Only a select number of video game studios have celebrated their silver anniversary, and with the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer arriving this week, GameSpot is taking a deep dive into the history of Rockstar Games. After 25 years in the industry, Rockstar has cemented itself as one of the biggest developers around–a company that hasn’t just released blockbuster games, but highly influential titles that have had a lasting impact on the industry around it.
Officially formed in December 1998 after Take-Two Interactive acquired the assets of British video game publisher BMG Interactive–including DMA Design’s Grand Theft Auto–Rockstar Games was born from a massive restructuring effort led by several BMG executives.
The new publisher spent the next couple of years working on projects like GTA 2, Earthworm Jim 3D, and two Austin Powers games for the Game Boy Color through its various studios, but it was Rockstar North’s GTA 3 that really put the company on the map and broke new ground for the open-world genre when it was still in its infancy.