GTA 3 Was Almost An Xbox Exclusive, But Microsoft Rejected It

GTA 3 was almost an Xbox exclusive. That was until Microsoft rejected its proposal. Talk about a missed opportunity.

As revealed in the Microsoft documentary series “Power On: The Story of Xbox”, GTA 3 was proposed to the company, but executives believed that it wouldn’t be a success. In the documentary, former Xbox Director of 3^rd Party Relations, Kevin Bachus, revealed that he was approached by a small game publisher called DMA Design.

In 2001, Rockstar Games approached Microsoft to pitch GTA3 for the original Xbox but the Microsoft execs outright rejected them – thus forcing them turn to Sony to make the title a limited time exclusive for the PS2, according to a new released documentary by Xbox. pic.twitter.com/ijrJUGlc6g

— Ben Turpin (@videotech_) December 14, 2021

The small publisher proposed the idea of transitioning the original top-down GTA games into the 3D world that came to be Grand Theft Auto 3. Unfortunately, at the time, the executives believed that the transition from 2D top-down to a 3D world wasn’t possible. GTA 3 would then launch on the PS2.

GTA 3 is one of the most historic games ever

However, as we all know, that transition was not only possible but GTA 3 is one of the most successful video games of all time. Furthermore, it set a new benchmark of what’s expected of open-world video games.

GTA 3 would become the best-selling game in 2001. It would have also been the best-selling game in 2002, but it was toppled by its sequel, GTA: Vice City. Grand Theft Auto 3 and the following two sequels would eventually come to the original Xbox, but by that time, the series was synonymous with the PlayStation brand.

Sure, Xbox ended up being fine without having Grand Theft Auto 3 as an exclusive. But I can’t help but think about what could have been. How do you feel about GTA 3 nearly being an Xbox exclusive? Let us know across our social media channels.

Today, GTA 3 is available as part of the Grand Theft Auto: Definitive Edition – The Trilogy for PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.

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Featured Image Credit: Rockstar Games