The Story of Grand Theft Auto

An unemployed Scot created a billion-franchise and changed the gaming world forever. David Jones was a normal citizen from Dundee, Scotland - nobody knew his name until he lost his job. With his last severance payment, he bought an old computer and began to program in his bedroom - driven by an idea: total freedom in a virtual city. Without money, but with a clear vision, he founded a small studio together with friends - DMA Design. What originally started as a simple police game developed in a completely different direction by chance: it was much more fun to escape the police instead of playing them. Chaos became a principle - and exactly the convinced BMG Interactive, a music publisher in search of digital hits. BMG financed the first version of Grand Theft Auto, which appeared in 1997 and spread rapidly-raw, rebellious, revolutionary.

Later Take-Two Interactive took over the right, founded Rockstar Games and made GTA a global brand. A small experiment became one of the most successful games in the world: Grand Theft Auto.

From the cardboard model to the billion dollar company: Grand Theft Auto is one of the most important and most successful brands in the entertainment industry - a milestone of the game history. The beginnings were anything but glamorous.

originally designed under the working title Race’n’Cchase, the game should represent a police and gangster scenario in which players either commit crime or represent the law. Developed by the Scottish Studio DMA Design (today Rockstar North), the project started in 1995 as a top-down racing game with simple mechanics. The vision was large-the means, on the other hand, limited: the first city prototype was built from cardboard to get a feeling for road network, traffic flow and gameplay potential. An improvised solution that was symbolized for the inventory with which the team worked.

A random programming error - a so -called bug - ensured that the police units in the game behaved aggressively and unpredictable. Instead of fixing the problem, the team recognized the potential in it: the chaos became the game principle. What started as a mistake developed into a trademark - and thus a moment of birth of a cult.

what followed was an unprecedented climb. With GTA III (2001) the series revolutionized the genre: an open 3D world, cinematic staging, socially critical depth and an unprecedented freedom of action defined a new chapter in video game history.

The most successful part so far, GTA V (2013), became one of the most influential Media products of all time. The production costs amounted to around $ 265 million-a record that underlined Rockstar Games's ambitions.

With the upcoming GTA VI (announced for 2026), the series reaches a new order of magnitude. The development costs are said to exceed the $ 1 billion mark-a scale that himself puts Hollywood in the shade. From the cardboard model to the billion dollar world brand: Grand Theft Auto is no longer just a game. It is a cultural monument - created from improvisation, shaped by courage and supported by the will to redefine the medium.An unemployed Scot created a billion-franchise and changed the gaming world forever. David Jones was a normal citizen from Dundee, Scotland - nobody knew his name until he lost his job. With his last severance payment, he bought an old computer and began to program in his bedroom - driven by an idea: total freedom in a virtual city. Without money, but with a clear vision, he founded a small studio together with friends - DMA Design. What originally started as a simple police game developed in a completely different direction by chance: it was much more fun to escape the police instead of playing them. Chaos became a principle - and exactly the convinced BMG Interactive, a music publisher in search of digital hits. BMG financed the first version of Grand Theft Auto, which appeared in 1997 and spread rapidly-raw, rebellious, revolutionary.

Later Take-Two Interactive took over the right, founded Rockstar Games and made GTA a global brand. A small experiment became one of the most successful games in the world: Grand Theft Auto.

From the cardboard model to the billion dollar company: Grand Theft Auto is one of the most important and most successful brands in the entertainment industry - a milestone of the game history. The beginnings were anything but glamorous.

originally designed under the working title Race’n’Cchase, the game should represent a police and gangster scenario in which players either commit crime or represent the law. Developed by the Scottish Studio DMA Design (today Rockstar North), the project started in 1995 as a top-down racing game with simple mechanics. The vision was large-the means, on the other hand, limited: the first city prototype was built from cardboard to get a feeling for road network, traffic flow and gameplay potential. An improvised solution that was symbolized for the inventory with which the team worked.

A random programming error - a so -called bug - ensured that the police units in the game behaved aggressively and unpredictable. Instead of fixing the problem, the team recognized the potential in it: the chaos became the game principle. What started as a mistake developed into a trademark - and thus a moment of birth of a cult.

what followed was an unprecedented climb. With GTA III (2001) the series revolutionized the genre: an open 3D world, cinematic staging, socially critical depth and an unprecedented freedom of action defined a new chapter in video game history.

The most successful part so far, GTA V (2013), became one of the most influential Media products of all time. The production costs amounted to around $ 265 million-a record that underlined Rockstar Games's ambitions.

