While the entire world is busy talking about the release of GTA VI, today we are going back in time 17 years. On April 29, 2008, one of the most influential games redefined open-world games with the release of Grand Theft Auto IV. Beginning with the age of the HD universe of the Grand Theft Auto Series, GTA 4 marked a significant shift not just for Rockstar Games but for the entire AAA Gaming Industry and Open World Games.
Grand Theft Auto IV was released nearly two decades ago to date, standing out for its revolutionary gameplay mechanics, open world formula, and technical advancements. Let’s take a look at how this open-world game redefined gaming 17 years ago.
The 2008 Era of Gaming and the Evolution of Grand Theft Auto
To put this in perspective, GTA 4 was released four years after GTA San Andreas, being the sixth mainline game in the series. This is even before the western masterpiece Red Dead Redemption, as that came out in 2010. While companies churned out titles like Far Cry 2, Fallout 3, Saints Row 2, and Gears of War 2, Rockstar Games turned up to the block with Grand Theft Auto 4.
Most Popular Games of 2008
- GTA IV
- Gears of War 2
- Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
- Far Cry 2
- Fallout 2
- Dead Space
- Call of Duty: World At War
- Burnout Paradise
The game’s technical brilliance shook the industry, making the leap from San Andreas to IV feel staggering. The advancements Rockstar Games made with GTA IV are truly remarkable, with the return to Liberty City. IV stood out as one of the most immersive open-world games of its time, which in turn was beyond its time.
What Made GTA IV One of the Most Influential Open-World Games of All Time?
Grand Theft Auto IV redefined the open world game experience when it launched in 2008. Building on the success of its predecessors and Rockstar’s reputation as a game developer. IV delivered on many fronts, with the most notable innovation being the Euphoria Physics in-game, which brought a sense of realism to the character and world movement. Euphoria was a reinvention of the outdated constrained movements of previous GTA Games, the physics made for some fun moments, but also made Liberty City feel more alive.
The game was a huge leap from the graphics and visuals of San Andreas to the expanded and more immersive Liberty City. The city felt alive with its activity, something was going in on every street. Pedestrians getting in arguments, fights or just random street banter, the immersion on the streets of Liberty was seen never before.
Another reason why GTA IV became one of the most influential open-world games was its story & narrative. For the first time ever in a GTA Game, Rockstar went forward with a narrative deeply rooted in the world’s problems. Touching on topics like War and its effects on the average soldier, how they mold a human into their basic instincts and rage. Players followed the story of Niko Bellic, his pursuit of the “American Dream” and the false promises that followed him in the world of crime, loyalty, and greed. If John Marston’s story was of Redemption, then it was the Eastern European Guy with the tale of true Revenge.
GTA IV Story DLC Expansion & Multiplayer
Remember a time when there were not one but two story expansions for a Grand Theft Auto title. Long before the cancelled DLC’s for GTA V there was The Ballad of Gay Tony and The Lost and Damned DLC’s. Both with their separate main protagonists and their stories interwoven with the main game’s story, with colliding missions and returning characters.
The game’s expansion into a multiplayer mode is what sets it truly apart from other games, while not as popular as GTA Online. The GTA 4 Multiplayer mode was brilliant. Giving players for the first time the ability to play together in the open world sandbox experience in a GTA game. The ability to play with friends broke new ground for a Rockstar title and the industry, as there was nothing like GTA IV’s multiplayer back then in the 08 Era of video games.
GTA IV is currently available for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and PC. There has never been a port of the game for either the last-gen consoles or today’s Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5.
Blueprint for Future Rockstar Titles like GTA V & RDR 2
GTA IV laid the foundations for future Rockstar titles and skyrocketed their revenues. GTA IV grossed over 300 million USD on its opening day on April 29, 2008, with total sales exceeding 2 billion USD in its lifetime. Grand Theft Auto IV revolutionized the GTA Formula with its Euphoria Physics Engine, Immersive NPC behaviour, expanded narrative depth, and multiplayer elements. Laying the foundations for GTA V, Red Dead Redemption 2, and beyond.
Rockstar put everything they learnt from the predecessor and mashed it all together for Grand Theft Auto V (We all know where that went). Rockstar Games invested $260 million into V, doubling the budget of GTA IV, and churned out 6 billion from it and is still counting the profits from GTA Online. Red Dead Redemption 2, on the other hand, was developed with a much more advanced Euphoria Engine. Which brought ultra-realistic physics to the wild west.
Summary
17 years later, the impact of Grand Theft Auto IV on gaming is still undeniable. It not only redefined what players expected from an open world game but also set a new milestone for the gaming industry. The game made groundbreaking benchmarks for its realism, storytelling, gameplay, and technical ambition. It’s worth remembering how GTA IV impacted the world and set the foundations for Rockstar Games’ success through oblivion. The game laid the blueprint for many other gaming studios would build upon for years to come.
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