The Grand Theft Auto games are composed of numerous missions and side-activities for the player to enjoy during the brief intervals when they aren't going on a rampage with all the cheats activated.

The Grand Theft Auto games went from being primitive 2D experimental games to some of the most expensive video games ever made. As such, the latest Grand Theft Auto games in the series go through a lot of revisions in order to make them as fun as possible. This means that a lot of material tends to hit the cutting room floor, with characters, weapons, and vehicles all being removed at the last minute.

Video game fans are a thorough bunch, with Grand Theft Auto fans ranking among some of the most dedicated and obsessed when it comes to sifting through the games while looking for secrets. These fans have explored the code of these games at their base level, in order to look for the secrets that were never meant to be discovered by players.

We are here today to look at the missions that were cut from the Grand Theft Auto series. From the mysterious tramp who secretly controlled Liberty City, to the urban legend that was right all along.

Here are Twenty Grand Theft Auto Missions That Were Cut From The Series!

20 Darkel's Gang

The manual for Grand Theft Auto III listed a character known as Darkel, who never actually appeared in the game. It took a lot of digging, but the truth about Darkel finally came to light.

Darkel was cut from the game because he didn't fit in with the rest of the cast

Darkel was a cut NPC from the game who would give quests to the player. He was meant to be the leader of a gang of tramps that operated out of the Callahan Bridge. The reason he was cut from the game was due to the developers feeling that his aesthetic didn't match with the rest of the game.

It was rumored that Darkel's missions were related to terrorism and blowing up a school bus, but Rockstar has refuted these claims. They also denied that he was cut due to the events of 9/11.

19 Avery's Escort Mission

Avery Carrington is one of the NPC quest-givers in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. He would also make an appearance in Liberty City Stories. Carrington was a rich construction & property mogul from Texas, who acted as a mentor to a young Donald Love. He would later be assassinated during one of the missions in Liberty City Stories. 

There was a mission planned for Grand Theft Auto: Vice City where you would have to escort one of Carrington's flunkies out to Gator Keys (a location that was cut from the game) in order to complete a deal that involved purchasing land. You would likely have had to chase off pursuers who were trying to stop the deal from going through. This mission and the Gator Keys location were never implemented into the game.

18 Buying The Scarface Apartment

One of the eeriest locations in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is Apartment 3c. This building holds a bathroom that is covered in blood, while a chainsaw sits nearby for the player to take.

Apartment 3c holds a reference to one of the most unsettling movie scenes of all time

This bathroom is a reference to a scene in the movie Scarface, where one of Tony Montana's friends is captured and ended with a chainsaw while in a bathtub. There was a mission cut from Grand Theft Auto: Vice City that would have been given to the player by Sonny Forelli. This mission involved Apartment 3c and would allow you to use the location as a new safehouse upon completion. It's unknown if the apartment would have retained the Scarface reference or if this was added after the decision was made to no longer keep it as a safe house.

17 The Fight For The Film Studio

Michael from Grand Theft Auto V is obsessed with old movies, specifically those produced by Solomon Richards. He is given the chance to help Solomon during several missions in the game, which act as a parallel to the Johnny Fontane storyline from the beginning of the original The Godfather, as Michael has to rough up a few people to help Solomon's movies get made.

There was going to be another mission involving Michael and Solomon Richard's film studio. This was going to be called "Save Film Studio" which could mean several things. It's also possible that this was a beta name for the mission called "The Ballad of Rocco" where Rocco Pelosi tries to kill Solomon Richards for interfering with his plans.

16 Freeing The Harrier

It's possible to receive funding and the use of official military equipment when making movies in real life, so long as the movie itself doesn't portray the military in a bad light.

Michael would have needed to steal a fighter jet from the army

Solomon Richards wanted to skip this step when a making a film in Grand Theft Auto V, as there was originally going to be a mission called "Harrier" where he would ask Michael to steal a fighter jet from a military convoy and fly it to his studio.

This mission would have involved Michael planting explosives that would have created a hole big enough for the jet to have fallen through, which he could have then commandeered and used to escape. This mission may have even involved all three characters, as the scope of what you would have accomplished is likely too much for a single person to pull off.

