'You Needed Guns, You Needed These Larger-Than-Life Characters' — Rockstar Co-Founder Dan Houser Explains Why Grand Theft Auto Won't Leave the United States

Former Rockstar brag Dan Houser has explained wherefore the Grand Theft Auto bid won’t permission the United States successful presumption of its setting.

Speaking connected the Lex Fridman podcast, Rockstar co-founder and erstwhile pb writer Houser said that — GTA London isolated — Grand Theft Auto remained firmly rooted successful the United States due to the fact that it leans truthful heavy connected Americana.

“We made a small happening successful London 26 years agone — GTA London — for the top-down for PS1. That was beauteous cute and fun, arsenic the archetypal ngo battalion ever for PlayStation 1. I deliberation for a afloat GTA game, we ever decided determination was truthful overmuch Americana inherent successful the IP, it would beryllium truly hard to marque it enactment successful London oregon anyplace else.

“You know, you needed guns, you needed these larger-than-life characters. It conscionable felt similar the crippled was truthful overmuch astir America, perchance from an outsider's perspective. But that was truthful overmuch astir what the happening was that it wouldn't truly person worked successful the aforesaid mode elsewhere.”

It’s a inclination that’s acceptable to proceed with adjacent year’s GTA 6, which is acceptable successful the fictional U.S. authorities of Leonida (a reimagining of Florida). And based connected the 2 GTA 6 trailers we've seen truthful far, that parody of American civilization is erstwhile again beforehand and center.

It’s an absorbing time, then, to wonderment if GTA mightiness hop connected a level and task overseas astatine immoderate constituent successful the future. But it feels unlikely, not conscionable based connected Houser’s comments, but based connected the GTA marque — built up implicit decades astatine this constituent — and what the nationalist expects from it. Indeed, specified is GTA’s narration with America implicit the people of its galore video games, that a University of Tennessee past prof volition thatch a GTA assemblage past people aboriginal successful 2026.

Professor Tore Olsson precocious told IGN: “Video games are large astatine conjuring fictional worlds, but they besides interaction players’ reasoning astir real-world times and places. And conscionable arsenic Red Dead Redemption 2 has shaped folks’ cognition of the nineteenth-century American West oregon Ghost of Tsushima has informed their imaginativeness of feudal Japan, millions of radical astir the globe ideate modern America done the lens of the Grand Theft Auto franchise. Just deliberation of however galore GTA veterans person recognized landmarks successful Los Angeles and New York acknowledgment to their hours successful Los Santos and Liberty City!”

Houser’s presumption connected GTA is akin to that of the creators of post-apocalyptic role-playing crippled bid Fallout, which has besides remained successful the United States. Last year, Bethesda improvement main Todd Howard ruled retired leaving the U.S. down for a aboriginal Fallout video game, saying he’s a large instrumentality of the “Americana naivete” that informs truthful overmuch of Fallout’s tone.

Meanwhile, the hold for GTA 6 goes on, with May 26, 2026 the existent merchandise date. We’ve got plentifulness much connected GTA 6, including each the details we’ve discovered truthful far, a roundup of 70 marque caller screenshots, and the adept sentiment connected however GTA 6 volition look connected PS5 Pro. As for however overmuch volition Grand Theft Auto 6 cost? Amid the speculation, caller probe has suggested that a $100 terms constituent would really gain Rockstar little wealth than if went for the “sweet spot” of $70.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].