At the Development Stage, Rockstar Didn’t Think GTA Would Be Successful

Today, GTA is one of the most famous and popular games, so it is especially interesting to remember those distant times when its developer Rockstar North was called DMA Design and did not really believe in the potential of the franchise. Former GTA founder Colin MacDonald shared what went on during the creation of the legendary game.

Mr. MacDonald is a veteran of the gaming industry who became part of the GTA team in 1997, although this name was still unknown to anyone at the time. The earliest versions respected the open-world prototype familiar to many players today. However, this was before the release of the franchise's defining titles that hit the early 2000s, namely GTA 3, GTA San Andreas, and GTA Vice City.

Standing at the origins of the creation of Grand Theft Auto 2, MacDonald revealed stunning information. It turned out that halfway through the creation of the game, a survey was conducted within the company, in which all 7 products that were being developed at that time participated. So, it was GTA that seemed to the staff the least promising project.

Colin also said that the development process was quite complex and no one had a final idea of what the game would be like. Also, the game had a lot of glitches that led to regular crashes. Despite that, GTA became the gold standard among sandbox games. And although the first versions of the game were not as big, they became the gold standard that made GTA a cult game.

What do you think was the reason for GTA’s popularity? Which game in the franchise is your favorite? Please share your thoughts below.