15 Little Mr. Moffat

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City has its share of characters who were cut during the development of the game. One of the most notable cut characters was called Mr. Moffat, who was a former friend of Tommy Vercetti.

All of what we know about Mr. Moffat comes from internal text files that detail a mission that was cut from the game. Mr. Moffat had escaped from jail (which was a regular occurrence according to him) and was looking for Tommy's help to escape from the city. This would have presumably led to an escort mission where Tommy would have had to help Mr. Moffat escape from the law.

Mr. Moffat was eventually cut from the game, as was the mission attributed to him.

14 Finding A Car For The Studio

In Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, there are several missions involving an illicit movie studio called InterGlobal. Tommy needed to help several directors and actors in order for movies to be made.

Tommy would need to steal a car that could be used for an expensive movie scene

One of the missions planned for the movie studio storyline in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City would involve the need for a car that could be destroyed during an expensive stunt. The studio doesn't have the budget to spring for the specific car they need, so Tommy would have to go out and steal one. You would then need to drive it to the airport and possibly may have needed to perform the stunt yourself.

A version of this mission would later be created for Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. 

13 The Impound Lot

There is a series of missions hidden within the files for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas that were actually pretty close to making their way into the game. They were so close to completion that people have been able to add them back into the game. They did this through the use of mods in the PC version of San Andreas.

The first mission was called "Impounded." Ceser's car would be taken to the impound lot, which CJ would then need to steal back for him. The purpose of this mission was to act as a tutorial for the Impound Garage. This is still usable in the final version of the game. But it never receives a proper introduction, as "Impounded" was cut.

12 Holed Up

The mission "Holed Up" was the planned follow up to "Impounded" as it is listed after it within the internal files of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

"Holed Up" is one of the most mysterious Grand Theft Auto missions of all time

"Holed Up" was another mission involved in the storyline involving CJ and his friendship with Cesar, as Cesar was trying to win CJ's approval, due to the fact that he was dating his sister. Not much is known about "Holed Up" as it has almost no files associated with it within the files of the game. All we can determine comes from the title, which suggests that CJ and Cesar may have needed to go into hiding for a short time.

11 Area 69 Strikes Back!

One of the missions in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas involves the player traveling to a secret goverment compound called Area 69. This is one of the most heavily fortified areas in the game. You have to fight through numerous troops and armored vehicles in order to complete the missions that are set here. Area 69 is also the mission where you pick up the Jetpack.

There was going to be a follow-up to the Area 69 missions called "The Truth is Out There."  It seems that The Truth would have been caught spying on Area 69. This would cause government agents to go after him. It would have been up to CJ to rescue him from Bayside Heights before he was taken in.

10 Carving Carver

There are some missions in the Grand Theft Auto series that need to be changed before they are added to the game. A character who was planned to be a major player in the mission was cut before release.

There was another police officer who was planned to be a villain in San Andreas

This was the case with a Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas mission called "Doberman." In the final version of the game, this mission involves CJ tracking down a snitch called Little Weasel. Little Weasel was a replacement for a character called Officer Carver. He was meant to be one of the antagonists of the game. Carver was cut during development of the game. Little Weasel was created in his place.

9 Dale's Photos

Grand Theft Auto V has a series of missions known as "Strangers and Freaks." These can be found all over the map. Each of the three characters has their own unique encounters with the strangers. They lead to missions that have no effect on the overall story.

Franklin was originally intended to encounter a man named Dale in a nightclub. Dale would ask Franklin to take photos of ten attractive women and bring them to him. Once this task was completed, Dale would reveal that he intends on taking the women. It would then be up to Franklin to take Dale down before he can begin his evil plan.

This mission was likely cut due to its content being too controversial.

8 The Aztec Heist

The Heist missions were one of the most popular aspects of Grand Theft Auto V. This was in response to the popular bank robbery mission in Grand Theft Auto IV, which helped inspire the multi-character design of V. 

Michael would finally get some revenge during one of the cut heists

There was a Heist mission that appeared in the beta version of Grand Theft Auto V called "The Sharmoota Job." This mission involved Michael and his crew breaking into the mansion of Martin Madrazo and stealing several expensive Aztec artifacts. "The Sharmoota Job" would involve Michael and Trevor scoping out the house under the pretense of being willing buyers. They would then have to sneak in during a party and grab the goods, which also would have included taking Madrazo's wife.

