The History of GTA

Sure, everyone knows the story about GTA: San Andreas’ Hot Coffee incident. And that the creator of the game was Dave Jones.

But what about the fact that Take 2 bought developer DMA Design (which later renamed itself Rockstar) for just one pound in 1999? Or that in the franchise’s ten-year life it has made over $2bn in revenues?

These facts and more are uncovered and analysies in the first of our ‘Great British Games’ IP profiles, which every month will explore the key business background to some of the best British-made franchises.

Written by Games Investor Consulting’s Rick Gibson and Nick Gibson, the pieces are adapted and expanded versions of materials published in their headline-grabbing UKTi report, Playing for Keeps.

Our profile charts the franchise from its relatively humble beginnings – spun from a project originally developed for the N64 – through to its industry-conquering status.

We also acknowledge that the primary benefit of the fourth game’s development delay isn’t just better gameplay – but "benefits from reaching a larger installed base on current generation console platforms".

That doesn’t assure the success the franchise historically has had, though: "Despite this, the installed base will not have reached the level attained by PS2 at San Andreas’ launch and so few analysts are forecasting unit sales to exceed even Vice City levels – although revenues could reach record heights due to the greater average sales price."

To read the full profile, click here.