Rockstar Games co-founder on why GTA didn't go back to a London setting – 'the game was so much about America'

• Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser has discussed the Grand Theft Auto series in a new interview
• He explained why the games haven't often strayed from an America setting
• "It would be really hard to make it work in London or anywhere else," he said

Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser has discussed the Grand Theft Auto series in a new interview.

In addition to co-founding Rockstar with his brother, Houser served as a writer for Grand Theft Auto 2, Grand Theft Auto 3, Grand Theft Auto 4, and Grand Theft Auto 5, in addition to both Red Dead Redemption games.

Speaking with podcaster Lex Fridman, Houser explained why the GTA games haven't returned to a setting like London, which previously appeared in the 1997 Grand Theft Auto expansion pack London 1969.

"We made a little thing in London 26 years ago," he said. "That was pretty cute and fun, as the first mission pack ever for [the first] PlayStation."

When it comes to the main games, however, Houser explained that "we always decided that there so much Americana inherent in the [franchise], it would be really hard to make it work in London or anywhere else."

"You needed guns, you needed these larger-than-life- characters," he added. "It just felt like the game was so much about America, possibly from an outsider's perspective [...] it wouldn't really have worked in the same way elsewhere."

Houser resigned from Rockstar in 2020, going on to found a new studio called Absurd Ventures.

It's currently unclear who is writing the next GTA game, Grand Theft Auto 6, which is set to launch in May next year for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and Series S.

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