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Grand Theft Auto is full of antagonists, but none are better than the corrupt government officials. Meet Steven Haines, who fits that description perfectly. He’s no Officer Frank Tenpenny from GTA: San Andreas, but you can tell that Tenpenny was the blueprint of corrupt officials in GTA, and Steve Haines has tried to be the weaker copy.
He is a thorn in Michael’s, Trevor’s, and Franklin’s side, and they just want to continue with their crime-free life. However, Steve has a different idea and wants to use their criminal backgrounds to make them do some dirty dealings. Is anyone straight-laced in Los Santos anymore?
He’s easily one of the more hated characters that GTA has introduced, and I *SPOILER ALERT* was happy that you could see the back of him at the end. However, despite my lack of love for this GTA V character, he certainly gives us fans of the franchise someone to aim their anger out throughout Grand Theft Auto V, alongside many other power-hungry fools of Los Santos.
We don’t really know what made Steve this way; maybe power, or maybe he is just an awful human being. Nonetheless, let’s take a look at his antagonistic adventures in GTA V in this Steve Haines guide.
Who is Steve Haines?
Steve really likes to dip his fingers in multiple pools. While his main role during GTA V is that of a Federal Investigation Bureau special agent, he also dabbles in reality TV. His show ‘The Underbelly Of Paradise’ shows off the seedy side of Los Santos.
As a FIB agent, he has worked his way up the ranks. He first joined the FIB in 1993, meaning he had been with the company for 20 years during the events of GTA V.
He is a very selfish person, which becomes abundantly clear during GTA V’s story. Most of what he does is to further his career, and he doesn’t care who takes the fall for it along the way.
The antagonistic vibe is strong with this one. I don’t think he has a single conversation with any of the three protagonists that doesn’t end in them being at each other’s throats or Steve shouting from a distance.
He also assumes immediately that people will know who he is from his TV show. Luckily, Michael was there to dismiss his show and lower Steve’s ego down a peg or two.
Not much is known about Steve’s life outside of his work. He has no wife, and children aren’t mentioned, but with the temperament he has, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he’s all alone.
A news article that can be read if players choose the option The Third Way will express that Steve still lives with his mother. I’m sure he wouldn’t have wanted that information to be released.
Steve is often seen wearing a blue polo shirt and chino-style trousers. He doesn’t change up his outfit often, but occasionally his polo is different, or he wears a FIB jacket.
Despite being with Dave often, they don’t seem to have a good relationship, with it mostly being viewed as Steve just using Dave to get to Michael and his pals. I wonder if he’s ever been nice to anyone?
Events Before GTA V
The IAA, officially known as the International Affairs Agency, and the FIB have been feuding for some time now, mostly due to funding reasons and the lack of terrorism within Los Santos.
Steve is trying everything he can to make the FIB the superior of the two, often believing that the IAA wants to heighten terrorism to gain more funding.
The Events of GTA V
Steve doesn’t make an immediate appearance in GTA V. Behind the scenes, he finds out Michael is still alive when one of the robbers on the jewelry store heist sounds awfully familiar.
He digs into Michaels’s files and finds out he is, in fact, still alive, and Dave knows! Wanting to use this to his advantage, he enlists Dave to plan a meeting.
The first time we get to see Steve is during Three’s Company, and you can immediately tell that this man is an arsehole. Michael goes to an outside seating area located near the FIB and IAA Buildings to meet Dave Norton.
Unsurprisingly, Dave didn’t mention that he was bringing along two other people, Andreas Sanchez and the infamous Steve Haines. Steve now wants Michael, alongside Franklin and Trevor, to help him with some rogue operations — and true to Steve’s fashion, he doesn’t ask, he tells.
Steve’s Motives
Steve is mostly doing this for his personal gain, knowing that if he uses the three protagonists to do his dirty work, it might just help him climb higher in the ranks at the FIB.
First, Steve wants the trio to kidnap Ferdinand Kerimov from the IAA to get information from him. After the group are successful, Steve orders Trevor to torture Kerimov for information on a man named Tahir Javan, who Michael and Dave are sent out to assassinate. This alone already shows you how unhinged Steve is, and he would literally do anything to get what he wants.
After the torture session was a success for Steve, he tells Trevor to kill Kerimov. However, Trevor has a soft moment and drives Kerimov to the airport so he can escape.
Get Back at the IAA
Steve later enlists the trio’s help again, this time to steal an IAA Securicar and whatever is inside of it. Steve seems to think that the money inside will be used to ‘start a war on our streets.’ He really tries to make out that the IAA are the bad guys, but he doesn’t seem so good himself.
Once the Securicar is dealt with, Michael takes the bonds inside to Devin Weston. For a while, it all goes quiet on Steve’s end, and we think we’ve finally gotten rid of him, but oh boy, were we wrong.
Steve manages to track down Michael and Trevor while they’re hiding out in Sandy Shores from Martin Madrazo. Steve and Dave need them to ‘investigate’ the IAA’s Humane Labs and Research facility as Steve thinks they’re brewing something for terrorism.
However, it’ll be one expensive attack, so they’ll first have to get hold of some funds, and what is the best way to do that? Of course, a heist! Michael and Trevor, with some help from Franklin, decide to hit a bank in Paleto Bay, and it’s a success, albeit with a lot of heat.
A Lot of Nerve
Steve then gets on the blower to Michael and Trevor, asking them to meet him at Cape Catfish. Steve rocks up, wondering why there are only three of them, stating he asked for a six-person team. Yet we know he never did. Steve and Dave begrudgingly join Michael in infiltrating the Humane Lab and Research facility to steal a nerve toxin.
