Set within the fictional U.S. state of San Andreas, the game follows Carl "CJ" Johnson, who returns home after his mother's murder and finds his old street gang has lost much of their territory.

Over the course of the game, he attempts to rebuild the gang, clashes with corrupt authorities and powerful criminals, and gradually unravels the truth behind his mother's murder.

[9]: 200–201 In 1992, after five years in Liberty City, gangster Carl "CJ" Johnson (Young Maylay) returns to Los Santos following his mother's death in a drive-by shooting.

CJ befriends an aging hippie and marijuana farmer named "the Truth" (Peter Fonda) and Triad leader Wu Zi Mu (James Yaegashi).

He participates in a street race and wins a garage in San Fierro, which he sets up to earn money, and crosses paths with the Loco Syndicate, Smoke and Ryder's drug connection.

Toreno reveals himself to be an undercover government agent and enlists CJ's help in several shady operations in exchange for Sweet's release from prison.

He drives off in a fire truck, followed by CJ and Sweet, but eventually loses control of the vehicle and crashes over the side of a bridge overlooking Grove Street.

The 50-person team at Rockstar North began development of San Andreas following the release of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City in October 2002.

[19][20] Having two years of development, as opposed to Vice City's one, gave them more opportunities to experiment and reevaluate the previous Grand Theft Auto games.

[20] Producer Leslie Benzies hoped San Andreas would redefine the series and "revolutionize open-ended gameplay and video game production values".

[7][27]: 44  Early in development, the team travelled to each city for research and photography;[28]: 61 [29]: 40  art director Aaron Garbut felt Los Angeles's gang territory in particular was difficult to capture without first-hand experience.

[32][33]: 47 Benzies felt Rockstar North's relationship with Los Angeles natives Estevan Oriol, Mister Cartoon, and DJ Pooh helped them imitate the city's 1990s street culture.

[37]: 42  Producer and co-writer Dan Houser felt the game's return to Los Santos in the final act afforded players a chance to view it from a different perspective.

[38]: 122  Garbut established climate zones for each city represented by their sky colour: Los Santos's red-orange, San Fierro's blue, and Las Venturas's red.

[36] The developers referenced Boyz n the Hood (1991), Colors (1988), and Menace II Society (1993) for narrative inspiration, and compared their in-game locations to those in different films: the countryside to Deliverance (1972), San Fierro to Bullitt (1968), and Las Venturas to Casino (1995).

He opted to cast celebrities in secondary roles, such as Jackson as Tenpenny, and he felt Young Maylay's obscurity in the industry made CJ feel "very, very human".

The radio features were overhauled; instead of looping sounds, each station became dynamic, allowing a randomised song order, accurate weather predictions, and story-relevant news announcements.

[61] In October 2003, Rockstar's parent company Take-Two Interactive announced the next Grand Theft Auto game would be released in 2004's third quarter,[62] and it prompted speculation after registering GTA: San Andreas with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in December 2003.

[68][69] In September, Take-Two announced the game's delay to 26 and 29 October in North America and Europe, respectively, and revealed it would be released for Windows in early 2005.

[70] A special edition version was published for the PlayStation 2 on 8 October 2005, featuring Rockstar's debut documentary film Sunday Driver, about a lowrider car club in Compton.

[89] Several reviewers considered San Andreas's world an improvement over its predecessors',[84][86][90] praising the attention to detail in its areas and characters;[10][91] IGN's Jeremy Dunham cited the differences in each city's weather as a highlight.

[92] Critics considered the graphics an improvement over Vice City,[91][93] particularly regarding the animations, foliage, lighting, and weather effects;[3][10][83] PALGN's Chris Sell called it "one of the most visually absorbing games ever".

[81] The New York Times's Charles Herold found the game's structure diminished enjoyment of its missions, forcing players to drive long distances and replay extensive sequences upon failing,[96] a complaint echoed by others.

[84] Some reviewers compared the story to Hollywood films and similar popular culture;[84][99] PSM2's Dawkins felt the finale "outstrips the collected work" of filmmakers Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson.

[108] 1Up.com's Parish lauded the references to Rodney King's assault and the sophisticated writing addressing race in South Central Los Angeles.

[110] Some technical problems occasionally persisted, including pop-up, inconsistent frame rates, and poor aliasing,[110][121][129] and some reviewers bemoaned the lack of significant graphical improvements.

[184][185] Garbut felt technical limitations prevented San Andreas from properly capturing Los Angeles, making it feel like a "backdrop or a game level with pedestrians randomly milling about" and effectively deeming it as a jumping-off point for the development of Grand Theft Auto V.[186] Several moments from the game became common internet memes, such as Big Smoke's extensive fast food order in 2016[187][188][189] and one of CJ's first lines—"Ah shit, here we go again"—in April 2019.

[190][191][192] An early mission, "Wrong Side of the Tracks", became notable for its difficulty; Big Smoke's dialogue upon failing the mission—"All we had to do, was follow the damn train, CJ!

"—was considered an iconic catchphrase[193][194][195] and later referenced in Grand Theft Auto V.[196] Modders have been known to frequently insert CJ into other games, such as Dark Souls (2011), The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017), and Street Fighter 6 (2023).

[197][198][199] Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was released for Windows and the Xbox on 7 and 10 June 2005 in North America and Europe, respectively,[200] supporting higher screen resolutions, draw distance, and more detailed textures.