5 reasons why the GTA franchise survived where its competitors failed

The GTA franchise started in 1997 with the 2D title Grand Theft Auto, and in the early 2000s, it reached new heights with the completion of the GTA Trilogy. Now, 20 years later, fans are impatiently looking forward to getting their hands on GTA 6. The series has stood the test of time, unlike its competitors like the Driver franchise and Saints Row.

This article will explore why the GTA franchise stood tall, while other games in its category, at times, could not keep up.

Note: This article is subjective and reflects the writer's opinions.

---

5 reasons why the GTA franchise thrived while competitors stumbled

1) Graphical advancements in the initial years

Rockstar Games improved its graphics faster than competitors (Image via Rockstar Games)

In 1999, GTA 2 was released, and it was one of Rockstar Games' 2D games. In the same year, it faced strong competition from the first Driver game by Reflections Interactive. The two competed for market space, and the latter was winning. Driver sold over 6 million copies and had a 3D world, while GTA 2 only had a 2D world and sold just about 2 million at the time.

Rockstar Games would turn the tables with the release of its 3D game GTA III. It had better graphics, a more focused open-world design involving only one city, and smoother mission objectives. It was technologically advanced in almost every way.

In the years to follow, the GTA franchise only grew stronger by developing and optimizing better graphics, always staying a step ahead of the competition.

---

2) Well-paced development

GTA San Andreas was well-rounded release (Image via Rockstar Games)

The GTA franchise doesn't feel rushed, because it isn't. Driver 3 and GTA San Andreas were both released in 2004. However, Driver 3 faced heavy criticism for its unfinished design, bugs, glitches, and more. Its myriad issues led to a Metacritic score of less than 60% on all platforms, while San Andreas received a 90%-95% score.

Driver 3 felt rushed and unfinished before release, but GTA San Andreas complete and polished. Rockstar Games never shied away from taking a long time to develop its titles. The best example may be the upcoming GTA 6, slated for release in 2026, over 12 years after GTA 5.

---

3) Sprawling open world designs

GTA 3 (Image via Rockstar Games)

The GTA franchise truly embodies the idea of being an open-world game series. Some games allow a linear story while letting players explore them in various orders, interesting side missions, races, tournaments, stunts, and more. GTA games let players interact with the map in a wide variety of ways.

This highly interactive design of the game's open-world maps is what makes this series so likable, which can be explored and enjoyed in many ways. It leaves space for replayability and finding new things with every new session.

One of the game's strongest competitors in this regard was the Mafia game series, which also featured a thriving open-world design. However, it fell short due to its intensive theme-focused world and a lack of interactive gameplay as compared to the GTA games. In a nutshell, while the Mafia games were brilliant, the gameplay was not as extensive and replayable after the main campaign was over as compared to most recent GTA games.

---

4) Consistent release of memorable characters

Niko Bellic is an unforgettable protagonist (Image via Rockstar Games)

Fans often look back fondly on characters such as Tommy Vercetti (Vice City) or Carl (CJ) Johnson (San Andreas). These are protagonists from games that are more than two decades old, yet they're still a part of pop culture and the gaming community.

The GTA franchise has given fans memorable protagonists as well as side characters like Big Smoke, Lance Vance, Lester Crest, and Lamar Davis. Competitors like the Driver franchise or Saints Row couldn't conceive such a memorable roster of characters.

---

5) Mass media appeal

This intro scene became iconic (Image via Rockstar Games)

Finally, perhaps one of the biggest reasons the GTA franchise survived competition over the years was its mass media appeal. Several memes, game mods, and YouTube videos around the game only helped it grow into an even more successful series.

Rockstar Games worked tirelessly to consistently improve its games, and fans rewarded them with high praise and high levels of game interaction. Somehow, the GTA franchise became a cultural phenomenon in the gaming community, its decline would only happen if Rockstar Games developed a poor title.

---

These were some reasons the GTA games succeeded and stood the test of time, while most of their competitors in the genre did not find similar levels of success over the last two decades or more.