When did the first gta come out? Grand Theft Auto (GTA) 1 was released on November 28, 1997, and what followed changed the world as we know it. Born from some of the most creative minds, the franchise is responsible for shaping the industry into the behemoth it is today.
A mixed bag of ideas and ambitions that took the form of an unstoppable machine is what best describes the most popular action and adventure franchise in existence.
To truly be able to appreciate the GTA series, we need to go back in time. To a point when a group of zealous developers were about to show the world what nobody had even dreamt.
Exploring the breif history of GTA 1
The year is 1997. The most popular games are GoldenEye 007 and Final Fantasy VII. Rockstar Games does not exist. Instead, there is a team of developers by the name of DMA Design, working on one of the most ambitious projects of all time.
Grand Theft Auto 1 was initially called Race’n’Chase and by 1997 had been in what the staff called “a development hell” for years. Luckily for us, they were able to sort out all the problems and released GTA 1 in late 1997 for MS DOS and Windows.
The game’s premise is very similar to what the basic theme of this franchise has evolved into. A group of individuals working their way up the ladder in the world of Organized Crime.
The game was grand in scale and ahead of its time. No other title stood a chance in comparison. Even back in 1997, GTA 1 had more than one radio station that aired custom-created music by made-up artists.
The game’s story took place in three fictional cities, named Liberty City, San Andreas, and Vice City. These locations have continued to appear multiple times in the franchise’s future. In 2004, San Andreas expanded from one city to a sprawling American state.
Nothing was compromised on the aspect of gameplay either. Players had the liberty to take their own route in missions, steal cars, roam freely, and explore each city and cause chaos whenever they wanted.
It had a decently sized arsenal, with the context of its time of release, which contained a pistol, a machine gun, a rocket launcher, and a flamethrower.
The progression system was level based. To pass a level, players would have to do missions, which would give them points. Once the threshold was reached, they would advance further in the story.
To gain points, they could also participate in activities (mostly crime) outside of missions, but that wouldn’t fetch them nearly enough points to graduate to the next level.
Many of the mechanics from the first entry have remained within the franchise even till now. For instance, in GTA 1, some missions got triggered by answering phonecalls. Payphone assassination hits are a feature even in GTA Online and have been present in almost every game. To lose a wanted level star, players could drive in Spray Shops, which were later rebranded as Pay’n’Spray shops.
To top it all off, there was also a multiplayer feature available where players could battle against real-life counterparts via a LAN connection.
GTA 1 was a raging success and was ported to multiple gaming platforms in the following years like PlayStation in 1998 and on Gameboy Color in 1999, alongside its successor, Grand Theft Auto 2 . It managed to sell over three million copies, which for the late 90s is a massive feat.
DMA Design was later taken over by Take-Two Interactive Software and rebranded as Rockstar North, making it possible for some of the most iconic video games in human history to be made.
GRAND THEFT AUTO 1 (1997)
Publisher: BMG Interactive
Developer: DMA Designs
Expansions and DLCs: Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 (1999), Grand Theft Auto: London 1961 (1999)
The inaugural version of the franchise was originally released for Windows based PCs and MS DOS in October 1997, and was later ported to PlayStation and the Game Boy Color. GTA 1 is a two dimensional setting featuring a top-down bird’s eye view camera.
Players play the role of a criminal and have to complete jobs involving theft, robbery and assault. New missions are acquired by answering public telephones in the game world.
GTA 1 game play is based on points, with a certain amount of points needed to complete levels. Points can be used as currency to purchase various items available in the game.
Missions become more difficult as the game progresses, but players who are stuck can use a variety of cheats to surpass challenging areas. The game was slated to be released as Grand Theft Auto 64 for the Nintendo 64 platform, but never was.
GRAND THEFT AUTO 2 (1999)
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Developer: DMA Design
After the success of GTA 1, a sequel was a natural move and GTA 2 was born. Gameplay style was similar to GTA 1 in that this was also a top-down, bird’s eye view camera and a two-dimensional action adventure game.
The PC version of the game allowed players to play in two different modes called Noon and Dusk. The quality of graphics improved in Dusk mode.
Rockstar kept the same mission format as in the original GTA 1. Players answer public telephones in order to receive missions from crime bosses residing in Anywhere City, the setting of the game.
This entry of the series also came with 4 multiplayer modes: Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Race, and Tag. GTA 2 was released on PlayStation, Dreamcast, Microsoft Windows, and Game Boy Color.
