane or just a genius manipulator, Cris Formage is the leader of the Epsilon Program, a cult (although he, of course, insists it isn't a cult) in the Cayman Islands. We first encountered this crazy fool in San Andreas, when he was one of the interviewees on Lazlow Jones' show in that game, discussing his program (but being dismissed altogether by the host).

He makes his first actual appearance on screen in GTA V and has a few tasks that Michael De Santa has to complete entitled The Truth series of missions. These missions culminate in finally meeting the guy, and you can either help him or betray him and make off with a lot of money, enraging the cult leader. While he never appeared on screen in GTA San Andreas, it is pretty clear that he is the same guy, and therefore exists in two different universes.

9 Grove Street's Gang Situation

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Even though there are 20 years between the events of San Andreas and GTA V, the situation on Grove Street hasn't managed to improve much. Much of the drama in that incredible game that depicted the early 1990s revolved around a war between the Ballas and the Grove Street Families, the latter of whom was C.J.'s gang. Fast forward to the events of Grand Theft Auto V, and Grove Street looks almost the same, and the surrounding neighborhood is still being fought over by a gang decked out in green and another in purple. During the mission "Hood Safari" there is even an Easter egg in which the player can see three men in green on bikes, who closely resemble C.J., Sweet, and Big Smoke. While there is no indication that these nameless NPC's are those characters, the events of the 3D universe are directly referenced in GTA V.

8 Restaurants And Soft Drinks

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What can we say, much like in real life, there are some fast food and junk food names that may never disappear from the Grand Theft Auto series. Much like McDonald's, Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and all the rest of the fast food franchises out there, GTA has two iconic restaurants that don't seem to be going anywhere; "Burger Shot" and "Cluckin' Bell." In the 3D and HD universes, these two franchises exist in most of the games, except for the two games in Vice City, in which there is no Cluckin' Bell and GTA III, in which neither of these fast food giants were present. Similarly, Sprunk and eCola are two soft drinks that exist in both the 3D and HD universes. There is some evidence that much like Sprite is owned by Coca-Cola in real life, Sprunk might be owned by eCola, as players can buy Sprunk from eCola vending machines in a couple of games.

7 James Pedeaston

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By far the creepiest person on our list, the Grand Theft Auto series would be incomplete without a disgusting person who attacks children. In San Andreas, he hosted a radio show on West Coast Talk Radio called "The Wild Traveler," on which he discussed his exploits while traveling internationally. Sometime after the events of GTA III he was arrested for a nasty crime in Indonesia and by the events of GTA IV it seems like he is still in prison, as there is a website in the game called freejames.org, which is aimed at raising money for his legal defense, but has failed to bring in very much money whatsoever. His fame (despite his crime) earned him a spot on Vinewood's Walk of Fame.

6 Candy S.

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"Adult" starlet and occasional escort Candy Suxxx, who was voiced by p*rn icon Jenna Jameson, was featured in both of the Vice City-based games in the 3D universe. When there was a push to get the entire adult movie business prohibited in Vice City, Candy teamed up with Tommy Vercetti to make sure that did not happen, by blackmailing the politician pushing for that legislation. Her list of films in which she has acted include hilarious titles including:  "Vinewood Call Girls," "That Can't Be Legal," and "Return of the Anaconda."

Posters and ads for her films appear in games throughout the 1990s, but as of 2013, it seems she has left the adult industry and moved onto other things. Throughout GTA V however, there are several posters of her, along with a star on Vinewood's Walk of Fame. Finally, in an obvious reference, Michael De Santa's daughter Tracey refers to herself as Tracey S. on her voicemail during the game.

5 Madd Dogg

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Players first encountered Madd Dogg in San Andreas. The popular rapper from the early 1990s in Los Santos is essentially a hybrid character based on rappers from that period. This, obviously, includes Snoop Dogg, along with members of N.W.A. His career was almost destroyed by player-character Carl Johnson, when he stole that rhyme book and killed his manager, both in hopes of enhancing the career of OG Loc. Of course, C.J. would go on to become Madd Dogg's manager later in the game.

Despite being an "entirely new universe," there are a couple of Madd Dogg Easter eggs in GTA V, including a poster in Franklin's room, an album release in 2013, and of course, his star on the Vinewood Hall of Fame. OG Loc also has a couple of Easter eggs in GTA V, as Franklin has some of his CDs and an OG Loc gold record, along with his star on the Vinewood Walk of Fame.

4 Love Fist

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Who else remembers playing Vice City back in the early 2000s and being impressed by this imaginary band? While none of their songs are of the quality and musicianship of Led Zeppelin or Metallica (insert your own rock bands if you hate those two), they still have a better sound than plenty of bands that have made it big in the last thirty years.

This Scottish group of hilarious drunkards have their first appearance in Vice City but have been mentioned in several games since then, including GTA IV and in the HD universe. Trevor beats up bassist Willy in GTA V, knocking out and stealing his golden tooth for Nigel and Mrs. Thornhill. Willy is also the member of the band that wasn't present when Tommy Vercetti was completing tasks for the band in Vice City. 

3 Jack Howitzer

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This character is essentially a hybrid parody of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone. This actor has appeared in numerous films in the Grand Theft Auto series, including "The Evacuator" series, "Annihilator,"  and "Special Needs Cop," parodies of the Rambo films, Terminator, and Kindergarten Cop. During the events of San Andreas, Howitzer shoots and kills radio host Billy Dexter, and is subsequently put on trial, and tossed in prison for over a decade.

He was released in the 2000s, but got thrown back in somewhere between 2008 and 2013. He is mentioned in The Ballad of Gay Tony, and gets a few mentions in GTA V, including his own television show, a LifeInvader page, and his own website.   

2 Liberty Tree 

via gta.wikia.com

"Promoting family values for over 50 years" is the tagline for the Liberty Tree newspaper hat has been featured in four games spanning the 3D and HD universes. That tagline, by the way, is completely inaccurate, as the publication seems more like a tabloid in these games rather than a legitimate journalistic one. It is the in-game equivalent of the New York Times, and despite being primarily found in the games that take place in Liberty City, the website is found in both GTA IV and V.  Much like the restaurants Burger Shot and Cluckin' Bell —along with soft drinks eCola and Sprunk— Liberty Tree represents another business that exists in both the 3D universe and the HD one.

1 Fernando Martinez

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Much like Lazlow Jones, Fernando Martinez is a hilarious radio host who has been featured in several games. He has appeared in all games since GTA III except for GTA IV and Liberty City Stories. He got his start on Emotion 98.3 in Vice City, being featured in both of the games in that city. By the early 1990's he ended up in San Andreas and took over as the host of WCTR's "Lonely Hearts" program during the events of that game. He moved to Liberty City sometime in the 90's and started "Fernando's New Beginnings," which he tries to make sound classy but it ends up being a brothel. He appeared in the HD universe as an additional radio personality in the downloadable content for GTA IV, and again in GTA V's WCTR with his own show.