Grand Theft Auto III 2001

About

Featuring a fully 3-D living city, a combination of narrative driven and non-linear gameplay and a completely open environment, Grand Theft Auto III represents a huge leap forward in interactive entertainment. For the first time, players are put at the heart of their very own gangster movie, and let loose in a fully-realised 3 dimensional city, in which anything can happen and probably will. With a cast of hundreds, 50 plus vehicles, ranging from sports cars to ice cream trucks and from boats to buses, 3 hours of music, including opera, reggae, house, drum and bass, pop and disco, a huge array of street ready weapons and some of the seediest characters in video game history, Grand Theft Auto 3 is a sprawling epic which will show you that sometimes, crime can pay and sometimes it can pay you back. Available now for PlayStation2, Xbox, PC and Macintosh.

Story

You've been betrayed and left for dead. Now you're taking revenge, unless the city gets you first. Mob bosses need a favor, crooked cops need help and street gangs want you dead. You'll have to rob, steal and kill just to stay out of serious trouble. Anything can happen out here.

What is happening now

Grand Theft Auto III is the 2001 crime sandbox that established the template for open-world action games. Players navigate a sprawling urban environment, taking on missions for various criminal factions while freely exploring the city between objectives. The game recently received retrospective coverage marking its 25-year anniversary, with critics reassessing its historical significance. The anniversary examination highlights how the title fundamentally shifted both the Grand Theft Auto franchise and the broader gaming industry's approach to open-world design. Rather than focusing on technical performance or modern gameplay standards, recent coverage has centered on the game's lasting impact on game design and the commercial landscape it helped create.