When was GTA publisher Rockstar Games founded: A brief about its history and foundation

Rockstar Games, Inc. is one of the most popular video game developers in the world, broadly known for its GTA franchise. It is one of the oldest thriving gaming studios that continues to provide content for its player base. Unfortunately, only a fraction of the community knows about the studio’s history. Rockstar’s practice of maintaining secrecy also adds to the matter.

However, hardcore fans, who have been following the studio since its beginning, have provided enough details for its future fanbase. This article briefly explains the inception of Rockstar Games and how GTA games helped it reach the current stage.

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A brief history of how GTA developer Rockstar Games started its journey

Rockstar Games was established in December 1998. It was founded by five industry leaders, namely Sam Houser, Terry Donovan, Dan Houser, Jamie King, and Gary Foreman. Interestingly, neither the studio nor the player base knows about the exact date of establishment. The official website does not even mention the month and simply says 1998 as its foundation year.

The popular gaming studio started its journey with Grand Theft Auto in 1997. However, many reports claimed that Rockstar Games was known as DMA Design at that time. After the acquisition of the studio by Take-Two Interactive on March 12, 1998, it changed its name to the current one.

The American gaming studio has released various video game titles so far. But, after the success of the Grand Theft Auto franchise, the name Rockstar Games became synonymous with GTA. From 1997 to 2021, the developer has released a total of 18 GTA titles:

1. Grand Theft Auto (1997)
2. Grand Theft Auto: London, 1969 (1999)
3. Grand Theft Auto: London, 1961 (1999)
4. Grand Theft Auto: 2 (1999)
5. Grand Theft Auto: 3 (2001)
6. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002)
7. Grand Theft Auto: Advance (2004)
8. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004)
9. Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy (2005)
10. Liberty City Stories (2005)
11. Vice City Stories (2006)
12. Grand Theft Auto: 4 (2008)
13. The Lost and Damned (2009)
14. The Ballad of Gay Tony (2009)
15. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (2009)
16. Grand Theft Auto: 5 (2013)
17. Grand Theft Auto: Online (2013)
18. Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition (2021)

These titles have collectively sold over 405 million copies, earning billions in profit. Rockstar Games has also released other popular video games such as Bully, Max Payne, L.A. Noire, Red Dead Redemption 2, etc.

Currently, the entire fanbase is eagerly waiting for Rockstar to make a GTA 6 announcement. Several insiders have reported that the game will be released in 2025. A recent leak also suggested that the studio would announce the game in November 2023 and release a trailer in December 2023.

In the meantime, many fans want the upcoming game to be free of bugs and exploits such as GTA Online money glitches.