GTA San Andreas on PSP: official release or unofficial port?

In brief: Rockstar never released GTA San Andreas for the PSP. The official GTA games on PSP are Liberty City Stories (2005), Vice City Stories (2006) and Chinatown Wars (2009). Anything labelled "GTA San Andreas PSP" is an unofficial fan project, a mislabelled file or a fake. If you want San Andreas on a portable device today, the official options are the mobile versions and the Definitive Edition on Nintendo Switch.

NextPlayIntel original diagram · Not a gameplay screenshot

NextPlayIntel original diagram · Not a gameplay screenshot

Searches for "GTA San Andreas PSP" keep returning download pages, videos and ISO files that look convincing. Part of the confusion is understandable: San Andreas came out in the same period as the PSP, and Rockstar did make two Stories games for the handheld. But a game appearing on a PSP screen doesn't make it a Rockstar release. This guide sets out what was officially released, where the rumour came from and how to tell an official PSP GTA game from an unofficial one.

What Rockstar actually released

• GTA San Andreas — Official PSP release?: No; Original platforms: PS2 (October 2004), then PC and Xbox (June 2005). Later Xbox 360, PS3 and PS4 re-releases, mobile (2013) and the 2021 Definitive Edition

• GTA Liberty City Stories — Official PSP release?: Yes, October 2005; Original platforms: PSP first, later PS2 and mobile

• GTA Vice City Stories — Official PSP release?: Yes, October 2006; Original platforms: PSP first, later PS2

• GTA Chinatown Wars — Official PSP release?: Yes, October 2009; Original platforms: Nintendo DS (March 2009), then PSP and mobile

Liberty City Stories is a prequel set in GTA III's city, and Vice City Stories is a prequel set in Vice City. Neither is a cut-down San Andreas. Our Liberty City Stories guide explains how the PSP, PS2 and mobile versions differ. The PSP console page lists the GTA editions to check for each PSP model.

Where the "San Andreas on PSP" idea came from

A rumoured "San Andreas Stories". After two Stories games, many fans expected a third set in San Andreas. In May 2007, Engadget summarised a magazine interview in which, asked about a San Andreas Stories for PSP, Rockstar said it didn't have any plans "at the moment". No such game was ever announced.

A retailer placeholder. In February 2009, Kotaku reported a UK retailer listing for "GTA: San Andreas Stories" on PSP, with cover art. The listing had been created in 2007, reused the original San Andreas artwork and admitted in its own description that there was "no word from the developers". Kotaku called it "retailer daydreaming". The listing is gone, but copies and screenshots of it still circulate.

Fan projects in 2026. The rumour is back because people are now trying to run San Andreas on a PSP themselves. In July 2026, iXBT Games reported a modder group showing gameplay from a PSP build. The group said it would distribute only its own engine, and that players would need to extract data from a legally bought PS2 copy. In October 2026, the Japanese site Retro Gamer reported that developer SandstoneDev had released a conversion tool called PS2RC on GitHub. According to that report, PS2RC rebuilds the PS2 game's code for the PSP instead of emulating a PS2. It supports only one European PS2 disc version, and it needs a PSP-2000 or PSP-3000 running custom firmware. Rockstar did not make these projects and, as far as we can find, hasn't endorsed them.

How to tell an official PSP GTA game from an unofficial one

1. Check the title. Official PSP GTA releases have their own names: Liberty City Stories, Vice City Stories and Chinatown Wars. No official PSP product is called "San Andreas".

2. Check the physical media. Official PSP games came on UMD discs in printed cases with ratings labels. A ZIP, CSO or ISO file from a download site isn't a retail product, whatever the thumbnail shows.

3. Check the platform list. Rockstar's San Andreas platforms are PS2, PC, Xbox, later re-releases, mobile and the Definitive Edition. PSP has never been one of them.

4. Watch for custom firmware. If a guide asks you to install custom firmware, the software isn't an official release. Official PSP games run on standard firmware.

5. Check what the video shows. A "San Andreas PSP" video may show a fan build, an emulator on a phone or PC, or a different game with modified textures. Unless the video names the exact software and its source, assume it is unofficial.

Risks of "GTA San Andreas PSP" downloads

We don't link to unofficial builds, ISO files or firmware tools, and we haven't tested any of them. Before trying one, keep these points in mind:

• Downloading game files you don't own is piracy. Even the fan project iXBT reported on says players must use their own legally bought PS2 copy.

• Fake files are common. A file that claims to be a finished port could contain something else, including malware. A trustworthy-looking thumbnail proves nothing.

• Custom firmware has consequences. Changing a console's firmware is done at your own risk. Follow the project's own warnings if you decide to try it.

• Fan builds are unfinished. Reports describe early versions. Don't expect the full game, stable performance or saves that carry over to future builds.

Official ways to play San Andreas on the go

If what you want is San Andreas on a portable device, there are official options:

• Mobile. War Drum Studios' mobile port came out in December 2013. The Definitive Edition reached iOS and Android in December 2023. Availability has changed since then, so check your app store.

• Nintendo Switch. The Definitive Edition launched on Switch on 11 November 2021.

• The real PSP games. If you own a PSP, Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories offer the same style of PS2-era GTA in two other cities.

Cheat inputs differ between these versions. Use the San Andreas cheat sheet for the original and its ports, and the Liberty City Stories sheet for the PSP game.

How we verified this

We checked the official release history on 27 October 2026 against several independent records for San Andreas, Liberty City Stories, Vice City Stories and Chinatown Wars. We compared those with our own game hubs. For the rumour's history, we used contemporary reports from Engadget (2007) and Kotaku (2009). For the 2026 fan projects, we used iXBT Games and Retro Gamer. We describe those projects only as reported, haven't run them, and don't link to downloads. Rockstar's own game pages blocked our automated checks, so we didn't rely on them for this article. This article was drafted with AI assistance and fact-checked against the sources below. To report an error, use our corrections policy.