Few video game companies out there have been as influential as Rockstar gamesbecause every single game it has developed and/or published has had some kind of impact on the industry. And this is nothing new either, as Rockstar has put out countless high-quality games (most of which belong to the open-world genre) from the late 90s, all the way to the early 2020s.
This company is now back in the limelight, with the upcoming release of Grand Theft Auto 6 is slowly shaping up to be the biggest and most exciting video game launch of all time. But before that day arrives, it's important to take a look back at everything that came before it, including the following five games that pretty much defined Rockstar and its eternal legacy.
Grand Theft Auto
The beginning of Rockstar's most famous and iconic franchise
Rockstar is synonymous with massive open-world games with 3D graphics and realistic art styles, but it wasn't always that way. When the studio was known as DMA Design, it created many types of weird and colorful titles, such as lemmings or Body Harvest. However, everything changed in 1998, when DMA Design released the first Grand Theft Auto game.
Set in Liberty City, the original GTA was a 2D action-adventure game with a top-down perspective. Despite its primitive graphics and simplistic gameplay, it still laid the groundwork for what the open world “sandbox” genre would eventually become, as players were allowed to do pretty much anything they wanted to score points, including committing crimes.
Oddly enough, Grand Theft Auto originally began life as a “cops and robbers” racing game with the title Race 'n' Chasebut after the developers had more fun committing crimes and running from the police, they decided to redo the whole project. GTA received a lukewarm reception and was met with some mild controversy, but it's safe to say that neither Rockstar nor the open-world genre would exist today if it weren't for this ambitious little game.
Grand Theft Auto 3
The game that single-handedly redefined the 3D sandbox genre
DMA Design made some 3D games with open world elements in them throughout the 90s, for example Body Harvest or Silicon Valley Space Stationso its developers eventually took everything they learned to take with them Grand Theft Auto series to the fascinating world of 3D games, right around the turn of the millennium.
Of course, Grand Theft Auto 3 was incredibly ambitious and impressive for its time. Similar to the first entry in the series, players can explore Liberty City to their heart's content by driving, committing crimes, and even completing special story missions. The only difference is that this game was fully 3D, and its open world was surprisingly massive, perfectly showcasing what the PlayStation 2 was capable of.
GTA 3 was a huge critical and commercial success, and it pretty much created the modern “sandbox” genre, as it directly inspired the creation of many other similar titles, such as Saints Row or The mafia. As for Rockstar itself, the popularity and influence of GTA 3 redefined and reshaped the company's identity, and it would go on to develop many sequels over the following years (most of which were superior in every way), which Vice city and San Andreas.
Manhunt
The most controversial video game Rockstar has ever made
Rockstar's games have always been highly controversial, mainly due to their adult themes, their gross humor, and their gameplay that allows players to commit heinous crimes in a free-roaming open world. However, the company's troubled reputation rose to a whole new level in 2003, when it released a stealth action game titled Manhunt.
In the early 2000s, video game graphics slowly became more and more realistic, and of course the public discussion about their graphic violence also became more heated. So, the timing of Manhuntthe release couldn't have been more unfortunate, as this game sees players take control of a death row inmate who is forced to participate in snuff films by murdering and torturing other criminals. And yes, the violence in it is very gratuitous and gruesome, even for PS2.
Manhunt was extremely controversial, to the point of being banned in several countries, but its existence also redefined Rockstar's legacy as a whole. Back in the day, this company was seen as bold and fearless, not to mention being one of the few publishers willing to release experimental mainstream games designed for adults instead of kids, which greatly contributed to the death of the age-old stereotype that video games are for kids around the mid-2000s.
Grand Theft Auto 5
A GTA game so successful that Rockstar didn't have to release another one for 13 years
The Grand Theft Auto franchise flourished in the 2000s not only with the release of PS2 classics such as Vice city and San Andreasbut also with the series' first foray into the HD generation, Grand Theft Auto 4. But as fun and impressive as all of these entries were, none of them could even compare to the behemoth that was Grand Theft Auto 5.
Originally released in 2013, this open-world game was absolutely huge for its time, boasting a giant map full of things to do, three playable characters that can be chosen at any time, a deep and complex story, and impressive, lifelike graphics. GTA 5 was the most expensive video game ever made at the time, and Rockstar's investment definitely paid off, as it also became the second best-selling game of all time.
Like its predecessors, Grand Theft Auto 5 redefined what an open-world “sandbox” game should and could be, not to mention whenever anyone thinks of both Rockstar and GTA IP, this game will immediately pop into their minds, as it has become synonymous with the company's identity. In addition, GTA 5 was so absurdly successful that Rockstar re-released it multiple times and even used it as the basis for GTA onlinewhich allowed its developers to take as much time as they needed to make their direct follow-up.
Red Dead Redemption 2
A beautiful narrative adventure that showed what the studio is really capable of
It's important to remember that Rockstar Games is much more than that Grand Theft Autoand that the company has created a host of other iconic open world franchises, such as Bully or Red Dead Redemption. That is precisely why the long-awaited release of Red Dead Redemption 2 2018 was such a monumental moment for Rockstar, as it was the first real new game it developed since then GTA 5. Naturally, expectations were very high, and the final product did not disappoint at all; in fact, it surpassed them.
As expected from this company, this legendary western adventure has a huge open world full of things to do, but it's also elevated by the game's emotional story and impeccable writing. Some people actively choose to ignore the action in Rockstar's games, but Red Dead Redemption 2 is a notorious exception because its compelling story is a big part of the experience. In addition to that, this title also revolutionized the open world “sandbox” genre (something that seemed almost impossible in the late 2010s) as it is filled to the brim with so many impressive technical and graphical details that still blow players' minds to this day, highlighting the amount of time and care that went into its development.
It should come as no surprise to learn that Red Dead Redemption 2 has won countless awards and is often considered the best thing Rockstar has ever done. All this explains why the expectations of Grand Theft Auto 6 are so high: players hope that it will be greater than both Grand Theft Auto 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 combined. Based on the company's nearly flawless track record, it's highly likely GTA 6 will live up to the hype and become a huge success that will change gaming forever.
