Payback 2 vs GTA III
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Payback 2
Experience intense, action-packed gameplay with a variety of campaign events, including gang battles, races, and tank duels. Compete with friends and millions of players online, or create your own custom events with diverse cities, modes, and vehicles.
- Varied campaign events
- Extensive online multiplayer
- Hourly, daily, and weekly challenges
- Custom event creation
- Diverse cities, game modes, and vehicles
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"Bite sized, action-packed stages; boils down the GTA flavor to an intense punch" - AppSpy.com Gaming App of The Day - Kotaku.com "[Payback 2] manages to create a sense of overblown fun that permeates everything from straightforward races to capture the flag-inspired heists ... an immensely entertaining experience" - pocketgamer.co.uk Featured as one of the best games of the week by The Guardian DESCRIPTION: Payback 2 is the long-awaited sequel to the hit GTA-style game from the early days of the App Store. It concentrates that classic formula by offering exciting event-based gameplay that is all action, all the time. FEATURES: • VARIED CAMPAIGN. Fifty campaign events featuring everything from massive gang battles to rocket car races to epic tank duels! • TAKE ON THE WORLD. Battle your friends or over a million other players online with the game's extensive multiplayer, leaderboard and Game Center support. • HOURLY, DAILY AND WEEKLY CHALLENGES. Try to beat the rest of the world in the latest new events! • ENDLESS REPLAYABILITY. Make your own events in "custom mode" using any combination of the game's seven cities, nine game modes, varied weaponry and dozens of vehicles.
GTA III
Experience a revolutionary open-world crime game set in Liberty City. Explore freely, take on missions, and rise through the criminal underworld. A free trial is available, with the full game unlockable via a one-time purchase.
- Open-world exploration
- Criminal underworld gameplay
- Mission-based progression
- Free trial available
- One-time in-app purchase
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Download and play GTA III - Definitive for up to thirty minutes as a free trial. Purchase the full game as a one-time, in-app purchase to play without any time limits. GTA+ Members can enjoy unlimited access while subscribed for as long as it is included in GTA+. It all starts in Liberty City. With revolutionary freedom to go anywhere and jack anyone, Grand Theft Auto III puts the center of the criminal underworld at your fingertips, if you have enough guts to take it. Rockstar Games, Inc. 622 Broadway, New York, NY, 10012. © 2001–2023. Rockstar Games, Grand Theft Auto, Grand Theft Auto III and R* Logo are marks/logos/copyrights of Take-Two Interactive. Unreal® Engine, Copyright 1998–2023, Epic Games, Inc. All rights reserved. Uses Oodle. Copyright © 2008–2023 by Epic Games Tools, LLC. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. All other marks and trademarks are properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: GTA III at none against Payback 2's shown. Payback 2's advantage is ratings volume (54K vs 580) and review sentiment (85% vs 63%). On price, rating, update cadence and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Payback 2 sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and GTA III sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Payback 2 against 4.7 for GTA III. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Payback 2 has 54K ratings behind it against 580, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 85% of Payback 2's written reviews are positive against 63% of GTA III's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Payback 2 | GTA III |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (54K ratings) | 4.7 (580 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 85.2% of reviews — better | 63.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 54K — better | 580 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #114 — better | #204 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 179 MB | 1.7 GB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Apex Designs Games LLP | Rockstar Games |
Customer experience
Payback 2
GTA III
User reviews
Payback 2
From 54K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Smooth gameplay
- 🚀 Offline playability
- 💡 Customizable game modes
- 🎨 Good graphics and visuals
- 🕹️ Fun and addictive
Room to improve
- 💰 Expensive in-app purchases
- 📺 Too many intrusive ads
- 🐛 Bugs and glitches
- 🔨 Unfinished or unpolished features
- 🚗 Unrealistic vehicle physics
GTA III
From 580 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Improved graphics
- 👍 Classic GTA gameplay
- 💡 Ported to mobile
- 🎮 Enjoyable experience
Room to improve
- 🐛 Bugs and glitches
- 🔋 Performance issues
- 💰 Paid content
- 🔇 Missing features (sound, cloud saves)
Bugs and requests
Payback 2
Reported bugs
5 issues- Crashes and freezes
- Vehicles and physics issues
- Multiplayer matchmaking problems
- Inconsistent or missing game progress
- Unresponsive controls and input issues
Requested features
8 requests- Add more vehicles and customization options
- Improve graphics and animations
- Implement a story mode or campaign
- Add more game modes and multiplayer features
- Reduce the number of ads or make them less intrusive
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- Fix bugs and improve overall stability
- Introduce a sandbox or free-roam mode
- Add support for controllers and higher frame rates
GTA III
Reported bugs
4 issues- No sound on iPad
- Screen flashing issues
- Incompatible with older devices
- Paid content after update
Requested features
4 requests- Add cloud save support
- Improve performance and stability
- Add more control options
- Localize to more languages
In-app purchases
Payback 2
- 200 Coins$0.99
- 500 Coins$1.99
- Disable Ads$1.99
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- Coin Doubler$2.99
- 1200 Coins$3.99
- Unlock Episode 2$4.99
- Unlock Episode 3$4.99
- 2500 Coins$7.99
- Unlock Custom Mode$9.99
- Unlimited Coins$14.99
GTA III
- Full Game Access$19.99
