Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth. The true home of Grand Theft Auto is in Europe, or more specifically in Scotland, part of the United Kingdom. However, the games are always released first in North America, probably due to the larger number of people expected to buy the games there, as well as it being the home country of Rockstar Games.

One European country noted for its censorship of the GTA series is Germany. Since Grand Theft Auto III, a number of changes have been made to the games. Some of these include the removal of blood, weapons, prostitutes, and even missions.

Europe is home to a number of video game rating systems, each of them giving varied ratings to GTA games. While these countries use the PEGI system, their own ratings boards still exist, and it would appear that some games are still rated by them for whatever reason. They include the following:

• BBFC - Used in the United Kingdom
• PEGI - Used in nearly 30 European countries
• ELSPA - The former British ratings board
• USK - Used in Germany
• SELL - Used in France
• aDeSe - Used in Spain
• VET/SFB - Used in Finland
• DJCTQ - Used in Portugal, and more recently Brazil.