Grand Theft Auto III
A mute criminal named Claude is betrayed by his girlfriend during a bank robbery and, left for dead, works his way up through the criminal underworld of Liberty City — a fictional analogue of New York — completing missions for competing mob factions. The player is free to ignore the mission structure entirely and simply exist in the city, stealing cars, evading police, and exploring at will. The world reacted dynamically to player actions through a wanted level system.
GTA III created the 3D open-world sandbox genre and permanently shifted the center of gravity in game design toward player freedom and emergent gameplay over scripted linear experiences. Its influence is visible in virtually every major open-world game since, from The Elder Scrolls to Red Dead Redemption. It also centralized the cultural debate about video game violence, becoming the most scrutinized game in the medium's history.
Released in October 2001, GTA III arrived in an America still reeling from the September 11 attacks, which led Rockstar to delay the game and remove some content. The game's depiction of a city teetering on crime and chaos resonated in the cultural moment while simultaneously drawing fierce criticism from politicians and parent groups.
Ubiquitous broadband internet shifted the medium from solo play to massive persistent social worlds, creating entirely new genres and business models. The MMORPG, the competitive shooter ladder, and eventually the live-service model all emerged from this transformation of games into always-online social spaces.