GTA Radio
A continuous online radio experience inspired by the radio systems that made driving around GTA feel like part of the game.
What I wanted to recreate
I wanted the radio to feel less like selecting a song from a playlist and more like tuning into a station that happens to be broadcasting when you arrive.
That means music is only one part of the experience. Station identity, presenters, talk segments, commercials, transitions and the order in which things happen all contribute to the feeling.
That is also why every station has its own artwork in the player. You can see which station you are listening to at a glance.
One continuous stream
The player is designed around continuous playback rather than a traditional playlist interface. The server decides what is playing and the browser acts as the listener.
This approach also creates interesting technical problems around interruptions, reconnecting, mobile browsers and keeping playback consistent.
Listen
The live player is hosted separately from this informational website.
What you hear on a station
A GTA station is built from a handful of repeating ingredients: songs, a presenter who introduces them, fictional commercials, short station identifiers and, on talk stations, shows and phone-ins. The order matters as much as the content. A song, a joke from the presenter, an advert for a product that does not exist and then another song feel like a broadcast, while the same songs played back to back feel like a playlist.
Four eras, four sounds
The project is organised around the radio of four GTA games:
- Vice City: the 1980s, from new wave and metal to old-school hip-hop.
- San Andreas: the early 1990s on the West Coast, with hip-hop, funk, rock, country and house.
- GTA IV: Liberty City, with a wide mix of music and talk stations.
- GTA V: Los Santos, with stations hosted by well-known artists.
Each page describes the radio of the original game and what makes it distinctive. The games overview compares them.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to install anything?
No. The player runs in your browser, on a computer or a phone. On a phone you can add it to your home screen, as described on the mobile page.
Is GTA Radio an official Rockstar Games project?
No. It is an independent fan and technology project made independently. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Rockstar Games or Take-Two Interactive. See the disclaimer.
Why does the radio sometimes stop on my phone?
Mobile browsers save battery by pausing pages that are in the background or when the screen is locked, and switching between Wi-Fi and mobile data can interrupt a stream. Pressing play again reconnects. The mobile page has more tips.
Can I listen in the car?
Yes. Play the radio on your phone and send the sound to the car stereo over Bluetooth or a cable, or open the direct stream in a media player such as VLC. Set it up before you drive and do not operate your phone while driving.
Who makes it, and what does it cost to run?
I build and run everything myself, on a server at home. The main costs are the domain, electricity and hardware. Support is voluntary; see the support page.
Why I document it
Building the player has been as interesting to me as using it. The project touches audio processing, Python, HTTP, networking, browser APIs and mobile web behaviour.
I document those parts because they explain how the project works rather than presenting the player as a black box.