Grand Theft Auto

Grand Theft Auto is a 1997 action-adventure game developed by DMA Design and published by BMG Interactive. It is the first game in the Grand Theft Auto series and was released in November 1997 for MS-DOS and Windows, in December 1997 for the PlayStation and in October 1999 for the Game Boy Color. The game's narrative follows a criminal who climbs in status within the criminal underworld across three fictional cities, inspired by real-life locations. The gameplay is presented from a top-down perspective. It takes place within an open-world environment where the player must gather several points ranging in the millions to progress through the game's chapters. Points are gathered by completing various missions throughout each city, although the player can also gather points through other means. Grand Theft Auto began development as Race 'n' Chase, in which the player controlled a police officer pursuing criminals. However, the game was considered dull, and the concept of playing as a criminal was adopted. The development team worked to ensure that the player would have the freedom to play however they wanted. Grand Theft Auto created much controversy even before its launch due to its violent content, with discussions about banning its sale. The marketing campaign, organised by publicist Max Clifford, exploited this stirring of controversy as free promotion. Grand Theft Auto received mixed reviews but was a commercial success. While the graphics and controls were criticised, the entertainment value, sound design, and freedom of the gameplay were praised, and it has since been recognised as one of the greatest games of all time. Two expansions taking place in 1960s England, Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 and Grand Theft Auto: London 1961, were launched in 1999.

Source: Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0 — Grand Theft Auto (video game) · retrieved October 19, 2026

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Developer

Rockstar North, Rockstar Lincoln, Visual Sciences

Publisher

Rockstar Games, ASC Games

First release

Not recorded

Series

Grand Theft Auto

Cover

Official thumbnail

Record ID

Q94501