Grand Theft Auto is one of the most popular gaming franchises of all time; there's no denying that. The sheer amount of hype generated by GTA 6's release is making this clear as day.
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The impact of each GTA game on the gaming industry is undeniable, to the point where most people consider Grand Theft Auto to be one of the most important gaming franchises of all time. It's a hard statement to dispute, especially when the facts are highlighted.
Laid The Foundation For The Open-World Genre
GTA 3 Was A Groundbreaking Title For This Very Reason
The first two Grand Theft Auto games were decent in their own right, but it wasn't until the release of Grand Theft Auto 3 that this franchise took off. The game's open world was off the charts and so immersive that players could lose themselves in the streets of Liberty City for hours on end.
The sheer impact this game had on the industry can't be stated enough. Fans salivated at the prospect of playing an open-world game ever since this title's release, turning this genre into one of the most popular ones in gaming that every developer tries to nail in some form or another.
Publishers Quake In Their Boots Around The Time Of Any GTA's Release
Imagine The Silksong Effect But On A Much Larger Scale
Grand Theft Auto 6 is a game that every publisher is fearing right now. Releasing any game around the same time will be nothing short of career suicide for the devs who don't want their hard work to be ignored.
The Best Part Of Each Grand Theft Auto Game
Every Grand Theft Auto game, from handheld titles to major console releases, has had one standout feature that helped push the franchise forward.
There's a reason why GTA 6's delay freed up this year for more releases while forcing publishers to avoid May 2026 entirely. Imagine Hollow Knight: Silksong's impact but on a far grander scale — that's precisely how GTA influences the industry with a mere announcement.
The Entire Franchise Has Sold Almost 500 Million Copies Combined
Doubly Impressive Considering The Wait Between Releases For Modern Games
One common thing people will notice in the list of the top-selling video game franchises is how most of these games prioritize annual releases. This isn't the case with Grand Theft Auto, and the wait between the fifth and sixth mainline entry makes this clear as day.
So, it's genuinely impressive that GTA is one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time, having sold more than 450 million copies combined. It shows the huge pull this franchise has, to the point where a single game from the series has sold upwards of 100 million units by its lonesome.
Every Release Heightens The Standards Of Open-World Gaming
Fans Expect More And More From The Open-World Genre With Each Successive Release
Grand Theft Auto 3 established the foundation of the modern open-world genre, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas showed the importance of scope in a sandbox game, and Grand Theft Auto 5's technical performance pushed the standards of open-world gaming to new heights.
This is a common theme with the GTA games, to the point where most big-budget AAA open-world games are inevitably compared to Grand Theft Auto. It's the gold standard of the genre and will continue to be so with Rockstar's competence at the helm.
The Cultural Influence Of This Franchise Is Unmatched
The Memes Are A Great Example Of This
Grand Theft Auto has influenced pop culture in ways that fans are well aware of. San Andreas itself is a hub of memes and iconic moments that make it infinitely quotable to this day.
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Roman's bowling became hilarious in its own right, as did Lamar's iconic rant in Grand Theft Auto 5. The release date of Grand Theft Auto 6 has been so elusive that it has become a meme in its own right, further hammering in the cultural impact this series has had ever since GTA 3 blew up.
GTA Online's Rampant Popularity Speaks For Itself
One Of The Biggest Multiplayer Game Modes Of All Time
Rockstar was already king of the single-player genre, but they decided to try their hand at multiplayer with GTA Online. It didn't have the most promising start, but Rockstar ensured that they'd continually add a ton of content to this experience over the course of its run.
Fixing server issues and jam-packing the game with content ensured that GTA Online would become one of the most popular multiplayer modes in gaming history. It single-handedly turned GTA 5 into Rockstar's focus for almost a decade, much to the chagrin of GTA 6 fans who wanted to get their hands on this title sooner rather than later.
The Attention To Detail Present In These Games Is Unparalleled
Every GTA Game Is Jam-Packed With Polished Details
One of the biggest strengths of Rockstar is its incredible attention to detail, something that is personified in the GTA series. The 3D games were arcade-y in their own right, but a deluge of easter eggs and the intricate simulations present in San Andreas made it clear that Rockstar wanted to be at the forefront of the gaming industry in terms of technical excellence.
Grand Theft Auto 4 took things in a realistic direction, something that was cemented in the next mainline entry. From NPC behavior to the sheer amount of detail packed in the open world, it's easy to see why all these details pile up to make every GTA game a blast to play through.
