Grand Theft Auto is an action-adventure video game developed by DMA Design and published by BMG Interactive. It is the first title of the Grand Theft Auto series and was released in November 1997 for MS-DOS and Windows, in December 1997 for the PlayStation and in October 1999 for the Game Boy Color. The game's narrative follows a criminal who climbs in status within the criminal underworld across three fictional cities, inspired by real-life locations. The gameplay is presented from a top-down perspective and takes place within an open-world environment in which the player is required to gather a certain number of points ranging in the millions to progress through the game's chapters. Points are gathered by completing various missions throughout each city, although the player can gather the points through other means as well.

Grand Theft Auto began development as a game titled Race 'n' Chase, in which the player controlled a police officer pursuing criminals. However, the game was considered dull, and the concept of playing as a criminal was adopted. The development team worked to ensure that the player would have the freedom to play however they intend. Grand Theft Auto created a great deal of controversy even before its launch due to its violent content, with discussions taking place about banning its sale. The game's marketing campaign, organised by publicist Max Clifford, exploited this stirring of controversy as free promotion.

Grand Theft Auto was met with mixed reviews upon release, but was a commercial success. While the graphics and controls were criticised, the entertainment value, sound design and freedom of the gameplay were praised, and has since been recognised as one of the greatest video games of all time. Two expansions taking place in 1960s England, Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 and Grand Theft Auto: London 1961, were launched in 1999. The success of Grand Theft Auto spawned a series of games which built upon the original's gameplay and themes; the Grand Theft Auto series has since become one of the most popular and best-selling video game franchises of all time. The first sequel in the series, Grand Theft Auto 2, was released in October 1999.

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