How Grand Theft Auto III Revolutionized Gaming 25 Years Ago
Grand Theft Auto III changed not just a franchise but video games forever.
And this is the week, 25 years ago, many got to see it for the first time at the E3.
Same franchise, new style
Simply put, Grand Theft Auto III was a revolutionary game. The debut trailer revealed a 3D game far removed from its top-down, 2D predecessor, and that wasn't all Rockstar Games had in store.
From a third-person perspective, players controlled Claude, a getaway driver left for dead after a botched robbery. That leads him to have to work his way up the ladder of the criminal underworld by any means necessary in a ruthless pursuit of money and revenge. That path included carjacking and completely ignoring traffic laws, of course, but that was just the beginning.
Claude could engage in wild street fights, destroy city property, and indiscriminately gun down anyone who happened to be in the way. Perhaps most controversially, the game also allowed players to hire a prostitute, then kill her to reclaim the cash they had just paid for her services.
In the end, what really made the game revolutionary was how alive the world around the character felt.
The "sandbox" of Liberty City was fully interactive, with pedestrians reacting dynamically to the player's actions and ambulances, fire trucks, and police squads actively responding to scenes of chaos after crimes were committed.
Even the simple act of stealing a vehicle opened up one of the coolest Easter eggs of all time: the ability to dial into nine distinct radio stations, featuring licensed music and a hilariously cynical talk show host.
Basic versions of 3D and open-world games had been seen before, but none pulled the entire puzzle together the way GTA 3 did a quarter-century ago.
A Grand Theft Auto 3 teaser trailer is shown at the E3 video gaming convention in Los Angeles. pic.twitter.com/nOYiXCLyNt
— 2001 Live (@25YearsAgoLive) May 17, 2026
A true masterpiece
Despite the intense controversy (or perhaps partly fueled by it), GTA 3 was a massive commercial and critical success.
It first launched as a PlayStation 2 exclusive in October 2001 before eventually migrating to PC in 2002 and the original Xbox in 2003.
Defying heavy scrutiny from Congress, parent watchdog groups, and mainstream media, GTA 3 laid the foundation for one of the most lucrative video game empires in history.
It paved the way for legendary sequels, including Grand Theft Auto: Vice City - which brought a nostalgia niche via a city curiously similar to 1980s Miami - followed by GTA: San Andreas and the record-shattering GTA V.
After years of delays, the next generation is finally on the horizon: Grand Theft Auto VI is set for release on November 19, arriving more than a decade after its predecessor for the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.
READ MORE about the upcoming release of GTA VI here
In the wake of GTA 3, open-world sandbox games quickly became all the rage, spawning massive competitor franchises like True Crime and Saints Row.
Rockstar itself later took the style to the American Wild West with monumental success via Red Dead Revolver, Red Dead Redemption, and Red Dead Redemption 2.
Play it today
Anyone looking to relive their days traipsing around Liberty City as Claude - or anyone wanting to see what the digital revolution felt like for the first time - has plenty of current options.
The game is available on iOS and the Google Play Store for mobile devices, and it can be played across all current PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch consoles via Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition.
Released in 2021, the remastered bundle also includes the upgraded versions of Vice City and San Andreas, which bring much bang for your buck.
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on May 18, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
2026 The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.
This story was originally published May 18, 2026 at 12:47 PM.