Summary
Grand Theft Autois a series that caught traction on the PlayStation 2 with a trilogy of exceptional games. To many, those are the peak of the franchise, but in 2013Grand Theft Auto 5’s incredible ambition was rewarded with astronomical sales and endless critical acclaim. An online component released just two weeks after the base game, which has kept peopleinvested in Los Santosever since.
Be it single or multiplayer, the heart ofGrand Theft Auto 5lies in its gorgeous, diverse, and unforgettable open-world city and its surrounding areas. The upcoming sixth mainline game has a lot to live up to, as the title that released a decade ago is still one of the most populated games around, and has been the benchmark for the genre, more than any other in gaming history.
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GTA 5 Has Inspired a Generation of Open-World Games
There are few games that can say they truly had an impact on the medium as a whole.Grand Theft Auto 5launched on July 15, 2025, in a calendar year that included exceptional titles likeBioShock Infinite, Gone Home, andThe Last of Us. Rockstar Games' offering would be the most commercially successful of all, but more impressive was just how much it influenced other offerings from notable developers moving forward. Games likeWatch Dogs,Mafia, andRockstar’s ownRed Dead Redemption 2oweGTA 5so much in terms of side content and level design.
In the last 10 years, none has truly captured the scale ofGrand Theft Auto 5, and given gamers a title that covers that many activities in one release. The space is filled with things to do, from tennis toGTA 5’s whole in-game stock market, and other creators have looked to it for guidance but never surpassed what it did. Experiences likeGrand Theft Auto 5that set the bar so high that a decade doesn’t see it usurped are far from common, and the works of some other developers of open-world games go to show that imitation really is the best form of flattery.
Grand Theft Auto 5’s Open World is Still Providing Fun Experiences
The promotional material leading up to the release ofGrand Theft Auto 5promised an expansive and diverse playground, being added to the online portion for the foreseeable future. Often, outlandish claims can be misleading, and gamers have to temper their expectations accordingly. However, Los Santos lived up to the hype and continued to do so for a decade. Its landscape is large, varied, and tonally refreshing, meaning that going back to its sunny shores is more enticing than the drab streets ofLiberty City inGTA 4. The size and vibe lends itself perfectly to escapism, and though the story offers limited choice, the fun inGrand Theft Autohas always been found most outside the main campaign.
It’s user-generated mayhem that makes the series shine, andGrand Theft Auto 5facilitates it the best of anyone, and arguably better than any game released since. The single-player adhered to players' expectations of the franchise, but remarkably, the online portion took place in the same space and showed that the open world had the potential to provide hundreds more hours of fun with other players. It simply never got boring, even after 10 years.Grand Theft Auto 5showed that players can expect not just quality, but longevityout of their open-world games, and no other offering since has captured the hearts of gamers across the world quite likeGrand Theft Auto 5.
Grand Theft Auto 5is available now for PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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