Rockstar Games co-founder and former lead writer Dan Houser has revealed why the Grand Theft Auto series, with one minor exception, has always been set in the United States.
During an appearance on the Lex Fridman podcast, Houser explained that the franchise is fundamentally rooted in its satirical take on American culture. While acknowledging the 1999 Grand Theft Auto: London mission pack for the original PlayStation as a “cute and fun” experiment, he argued that a full-fledged international entry would be unworkable. “We always decided there was so much Americana inherent in the IP, it would be really hard to make it work in London or anywhere else,” Houser stated.
He elaborated that core gameplay elements, such as the prevalence of firearms and the “larger-than-life characters,” are intrinsically tied to an American setting. “It just felt like the game was so much about America,” he said, adding that it wouldn’t “have worked in the same way elsewhere.”
This creative philosophy continues with the upcoming Grand Theft Auto 6, which is set in the fictional U.S. state of Leonida, a parody of Florida. The series’ decades-long focus on the United States has solidified its brand identity and shaped audience expectations, making a departure from this formula highly unlikely.
The series’ profound connection with its setting has also had a significant cultural impact. University of Tennessee history professor Tore Olsson, who is teaching a college course on the franchise, has noted that for millions of players globally, their perception of contemporary America is filtered “through the lens of the Grand Theft Auto franchise.”
Houser’s stance echoes that of other major developers. Bethesda’s Todd Howard has similarly ruled out a non-U.S. setting for the Fallout series, citing that franchise’s reliance on “Americana naivete” as essential to its distinct tone.
