A handful of PlayStation developers have shared their fondest memories of Grand Theft Auto 3 following its 20th anniversary. Grand Theft Auto 3 debuted on PlayStation 2 in October 2001 and is one of the most influential games of the modern age, as it took open-world gaming and 3D design to a whole new level. The game spawned countless imitations and led Rockstar to find a tried and true formula that it could innovate on for decades.
Rockstar recently confirmed that the game will be returning on modern platforms via the remastered GTA trilogy released in November. The collection will give Grand Theft Auto 3, Vice City, and San Andreas a new coat of paint, GTA 5-inspired controls, and much more to make them more accessible for modern audiences. The remasters are being released as part of a celebration for Grand Theft Auto 3 and will be available on every current console and PC with a mobile version in 2022.
With only a week until the release of the trilogy, the PlayStation Blog gathered quotes from developers at Insomniac, Capcom, Remedy, and more to reminisce about Grand Theft Auto 3 and its impact. Developer Rockstar Games has already been celebrating GTA 3 with new GTA Online content, but this is the first time a bunch of high-profile developers have collectively shared their thoughts on the landmark game for its 20th anniversary.
Brian Hastings, Head of Creative Strategy, Insomniac Games
“GTA III changed my perspective of what makes games fun. […] GTA III was the first game where you really made your own fun.”
Hideaki Itsuno, Director, Capcom
“GTAIII was a game with an astonishing degree of freedom, released at a time when we were struggling to make a single-path game within the capabilities of the PS2. […] The Japanese version of the game was released by Capcom, and I remember thinking, ‘I’m glad I’m on their side’.”
Mikael Kasurinen, Control Game Director, Remedy
“[GTA 3] was provocative, unexpected, endlessly fun and impossible to let go of. A tectonic shift in gaming that set the stage for my career – influencing my work to this day.”
Yuya Tokuda, Monster Hunter World Director, Capcom
“GTA III showed me the incredible sense of immersion that comes from being able to act freely and see the world react to your actions—that this unique experience is something only games can deliver.”
Ron Allen, Game Director, Bend Studio
“It is rare when a game comes along that changes your view on an industry. GTA III was that game.”
Richard Franke, Lead Designer, Media Molecule
“GTA III blew my mind as it was such a quantum leap in video game design.”
Resident Evil 7 director Koshi Nakanishi credited GTA 3 for the soft-reboot of Resident Evil, as he did the reverse of GTA 3 by making a smaller and more narrow game. Insomniac Games’ Brian Hastings noted that GTA 3 led Insomniac to give more freedom to players when it came to weapon usage and exploration. Other developers also reflected on how much of an achievement it was for Rockstar to have pulled off something so ambitious and massive on the PlayStation 2, noting how it changed the industry forever.
Rockstar has continued to raise the bar over the years with subsequent games. The developer reportedly plans to remaster Red Dead Redemption, Rockstar’s other open-world achievement. Fans are looking to what comes next for the developer after the meteoric successes of Grand Theft Auto 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2. Both games were praised by critics and went on to be massive commercial hits, selling tens and even hundreds of millions of copies.
As of right now, there’s no word on when Rockstar will release Grand Theft Auto 6, but given the amount of time it has taken, it seems a lot of care is being put into it. The stakes are high for the game, but if done right, it’s possible it could raise the bar just like Grand Theft Auto 3 did 20 years ago.
