“For most of development, GTA 3 was in a sorry state”: Rockstar veteran reflects ahead of GTA 6

Rockstar veteran Obbe Vermeij says Grand Theft Auto 3 spent much of development in a poor state, despite becoming a landmark game. Reflecting on 25 years of the series ahead of GTA 6, he described how difficult it was to judge the project’s eventual success while it was still taking shape.

Vermeij also said he does not remember much crunch during development. His recollections offer a behind-the-scenes view of the uncertainty around making GTA 3, whose release helped establish the open-world direction that shaped later Grand Theft Auto games.