Dan Houser – co-founder of Rockstar Games and former lead on the Grand Theft Auto series – has spoken about the franchise, and especially the impact that Grand Theft Auto 3 had on the industry. In an interview with British show Sunday Brunch (as caught by GamesRadar), Houser was asked about how the studio felt while GTA 3 was still under development.
He noted that, while Grand Theft Auto 3 was slated to be a major breakthrough title, both for Rockstar Games itself as well as the industry at large, no one outside of the company was celebrating just yet. At the time, the studio was worried about running out of money.
“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 said, going on to note that, as development continued, “it had these moments of real innovation and [it] felt like the future, in a way.”
As for the hype behind Grand Theft Auto 3 back in 2001 when it was first coming out, Houser noted that no one really cared at the time. The game’s eventual release later in the year, however, would lead to incredible word of mouth and positive reviews, which in turn would help make the GTA franchise what it is today.
“Until it came out, no one outside of our company was very excited by it,” he said. “So that came out just after 9/11 in late 2001, and as it came out, people suddenly got more excited about it.”
Houser had previously spoken about his time with Rockstar Games, as well as the mark he left on the industry thanks to his work on the Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption franchises. In an interview from earlier this month, he also revealed that Red Dead Redemption 2 protagonist Arthur Morgan and Grand Theft Auto 4 protagonist Niko Bellic where his favourite lead characters out of the games he worked on.
“I think he’s the best lead character,” said Houser when asked if Arthur was the best one he had created. “You know, the lead characters are different from the side characters, and I think he’s the most rounded and works the best. Him and Niko are the two I like, you know. They were the two most ambitious. So, for me, it’s always sort of a toss-up, you know?”
On the subject of side characters, Houser spoke about Dutch, and how the character truly came to life despite having very few lines when he first showed up in Red Dead Redemption. The voice actor for Dutch, Benjamin Byron Davis, performed the role so well that Houser felt like he properly started understanding the character right there.
While Houser left Rockstar Games back in 2020, the studio has been hard at work on its upcoming title, Grand Theft Auto 6. The latest entry in the GTA franchise is slated for release on November 19, 2026.
