For decades, Grand Theft Auto enthusiasts have dreamed of seeing the series’ signature open-world mayhem unfold in an array of international metropolises. Yet one of the most persistently requested settings—an overseas capital synonymous with double-decker buses, historic landmarks, and a distinctly restrained approach to firearms—has been definitively ruled out for any future 3D entry in the franchise, according to Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser.
In a wide-ranging interview on the Lex Fridman Podcast, Houser laid to rest any lingering speculation about London ever hosting a fully realized, three-dimensional GTA experience. “There was never a 3D GTA set in London because the series is inherently American,” he stated plainly. “You needed guns.”
The candid admission underscores a foundational tension between the British capital’s real-world culture and the exaggerated, bullet-riddled satire that has defined Rockstar’s blockbuster series since GTA III revolutionized the genre in 2001. While London boasts the kind of urban contrasts that align with GTA’s thematic playbook—“glitz, glamour, underbelly, immigrants, [and] enormous wealth in all of them,” as Houser described it—the city’s historically strict firearm regulations clash irreconcilably with the franchise’s core gameplay loop of drive-by shootings, police chases, and arsenal-heavy crime sprees.
Houser’s comments arrive amid renewed interest in GTA’s geographic boundaries, fueled by the impending release of Grand Theft Auto VI. The upcoming title will mark the series’ longest development cycle to date, returning players to an expanded Vice City and the fictional state of Leonida—a sun-drenched parody of Florida that promises swamps, beaches, and neon-lit excess. Yet even as Rockstar continues to mine American regionalism for satirical gold, the co-founder made clear that certain global locales remain off-limits for the 3D era.
That wasn’t always the case. “We made a little thing in London 26 years ago, GTA London, for the top-down game for the PS1,” Houser reminisced. “That was pretty cute and fun, as the first mission pack ever for PlayStation.” Released in 1999 as GTA London 1969 (with a follow-up 1961 expansion), the pack transported the original 1997 Grand Theft Auto’s top-down perspective to a swinging-’60s version of the British capital. Players hijacked Austin Powers–esque minis, navigated foggy streets, and engaged in comparatively low-lethality crime—reflecting both the era’s technology and the city’s lighter touch on gun violence.
Watch the video from Lex Fridman here:
Those expansions remain charming curiosities, but they belong to a pre-GTA III world where melee weapons, Molotov cocktails, and the occasional submachine gun sufficed. Once Rockstar embraced fully 3D environments, free-aim shooting, and sprawling weapon inventories, the series became inextricably tied to American settings where firearms are culturally ubiquitous and legally accessible to varying degrees. Liberty City (GTA III, IV), Vice City (GTA: Vice City, VI), and San Andreas (GTA: San Andreas, V) all lampoon distinctly U.S. phenomena: New York’s melting-pot grit, Miami’s pastel-hued excess, and the sprawling inequality of the American West.
Houser’s revelation is unlikely to deter modders or fan concepts—unofficial London recreations have circulated in GTA V’s modding scene for years—but it draws a firm line for official canon. Rockstar’s commitment to American exceptionalism extends beyond mere geography; it’s baked into the series’ DNA of over-the-top violence, celebrity cameos, and pop-culture pastiche that thrives on stateside stereotypes.
As the industry awaits Grand Theft Auto VI—currently slated for a fall 2025 launch on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, with PC to follow—the conversation inevitably turns to what comes next. Rockstar has yet to confirm any post-VI projects, but the studio’s pattern of decade-plus gaps between numbered entries offers little optimism for impatient fans. If history is any guide, GTA VII could be a 2035-or-beyond proposition. At this rate, we’ll be playing it on neural implants while waiting for the inevitable GTA VIII in 2052.
