Liberty City is the stand-in for the Big Apple in the Grand Theft Auto series' satirical take on the United States. Wrapped in that wide-reaching legacy is Grand Theft Auto's memorable, if rough, recreation of New York. GTA III led to five sequels and spin-offs on the sixth generation of videogame consoles ( Grand Theft Auto: Advance, Vice City, San Andreas, Liberty City Stories, and Vice City Stories) as well as a legions of clones like the True Crime series, Mercenaries, and Saints Row.
Both games have rich legacies, but GTA III's sandbox arguably had a wider reach in the popular imagination of casual gamers (and society-wide moral panic that has been a common staple). Grand Theft Auto III was one of the first games to popularize open-world design shortly before the release of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, a legend in its own right. Related: Grand Theft Auto 6 Theory: The Protagonist Is From GTA 4 & 5
