Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser says "no one" was excited for GTA 3 outside of the studio, but the devs believed there was "something really magical" about it

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Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser says "no one" was excited for GTA 3 outside of the studio, but the devs believed there was "something really magical" about it News By Catherine Lewis published 24 November 2025

Things changed when the game released, he says

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(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

Rockstar co-founder and former GTA lead Dan Houser has been reflecting on the success of the Grand Theft Auto series and GTA 3 more specifically – a game that the devs believed could be something special despite the fact that "no one outside of our company" was excited about it until its launch.

In an appearance on the British TV show Sunday Brunch yesterday, Houser – who left Rockstar in 2020, but before that was a writer on blockbusters including GTA 3, 4, and 5 – is asked if he thought he could be "taking gaming to a different level" with GTA, prompting him to think back to Rockstar's 2001 installment.

"I think all of the team felt with GTA 3 – which was the big breakthrough one in 2001, and we were very much running out of money at the time as a company – I think all the team thought, 'this could be amazing. There's something really magical about this,'" Houser explains. He adds that as the game started to "come together, it had these moments of real innovation and [it] felt like the future, in a way."

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Even though it'd be easy to forget now with the immense hype behind GTA 6, Houser notes that it wasn't always the case that the world was so excited for Grand Theft Auto, however. With GTA 3, he says the hype just wasn't there outside of Rockstar's own walls. That is, until the game actually launched.

"Until it came out, no one outside of our company was very excited by it," he states. "So that came out just after 9/11 in late 2001, and as it came out, people suddenly got more excited about it."

Needless to say, that excitement for the series has only grown since, and we're likely going to see it surge even more as we get closer to GTA 6's release date next November.

Former Rockstar and GTA lead Dan Houser says gaming can "either go somewhere really interesting or somewhere that gets overly focused on making money."

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Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. TOPICS Rockstar Games Rockstar CATEGORIES PC Gaming Xbox Series X PS5 Nintendo Switch 2 Nintendo Switch Xbox One PS4 Platforms Xbox PlayStation Nintendo Catherine LewisSocial Links NavigationDeputy News Editor

I'm GamesRadar+'s Deputy News Editor, working alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield's student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming's news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you're sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.

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