GTA: Chinatown Wars coming to iPhone

By Ellie Gibson Published 1 September, 2009

Along with new music-maker Beaterator.

Rockstar Games has announced two of its titles are in development for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

First up is Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, already available for DS and out on PSP this autumn. Company founder Sam Houser described the game as a "perfect match" for the handhelds, adding, "We are very excited to bring this incredibly ambitious version of Liberty City, with this level of detail and immersive gameplay on Apple's new gaming platforms."

Also on the way is a new version of Beaterator, the music-making application that's currently in development for PSP. "The simple, pick-up-and-play nature of Beaterator lends itself so well to the Apple platforms," said Houser.

Beaterator and Chinatown Wars will be released for iPhone and iPod Touch this autumn. Look out for previews of the PSP games on Eurogamer later this week.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (16) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • matrim83 #1 2 years ago

    How will it control on the Ipod touch?

    Please dont say tilt controls. Please dont say tilt controls. Please dont say tilt controls. Please dont say tilt controls.

  • Cadence #2 2 years ago

    tilt controls

  • Greebo #3 2 years ago


    Wonder how they'll price it, given that there are similar titles on iPhone under £4

  • Eraysor #4 2 years ago

    Should be titled Grand Theft Auto: Battery Eater.

  • UncleLou #5 2 years ago

    Wonder how they'll price it, given that there are similar titles on iPhone under £4

    Yeah. Once there'll be even more overlap between iPhone games and DS/PSP releases (which will happen), it'll become really interesting. Why should I pay 40,- € for a DS game when I can get an (maybe even superior) version for 1/10th of that in the Appstore?

    Just look at CivRev. They could get away with it in this case because it wasn't released at the same time, but what if Chinatwon Wars is released at the same time on the PSP and the iPhone?
    Edited by 2 at 01/09/09 @ 10:01

  • Mkwone #6 2 years ago

    If it's the exact same game it'll have to be 20 odd quid to make it competitive with the PSP and DS version. I can't see it being charged at the usual £5 mark.

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #7 2 years ago

    It'll be $20 US, tops.

    ... but I'm skeptical about how playable it'll be. You couldn't play the DS version using just a stylus, could you?

  • UncleLou #8 2 years ago

    I wonder what earned me a negative rating for the above post? Heh. Looks like there's disgruntled PSP and DS owners about.

    but I'm skeptical about how playable it'll be

    Lack of buttons is a problem as always with the iPhone, but devs recently really have nailed the "virtual joypad" thingy.

  • Greebo #9 2 years ago


    I felt similarly hurt UncleLou :-)

    Not quite sure whether people hit the minus one button because they're offended, or because they just disagree!

    Anyway, if someone thought I was wrong saying similar titles are available for under £4, I was thinking of Gangstar: Crime City - which is a full on 3D GTAalike. There is also Payback and Car Jack Streets.

  • penhalion #10 2 years ago

    This will sell because it's from rockstar. I seriously doubt it has to be:-

    1. Any good.
    2. Have playable controls.

    Journalists are going to give it top marks regardless.

  • gamingdave #11 2 years ago

    Not sure how it will control, I do widh there was an official caddy with traditional controls. But saying that worth waiting to see.

    The question is how can Rockstar be sure this will be approved? Doesnt the content go against the whole approval criteria. Violence shouldnt be an issue, but drug trading and sexual references may cause an issue. I assume they have had prior contact with Apple over this, and it would certainly be a good thing for Apple to have one of the most high profile games series ever on their system.

  • Greebo #12 2 years ago


    Apple would be nuts not to let it through - after all Nintendo did...

  • Vroom #13 2 years ago

    Agreed. Apple would be crazy not to approve.

  • Fleeby #14 2 years ago

    Apple have to let it through – such a title shows that the iPhone as a gaming platform has truly arrived. Yeah, Doom, Civ, Sims 3, etc. showed it was on its way but such a giant of a franchise shows that it's being taken seriously by everyone now. And Rockstar have to recoup their costs on Chinatown somehow after its dismal sales on DS.

  • secombe #15 2 years ago

    Considering the power on tap, I assume this is probably going to use the PSP build of the game rather than the DS one.

    I'm not too worried about the controls, plenty of small developers have come up with genius control methods on the iPhone already, so I'm sure it's not beyond Rockstar to come up with something that works well. Walking and shooting in Alive4Dead, for example, is pretty much spot on.

  • JoshKIDD #16 2 years ago

    Sounds Gd...Im Hoping It Wont Be Birds Eye View WANT iT To Be Gd...Sorry To Put Anyone Down But Its More Than Likely Gona Be Tilt Controls...Betta Be Betta Than Gangstar West Coast Hustle...