Grand Theft Auto III is a landmark 2001 action-adventure game developed by DMA Design and published by Rockstar Games, marking the series' first shift to a fully 3D open world. Set in Liberty City (loosely based on New York City), it follows the silent protagonist Claude as he navigates gang warfare and corruption to seek revenge on his ex-girlfriend, with gameplay focused on third-person driving, shooting, and completing missions across three unlockable islands. Developed by a core 23-person team in Edinburgh, production was delayed following the September 11 attacks to remove inappropriate content, and the game launched on PlayStation 2 in October 2001, followed by Windows and Xbox versions, plus later mobile and remastered editions. While widely praised for its revolutionary concept, gameplay, and sound design, it also generated significant controversy for its violent and sexual themes, and it is now considered a pioneer of the open-world genre and one of the greatest games ever made. It was the best-selling game of 2001, eventually moving over 14.5 million copies, and directly spawned successors like Vice City (2002) and prequels such as Liberty City Stories (2005).