7 The Social Network

There was a mission planned for Grand Theft Auto V that would have acted as a shout-out to a scene in Grand Theft Auto IV. 

In Grand Theft Auto IV, Brucie tells Niko to pretend to be a gay man on social media in order to lure out a target. Niko refuses to do this. One of the cut missions in Grand Theft Auto V called "Social Networking" would have involved Franklin creating a LifeInvader account and posing as a beautiful woman, in order to lure out a target and take some incriminating photos, before stealing his car.

"Social Networking" was going to be Devon Weston's missions, where he needed several specific cars stolen and brought to him. It is implied in the main game that Lamar stole the necessary car from this cut mission instead.

6 Magenta's Missions

Magenta Andrews is a character you briefly encounter in Grand Theft Auto V. She is a friend of Denise's and sometimes appears during Franklin's cutscenes.

Michael is going to need more therapy after Magenta's missions...

Magenta was planned to appear in some of Michael's "Strangers and Freaks" missions. He would have encountered Magenta talking to herself in the middle of nowhere, where she would have propositioned Michael with the idea of helping him achieve perfection. The first one would have required Michael to have bought some very expensive clothes.

Once Michael has purchased the clothes, he has to travel to Magenta's house. It is here that he finds a group of elderly people having a fun time. Michael quickly finds an excuse to leave, which leads to him calling his therapist for another session.

5 Pickup Assistance

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas introduces the player to the city... and then dumps them in the countryside. CJ is forced to flee his original hood after being chased out by his old friends. This meant that the player was forced out into the wilderness. This meant that it took forever to drive from one location to another.

One of the missions planned for this segment of the game was called "Roadside Assistance." This would have been one of the Wang Cars missions. It would have involved CJ stealing cars that had broken down in the wilderness.

A new version of "Roadside Assistance" has been added back into the PC version of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas through the use of mods. This version of the level was created by the author of the mod. Its accuracy to the intent of the San Andreas creators is unknown.

4 Looking For Big Smoke

The final missions in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas involve CJ taking down the traitorous members of his old crew and retaking Grove Street.

You would have needed the help of the Russian Mafia to find Big Smoke

There was a planned mission called "All-Terrain Take Down" which would have set up the final mission. CJ would have had to track down a member of the Russian Mafia who knows where Big Smoke is hiding.

CJ would then have to beat up the Russian gangster in order to find out Big Smoke's location. He would find out the information, but the Russian gangster would escape and let Big Smoke know that CJ was coming for him. This would have set up the final encounter between the two.

3 Let's Go Follow The American Dream

Roman Bellic is the cousin of the protagonist of Grand Theft Auto IV, Niko. He would have been far more charming and likable if he didn't call you so much to make bowling dates.

There was more content planned for Roman in Grand Theft Auto IV that was cut from the game. It seems that Niko would have had to spend more time helping Roman to establish his business in Liberty City.

Two of the cut missions in Grand Theft Auto IV are called "American Dad" and "American Dream." It is believed that these missions are linked to Roman. They would have involved his attempt at growing his business. Roman's desire to find wealth in America was one of the defining aspects of his personality.

2 Toy Soldiers

By far the most hated missions in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas are the ones where you control the toys. The RC plane mission, in particular, is brutally difficult in the original PlayStation 2 version of the game. So much so that there is almost no room for error. These missions were toned down for the later versions of the game.

The most annoying series of missions in San Andreas almost had another entry...

Another toy mission was cut from the game. Zero was going to give CJ control over a toy tanks that could fire real explosives. You would then have to drive the tank around San Andreas. You'd use it to destroy buggies that were trying to get through the city.

1 The September Mission

A lot of urban legends have been created by the Internet in regards to Grand Theft Auto III. This is due to the fact that it was a hugely important game in terms of the advancement of the industry. It was a massive commercial and critical success. But Grand Theft Auto III was also a game that was edited due to the 9/11 Attacks. Fans wondered what had been changed.

Rockstar Games finally cleared things up during the 10th-anniversary celebrations for Grand Theft Auto III. It was here that they stated that a mission was removed for the game, as it referenced terrorists. They also changed the American box art. The rumors of there being a mission where you had to crash the Dodo into a building were just falsehoods.