Once the trio has got the nerve agent, they meet Trevor and Franklin outside to start the getaway. Once Trevor collects the container holding the nerve agent with a chopper, Steve comes flying out in a panic, stating that the IAA is now on their tail.
Trevor, Dave, and Michael get away with the nerve agent while Steve stays behind, acting like he’s going to be the hero. He shoots himself in the leg and reveals to the incoming IAA agents that he’s FIB who was trying to stop the attack, acting like a ‘double agent.’
Paranoia Has Sunk In
After the raid on the IAA compound, Steve has become increasingly paranoid that the FIB is on to him. Steve says there is some ‘evidence’ of his wrongdoings in the FIB Building and he needs Michael to destroy it.
In exchange, Steve promises to delete all of Michael’s files if he carries out this one last task for him. Michael, with Franklin, carries out the task, destroying any evidence on Steve plus any evidence Steve had on Michael, Franklin, and Trevor. In theory, they should now be free from Steve, but he is one sly guy.
Betrayal
You knew his betrayal would soon come, I never believed a word that came out of his mouth, but you wondered how he would do it.
Michael goes to meet Dave at The Kortz Center. Michael asks to be finally cut loose, but of course, Dave can’t do that for him yet as there’s now yet another problem. Steve and Sanchez show up with Steve shouting about as he usually does.
Steve believes that both Dave and Michael have ruined his career and asks Sanchez to arrest them, despite all their actions being on Steves’s corrupt orders. The conversation gets heated, leading to both Steve and Michael pulling a gun out on each other.
Sanchez and Dave get involved, leaving the four in a standoff. Steve admits that the FIB either knows or thinks they know that Steve’s behind everything. All of a sudden, IAA and Merryweather agents show up to the party.
Sanchez admits they’re with him and that he’s ratted out Steve. I’m glad someone did. More agents show up and shoot Steve in the leg, which causes him to retaliate and shoot Sanchez, ultimately killing him.
Steve manages to flee, leaving Dave and Michael to shoot their way out of The Kortz Center. At least Trevor shows up to help for once! Trevor suggests they should go after Steve and kill him for his betrayal, but Dave tells the pair that he’ll deal with the situation.
Unfortunately, Dave doesn’t deal with the situation and instead is brainwashed into believing that Trevor should die at Steve’s request.
So, what happens to Steve?
Which ending you choose depends on whether Steve gets to live another day, which, in my opinion, we don’t want.
After showing yet again that he’s as corrupt as they come, you would have thought that GTA V would get rid of him no matter the ending.
The only way to erase Steve from the planet is to choose option C, The Third Way when Franklin is bombarded with different ‘hits.’
Deathwish means neither Trevor nor Michael meet their demise and get to team up with Franklin to take down their enemies. It’s also the canonical ending of GTA V. After dealing with Merryweather, the trio wants to get rid of Stretch, Wei Cheng, Devin Weston, and, you guessed it, Steve.
Everyone goes their separate ways to get their targets, with Trevor opting to be that man to kill Steve. At the time, Steve was filming a new episode for his TV show ‘The Underbelly of Paradise’ while riding around on the Ferris wheel on Pleasure Pier.
The best way to kill him off is to sniper him from a distance and do a runner — bye-bye, Steve! You surely won’t be missed.
Not much is mentioned about Steve after. A news report in the Los Santos Meteor newspaper will report on his death, with FIB spokesman Gary Lane saying he ‘died a hero.’ Dave will also call Michael to say he’ll be replacing Steve on his TV show.
Why We Hate Him
What is there to like in Steve Haines? Rockstar did well to make him one of the less likable characters in GTA history. Not only is he a government figure but a corrupt one at that.
I’m sure there will be people out there that enjoy his character and what it brings to the game but let’s face it, we already have Devin Weston. Did we really need another power-hungry prick?
However, it does make so much sense that the duo are somewhat of good friends. It’s like they both knew that being horrible humans meant they had to stick together. Although, Devin doesn’t even like Steve at times, occasionally belittling him.
When does he show up?
Despite being one of the main antagonists of GTA V, Steve only shows up in a handful of missions, and mostly just in cutscenes.
He’ll join you on Monkey Business, but that’s only because of his poor management, not that he actually wanted to help out.
His main appearances are:
- Three’s Company
- By The Book
- Blitz Play
- Paleto Score Setup
- Monkey Business
- Cleaning out the Bureau
- The Wrap Up
- Lamar Down
If you chose ‘The Third Way’ for the final mission, he’ll make an appearance but ultimately meet his demise. If ‘Something Sensible’ is chosen, he’ll call Franklin after the ‘hit’ is complete.
Steve Haines Guide: FAQs
Question: What was shown on The Underbelly Of Paradise?
Answer: The Underbelly Of Paradise showed Steve investigating the criminal activity of Los Santos. Some of his stories included looking into the murder of Leonora Johnson, the street gangs that line the streets, and street racing.
Question: Who voices Steve?
Answer: Steve is voiced by actor Robert Bogue, who already has close ties in the Rockstar world. He previously voiced Red Harlow in Red Dead Revolver and Red Dead Redemption plus Troy in GTA: The Ballad of Gay Tony.
Question: Who can kill Steve?
Answer: To have Steve gone for good, Trevor is the only person that can kill him. During ‘The Third Way,’ Trevor immediately pipes up when he, Michael, and Franklin discuss whose getting rid of who, simply saying he’s wanted to get rid of him since he met him.
Corrupt to Death
No matter how many times you thought you’d finally broken through to Steve and he’d get off your back, he just kept showing his true colors and just downright not giving a crap about anyone but himself.
Goodbye, Steve, and to those that kept him alive, know deep down that you did the wrong thing.