GRAND THEFT AUTO III (2001)
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Developer: DMA Design
Expansions and DLCs: Grand Theft Auto Liberty City Stories (2005)
This game represents the revolutionary, franchise-defining entry in the GTA series. GTA 3 was released on October 22, 2001 and was the first game in the series to feature a 3rd person POV gameplay. Players see the new and enhanced open world through an over-the-shoulder camera.
Grand Theft Auto 3 also marked the significance of returning to Liberty City, featured in the original GTA 1. Players take on the role of Claude, a criminal who is shot by his girlfriend during a bank robbery and subsequently arrested by police, convicted, and sentenced to prison.
However, while transferring to jail, Claude and another prisoner escape and make their way to a safe house, where he’s introduced to a crime boss and begins his quest for revenge.
As the main character commits crimes, the “wanted level” accumulates which makes increasingly aggressive law enforcement officers chase you until you’re caught or somehow evade capture.
The game was the first in the series to be built on a 3D game engine. Upon release it quickly became a fan favorite and was praised by numerous critics.
Grand Theft Auto III is still popular today and available across various platforms such as Microsoft Windows PCs, XBox, and PlayStation consoles. It has since been released for Mac OS, Android, and iOS.
GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY (2002)
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Developer: DMA Design
Expansions and DLCs: Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (2006)
The sixth GTA game of the franchise was the second title to use a 3D graphics engine. Vice City is a fictional city based on Miami. After a drug deal goes wrong, mafia hit man Tommy Vercetti goes out for revenge.
Like the previous games, players have freedom to travel around the open world of Vice City.
As the story progresses, players complete main and side missions to unlock more playable areas. Graphics and gameplay are almost the same as the previous entry of the series.
The story of Vice City is set 15 years prior to the events of GTA III and include some of the same NPCs in the game. Like the other games in the franchise, it has a variety of transportation options: cars, motorcycles, boats, and helicopters.
GRAND THEFT AUTO SAN ANDREAS (2004)
Developer: Rockstar North
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Grand Theft Auto San Andreas used essentially the same graphics engine as the previous two titles of the GTA III era. Using a massive open-world game map, it is set in the state of San Andreas which is loosely based on the states of California and Nevada.
Most of the gameplay takes place across three cities: Los Santos, San Fierro and Las Venturas (which are based on Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Las Vegas respectively).
The story revolves around CJ (Carl Johnson), who was framed for murder by corrupt cops. CJ completes missions for these cops to maintain his freedom.
GTA San Andreas stylistically follows its predecessors in terms of gameplay, but introduces role-playing concepts. The player can completely change their look, and has to eat and exercise to improve their physique.
The title had its share of controversy due to a mod called “Hot Coffee.” This mod unlocks sexually explicit content in the game. For that, it was banished from many store shelves, and its rating also changed from Mature to AO (Adult Only).
GRAND THEFT AUTO: IV (2008)
Developer: Rockstar North
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Expansions and DLCs: The Lost and The Damned (2009), Ballad of Gay Tony (2009)
GTA IV marked the introduction of the Rockstar Advanced Game Engine (RAGE) to the series. The RAGE platform elevated gameplay to new heights of realism and rendered the urban setting in more detail than GTA III. RAGE has been used in a number of titles, such as GTA 5 and the Red Dead Redemption series.
Players once again return to the setting of Liberty City as the immigrant with big dreams — this time as Niko Bellic. GTA IV contains main missions, as well as side missions to complete.
Players travel Liberty City (based on new York) by vehicle or by foot. In combat, the player can use a variety of melee weapons. GTA IV also contains a first person POV mode, a first in the series. Players can use this mode while driving vehicles.
The game contains a multiplayer mode for up to 32 players, including Death Match and street races.
GTA V (2013)
Developer: Rockstar North
Publisher: Rockstar Games
GTA V is the fifteenth release of the series and is the most graphically advanced game of its era. It uses the Rockstar’s RAGE graphics engine, and offers an enormous game environment simulating southern California with improved AI, dense traffic, a wide variety of air, land, and sea vehicles, weather effects, and more.
GTA V contains the same open world design with the option of using either the first or third person camera POV. Like previous titles, players unlock different parts of the map by making progress in missions.
The game revolves around three main protagonists: Michael De Santa, Trevor Philips and Franklin Clinton. Each character has a special ability which is improved by gaining experience points. Once there is enough progress in the story, the player can change characters.
The graphically sensational game featured many environments, all rendered in beautiful detail. Not just the typical urban scenery was featured, but also tall mountains, serene beaches, oceans, wilderness, strip malls, and luxury stores.
GTA V was a smash hit, selling $800M in the first day alone. It is the third most popular video game of all-time, selling over 110 million copies as of 2019.
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