The original Grand Theft Auto launched in 1997 as a top-down, bird's-eye-view game that most people in the broader pop-culture conversation barely noticed. It was a blip. A curiosity. A game that let you steal cars and run from cops in chunky, pixelated streets, and most of the world moved on without a second thought.
Fast forward nearly three decades, and Grand Theft Auto 6 is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated releases in gaming history. The contrast is almost hard to process.
Three decades, one franchise
The original GTA was developed by DMA Design (later reborn as Rockstar North) and released on PC and PlayStation in late 1997 and early 1998. The premise was simple: steal cars, complete missions, avoid the law. The top-down perspective kept everything abstracted, almost like a board game that happened to feature carjackings.
What nobody could have predicted at the time was that this modest, slightly controversial game would eventually evolve into GTA V, which Rockstar Games has described as the single most successful piece of entertainment media ever produced. Over 200 million copies sold across three console generations. That's not a gaming milestone, that's a cultural phenomenon.
The leap from the first game to GTA III in 2001 was the series' defining moment. Suddenly, Liberty City existed in three dimensions. Players could walk into buildings, drive across bridges, and feel the weight of a living city around them. That shift from top-down to third-person 3D changed what open-world games could even be.
What changed, and what stayed the same
Here's the thing: the core loop has barely moved. You're still a criminal navigating a fictionalized American city, completing jobs for shady people, and trying to stay ahead of the law. The formula Rockstar locked in during the late 90s remains the skeleton of every entry since.
What evolved was everything around it. The cities got bigger and more detailed. The stories got longer and more cinematic. The radio stations went from a few looping tracks to full broadcast-style programming with licensed music and original content. GTA V's Los Santos had functioning stock markets, a three-protagonist structure, and an online mode that became its own separate universe.
GTA 6 is pushing that evolution further. Rockstar has confirmed dual protagonists in Jason Duval and Lucia Caminos, a return to a Vice City-inspired setting, and a level of world detail that's been generating anticipation since the first trailer dropped. The confirmed hairstyles for Jason and Lucia alone hint at the kind of character customization depth the series hasn't attempted before.
The technology gap is almost absurd
Put the 1997 original next to GTA 6's trailer footage and the difference is almost comedic. The first game ran on hardware that could barely render a 3D environment. GTA 6 is built to take full advantage of current-generation hardware, including PS5-exclusive features like DualSense haptic feedback, Tempest 3D audio, and near-instant load times that make loading screens essentially a memory.
The 1997 game had no voice acting. No cutscenes. No weather system. No wanted-level escalation beyond cops appearing on screen. GTA 6 reportedly has a morality system with a breaking point, a romance mechanic, and NPC behavior sophisticated enough that Rockstar has had to publicly clarify how optional some of it is.
That's not a small gap. That's the difference between a sketch and a film.
What the series' arc actually tells us
The GTA franchise is one of the clearest examples of what sustained ambition looks like in game development. Each mainline entry raised the bar in some meaningful way, and the gaps between releases have gotten longer as the scope has grown. GTA IV came four years after San Andreas. GTA V came five years after that. GTA 6 has been in development for years beyond even that.
Pro tip: if you're planning to jump in on launch, it's worth knowing what each edition includes before you commit. The GTA 6 editions and pre-order bonuses guide breaks down exactly what's in the Standard and Ultimate editions so you're not caught off guard at checkout.
The 1997 game was a starting pistol. GTA 6 is where nearly 30 years of iteration lands. Keep your controllers ready.
