How GTA 6 became a global phenomenon we can’t ignore

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There are several factors feeding the success of the latest Grand Theft Auto – which was already breaking records months before its release.

Video game franchise Grand Theft Auto is often newsworthy, but its upcoming instalment – the sixth in the series – was already breaking records months before its November release.

It may even be on track to become the most commercially successful entertainment product of all time, a record currently held by its predecessor, GTA 5 (2013).

The franchise’s popularity has only been matched by controversies around its alleged encouragement of violent and anti-social behaviour, both in-game and in real life.

With all of this now supercharged by an algorithmic attention economy, GTA 6’s arrival is sure to rock the gaming world.

Before it was a mega-franchise, Grand Theft Auto started out as a weird little PC game in 1997.

It was one of the first attempts at an “open-world” game, in which players are more or less free to roam around and do what they want. Of course, “what players wanted” turned out to be eyebrow-raising stuff, such as car theft, crime, simulated torture and enactments of virtual sexual violence.

The open-world formula wasn’t lightning in a bottle, though; the series only really took off in 2001, with the release of Grand Theft Auto III. This was when the game adopted its now-signature 3D environment and technology, delivering a level of immersion and authenticity that has only improved with advancements in graphics.

The third instalment also took huge leaps in narrative, characterisation and world-building – rounding out a fully prestige gameplay experience.

The franchise had another major boost (and accessed a new market) in 2013 with the expansion of GTA 5 into GTA Online. Instead of playing solo against computer-controlled adversaries, players could be set against, or teamed up with, other players from across the globe.

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