The Final Choice

The Choice

After The Big Score, play passes to Franklin. Haines and the FIB already want Trevor dead, and now Devin Weston turns up at Franklin's house and tells him to kill Michael. When Devin leaves, the phone offers three options: “Kill Trevor”, “Kill Michael” and “Deathwish”, the one that tries to save them both.

Each option starts its own final mission straight away: Kill Trevor leads to Something Sensible, Kill Michael to The Time’s Come, and Deathwish to The Third Way. Deathwish is the only one in which all three men survive, and later Rockstar releases treat it as what really happened.

Something Sensible

The “Kill Trevor” ending. You play it as Franklin only.

• 1

  The meeting

  Franklin calls Trevor to meet somewhere quiet and calls Michael for help on the way. At the meeting Trevor works out why Franklin is there, gets back in his truck and drives off.

• 2

  The chase to the oil field

  Chase Trevor's truck through the traffic to the oil field. Michael rams the truck into the tanker, and the fuel spills around Trevor. One shot from Franklin sets it alight. Two of the guides add that if Franklin does not shoot, Michael does it for him. Michael and Franklin then part ways.

  • Gold: kill Trevor.

The Time’s Come

The “Kill Michael” ending. You play it as Franklin only.

• 1

  The satellite dishes

  Franklin meets Michael at the satellite dishes. Michael realises what Franklin has come to do and escapes in his car. Chase him along the railway to the power station; there is no need to shoot at him on the way.

• 2

  Up the chimney

  Follow Michael on foot up the walkways and stairs to the top of the tall chimney. After the fight there, Franklin holds Michael over the edge and you choose to save him or let him drop. Either way Michael falls to his death. The game ends with Franklin calling Lamar to make peace.

  • Gold: kill Michael.

Two of the guides name these two single gold objectives: “Judas!” in Something Sensible and “Surpassed the Mentor” in The Time’s Come.

The Third Way

The “Deathwish” ending. It is a long mission, and you switch between all three characters.

• 1

  Lester's plan

  As Franklin, drive to Lester's house. His plan is a trap: tell both the FIB and Merryweather that the crew is at the foundry, and be waiting for them there. Pick up Lamar at his house on the way and drive to the foundry, where Michael and Trevor are waiting.

• 2

  The foundry ambush

  Spring the ambush when ready. Waves of FIB agents and Merryweather mercenaries come in, so stay in cover and switch character when the game calls for it: Franklin goes outside to help Lamar, Michael crosses to rescue Trevor. Clear the last attackers and regroup outside the main doors.

• 3

  The loose ends

  With the strike teams beaten, the three split the remaining targets. Franklin goes after Wei Cheng at the country club: carry sticky bombs for the gold objective. Michael goes after Stretch at the basketball courts of the recreation center, with a melee weapon in hand. Trevor takes Steve Haines on Del Perro Pier, where a headshot counts for gold.

• 4

  Devin

  Last, Trevor goes to Devin Weston's mansion, which Merryweather guards heavily. Clear the guards and find Devin hiding in the house. Trevor puts him in the trunk of a car and drives to a cliff above the sea, where all three push the car over the edge.

  • Gold: complete within 21:30; kill 20 enemies with a headshot; finish with at least 70% accuracy; kill Cheng with a sticky bomb; kill Stretch in melee; kill Steve Haines with a headshot.

  The Stretch objective is worded differently: IGN and Eurogamer say to kill him with a melee weapon, while the GTA Wiki says with a melee attack. A melee weapon satisfies both readings.

Two of the guides name three of these objectives: “Stick, Tick... Boom!” (Cheng), “Stretched Out” (Stretch) and “Lead Lobotomy” (Haines).

After the Credits

The game carries on after the credits, and the ending you picked decides who is left to play.

• Something Sensible: Trevor is dead. Two of the guides say he can no longer be played and his activities are no longer available; one wiki adds that his properties go with him. The same wiki says Michael and Franklin split Trevor's share of The Big Score.
• The Time’s Come: Michael is dead. Two of the guides say he can no longer be played and his activities are no longer available; one wiki adds that his properties go with him.
• The Third Way: Michael, Franklin and Trevor all survive. Two of the guides list a follow-up mission, Mrs. Philips, unlocked after this ending and after The Time’s Come.

Whichever ending you pick, finishing it unlocks the story trophy To Live or Die in Los Santos (“Completed the final mission.”).

Stretch Completion

That is the end of the story. If you saved before the choice, you can load that save to see the other endings.

✅ Before Moving On...