'Grand Theft Auto' Turns 25, Marking A Quarter-Century Of Genre-Defining Legacy
Image Source: Culture Slate
On November 28th, 1997, a small company by the name of DMA Design released Grand Theft Auto, more commonly referred to as GTA. Originally under the name of Race ’n’ Chase, which followed a police officer pursuing criminals, the concept was soon turned around so that the player would instead be a criminal within the game world. The idea of freedom was at the core of the gameplay, allowing exploration of the six areas as players worked toward completing the singular goal of earning money through various crimes and missions.
The game proved to be a success both critically and commercially, eventually becoming a best seller in the UK. While the second game failed to capture the same success, the move to 3D proved to be what the series needed, bringing with it much needed innovation. The new perspective on the world gave players true freedom to do what they wanted, with a story that started to push for the cinematic flair that the series has since become known for. Each new release has further improved upon those cores, to the point that GTA V is widely known as one of the fastest selling entertainment products in history.
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DMA Design’s success with the first GTA led to them being bought by Take-Two Interactive in 1999, then integrated into Rockstar Games as Rockstar North with the success of GTA III in 2002. Such a change allowed the developers to continue pursuing their core values of creating innovative and unique games, with more resources available to them to push those values further. With the start of HD development, Rockstar North was just one studio working on the games, with a major push by Rockstar Games to have all their studios working on one project at a time, starting with Red Dead Redemption 2 (released in 2018).
The GTA series has been culturally significant since the release of GTA III, with each successive main game breaking sales records. The extensive research put into creating a living world is a main reason for that success, with each game bringing an interpretation of one of the series’ three core locations that feels as close to a real location as a game can produce. Walking the streets of one of these worlds, players find that each is packed full of details both large and small.
Another part of the success comes with the stories. From GTA III, these stories were integrated into the world design to showcase a narrative that focused upon its characters and their place within the world. It’s not just the main characters who get that focus, either; plenty of side characters also see their own stories told throughout the game. With GTA V, the narrative reached new heights with three playable characters whose stories were interlinked.
With the 25th anniversary of the series here, fans are left wondering when the next Grand Theft Auto title will arrive. When it does, it should prove once again why the series is the definition of the open world crime genre.
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