With the upcoming GTA VI (announced for 2026), the series reaches a new order of magnitude. The development costs are said to exceed the $ 1 billion mark-a scale that himself puts Hollywood in the shade. From the cardboard model to the billion dollar world brand: Grand Theft Auto is no longer just a game. It is a cultural monument - created from improvisation, shaped by courage and supported by the will to redefine the medium.

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Ein arbeitsloser Schotte schuf ein Milliarden-Franchise und veränderte die Gaming-Welt für immer. David Jones war ein ganz normaler Bürger aus Dundee, Schottland – niemand kannte seinen Namen, bis er seinen Job verlor. Mit seiner letzten Abfindung kaufte er sich einen alten Computer und begann, in seinem Schlafzimmer zu programmieren – getrieben von einer Idee: totale Freiheit in einer virtuellen Stadt. Ohne Geld, aber mit einer klaren Vision gründete er gemeinsam mit Freunden ein kleines Studio – DMA Design. Was ursprünglich als simples Polizeispiel begann, entwickelte sich durch einen Zufall in eine ganz andere Richtung: Es machte deutlich mehr Spaß, der Polizei zu entkommen, statt sie zu spielen. Chaos wurde zum Prinzip – und genau das überzeugte BMG Interactive, einen Musikverlag auf der Suche nach digitalen Hits. BMG finanzierte die erste Version von Grand Theft Auto, das 1997 erschien und sich rasend schnell verbreitete – roh, rebellisch, revolutionär.

Später übernahm Take-Two Interactive die Rechte, gründete Rockstar Games und machte GTA zu einer globalen Marke. Aus einem kleinen Experiment wurde eines der erfolgreichsten Spiele der Welt: Grand Theft Auto.

Vom Pappmodell zum Milliardenunternehmen: Grand Theft Auto zählt heute zu den bedeutendsten und erfolgreichsten Marken der Unterhaltungsindustrie – ein Meilenstein der Spielegeschichte. Dabei waren die Anfänge alles andere als glanzvoll.

Ursprünglich unter dem Arbeitstitel Race’n’Chase konzipiert, sollte das Spiel ein Polizei-und-Gangster-Szenario abbilden, in dem Spieler entweder Verbrechen begehen oder das Gesetz vertreten. Entwickelt vom schottischen Studio DMA Design (heute Rockstar North), begann das Projekt 1995 als Top-Down-Rennspiel mit einfacher Mechanik. Die Vision war groß – die Mittel hingegen begrenzt: Der erste Stadtprototyp wurde aus Pappe gebaut, um ein Gefühl für Straßennetz, Verkehrsfluss und Gameplay-Potenzial zu bekommen. Eine improvisierte Lösung, die sinnbildlich für den Erfindergeist stand, mit dem das Team arbeitete.

Ein zufälliger Programmierfehler – ein sogenannter Bug – sorgte dafür, dass sich die Polizeieinheiten im Spiel aggressiv und unvorhersehbar verhielten. Statt das Problem zu beheben, erkannte das Team das darin liegende Potenzial: Das Chaos wurde zum Spielprinzip. Was als Fehler begann, entwickelte sich zum Markenzeichen – und damit zum Geburtsmoment eines Kults.

Was folgte, war ein beispielloser Aufstieg. Mit GTA III (2001) revolutionierte die Serie das Genre: eine offene 3D-Welt, cineastische Inszenierung, gesellschaftskritischer Tiefgang und eine nie dagewesene Handlungsfreiheit definierten ein neues Kapitel der Videospielgeschichte.

Der bislang erfolgreichste Teil, GTA V (2013), wurde mit über 190 Millionen verkauften Einheiten und einem Umsatz von über 8 Milliarden US-Dollar zu einem der einflussreichsten Medienprodukte aller Zeiten. Die Produktionskosten beliefen sich auf rund 265 Millionen US-Dollar – ein Rekord, der die Ambitionen von Rockstar Games unterstrich.

Mit dem kommenden GTA VI (angekündigt für 2026) erreicht die Serie eine neue Größenordnung. Die Entwicklungskosten sollen Schätzungen zufolge die Marke von 1 Milliarde US-Dollar überschreiten – ein Maßstab, der selbst Hollywood in den Schatten stellt. Vom Pappmodell zur milliardenschweren Weltmarke: Grand Theft Auto ist längst nicht mehr nur ein Spiel. Es ist ein kulturelles Monument – entstanden aus Improvisation, geprägt von Mut und getragen vom Willen, das Medium neu zu definieren.