Microsoft initially rejected GTA 3 for Xbox because the concept was not convincing

As for GTA 3, the people in charge at Xbox probably didn’t have the right nose.

The GTA series is known today for its resounding success. The fifth part of the series is currently still very popular, while fans are eagerly waiting for the official announcement of the successor. GTA Online is a long-running hit and three classics – including GTA 3 – were recently re-released in a remastered trilogy. From the current point of view, it is more than astonishing that the title was initially rejected by Microsoft for the first Xbox. But that was exactly the case. We’ll tell you more about it.

GTA 3 for the Xbox rejected

It’s all about this: Xbox recently released a six-part documentary series about the history of the console. Under the name “Power On – The Story of Xbox” you can find out a lot of interesting facts about the time from the original Xbox to the Series X / S from various providers, including YouTube. In the third episode former employees tell an interesting story:

GTA 3 was initially rejected as a title for the first Xbox. The decision was made by a group of executives at the time. Today we can hardly imagine why that happened, because the GTA concept is now stored in our heads as a recipe for success. The decision-makers at the time obviously did not believe in it at the time.

What was the problem? At the time, the Xbox team was looking for good titles for the new console, and Rockstar pitched the leap from 2D to 3D with GTA 3. Former tools and middleware program manager Drew Angeloff says a team of Xbox executives didn’t believe the game could make that change. Kevin Bachus, head of Third Party Relations at the time, says:

More from the GTA universe:

Sony bags deal

The third laughing in this story was Sony. The company was able to bag a deal with which GTA 3 appeared exclusively on the PS2. The Xbox executives who turned down the game are likely to have bitten their asses. As Bachus continues, GTA 3 was the top seller in 2001 and would have been again in 2002 if it hadn’t been for competition from its own successor.

It is exciting to hear that even companies like Rockstar, whose success we take for granted, did not always succeed in selling their concept immediately – or vice versa, that large companies sometimes misjudge this dimension.

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