GTA 5's Canon Ending Officially Confirmed Ahead Of GTA 6

Published Oct 11, 2026, 2:00 PM EDT Ewan is Deputy Editor for ScreenRant's gaming section. He still quite hasn’t gotten out of his mid 00’s emo phase, and knows more about The Legend of Zelda and Doctor Who than is probably healthy. Ewan oversees the content operation of ScreenRant's gaming output, working with a talented team of writers and editors to cover everything from the latest GTA 6 news to the indie games you need on your radar. Former Editor of GAMINGbible, Ewan also has words at Kotaku, Den of Geek, NME, and UNILAD. He's appeared on various podcasts, including VGC's and BBC's Let's Talk About Tech. Not that it was ever really in doubt, but Rockstar Games has finally officially confirmed GTA 5's canon ending after 12 years, putting to rest any speculation about the fate of the game's three playable characters ahead of GTA 6's November 19 release date. For those who might not be aware because they've lived in a cave for the last decade, GTA 5 has three possible endings. Only one of them is considered the "good" ending, and it would appear it's this one that has been made canon after all this time, which was confirmed in one of the more recent GTA Online updates. What Are GTA 5's Multiple Endings? Three choices to make The end of GTA 5 presents players with three choices. The first ending has Franklin bowing to the orders of the feds and killing Trevor, with Franklin and Michael then going their separate ways. The second ending sees Franklin kill Michael, which, of course, ends Trevor and Franklin's association. The third ending, however, gives Franklin the chance to tell the FIB where to stick it. This choice is called Deathwish, and sees Franklin, Michael, Lamar, and Trevor do away with all their enemies and move on with their lives in relative peace. This third option has always been the fan favorite, given that it lets all three main characters survive and take revenge on the corrupt feds that have been manipulating them over the course of the game. It's basically the complete opposite of Red Dead Redemption, giving us maximum satisfaction and a perfect revenge fantasy. That's not to say I think Red Dead Redemption has a bad ending, to be clear. They're just thematically very different beasts. Which GTA 5 Ending Is Canon? You'll never guess Surprising absolutely nobody, a GTA Online update released late last year officially confirmed the beloved Deathwish ending is the canonical ending to GTA 5, establishing once and for all that Michael, Trevor, and Franklin all survived the events of the single-player game. A Safehouse In The Hills came to GTA Online on December 10, 2025, and saw the long-awaited return of Michael after a few vague references in past updates. It seems Michael really has moved on from his life of crime and has become the film producer he always wanted to be. He's also still married to Amanda, in spite of everything. Of course, Michael's survival alone doesn't confirm that Deathwish is canon, but there are other factors. Franklin has appeared in previous GTA Online updates, though he survives every one of GTA 5's possible endings anyway. So what of Trevor? He might have popped up in a few GTA Online updates, but these were very early missions that took place before the events of GTA 5. The good news is, despite Trevor not showing up in any of the new GTA Online missions, Rockstar has established he's alive and well (well being a relative term for Trevor) in the present day via a few voice lines here and there. There's even the suggestion he's gone on to become a lifestyle guru, which is a GTA Online update I would pay good money to see. So, there we have it. With Michael's upcoming return, we finally have definitive proof that the GTA 5 canon ending is... the one we all agreed it was years ago. Still, nice to know for sure, isn't it? Now the real question becomes: will we see this trio return in GTA 6? Somehow I doubt it, but it'd nice to see what Jason and Lucia make of Trevor. Released November 19, 2026 ESRB Rating Pending - Likely Mature 17+ Developer(s) Rockstar Games Publisher(s) Rockstar Games Engine Rockstar Advanced Game Engine (RAGE) Multiplayer Online Multiplayer