Dan Houser says Grand Theft Auto will always stay in the U.S. because the franchise’s identity is built on “Americana” – a mix of gun culture, satire, and larger-than-life characters that wouldn’t work elsewhere.
Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser has revealed Grand Theft Auto will always be set in the U.S. becasue there is “so much Americana inherent in the IP”.
Aside from Grand Theft Auto: London 1969, the action-sandbox series has always been set stateside, and Houser has now explained GTA will never leave the U.S. because the franchise’s identity is deeply rooted in “Americana”, making it difficult to recreate elsewhere.
Speaking on the Lex Fridman Podcast, he said: “We made a little thing in London 26 years ago – GTA: London – for the PS1. That was pretty cute and fun as the first mission pack ever for PlayStation 1.
“I think for a full GTA game, 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 elaborated that GTA’s unique mix of satire, violence, and cultural commentary relies on the exaggerated characters and gun culture of the U.S.
He explained: “You needed guns, you needed these larger-than-life characters. It just felt like the game was so much about America, possibly from an outsider’s perspective.
“But that was so much about what the thing was that it wouldn’t really have worked in the same way elsewhere.”
His comments echo similar remarks made by Fallout director Todd Howard last year, who said that the post-apocalyptic RPG would also remain set in the U.S. due to its “Americana naivete”.
With GTA VI set to return to Vice City – a parody of Miami – next year, Houser’s reflections reinforce the idea that the franchise’s DNA remains intrinsically American.
Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser explains why GTA will always be set in the US
