A video game franchise that started in Scotland 29 years ago is preparing for one of the biggest launches in entertainment history, with millions of players around the world counting down to the release of Grand Theft Auto VI.
The latest instalment of the blockbuster franchise will be released on Thursday 19 November, ending a 13-year wait for a sequel to Grand Theft Auto V.
What began as an ambitious project by a small team of developers in Dundee has become a global cultural phenomenon, with more than 470 million Grand Theft Auto games sold worldwide.
The franchise’s continuing success has been driven by Rockstar North in Edinburgh, which has played a leading role in developing the games that have transformed the industry.
Anticipation for the latest release has reached extraordinary levels.
The first trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI attracted more than 90 million views on YouTube in its first 24 hours, setting a Guinness World Record for the most-watched video game reveal.
The game has since become the subject of intense speculation, with fans scrutinising trailers, screenshots and every announcement from developer Rockstar Games.
Grand Theft Auto VI had attracted an estimated 7.71 million digital pre-orders worldwide by 3 November, generating more than $750 million in estimated sales ahead of its release.
Rockstar’s parent company, Take-Two Interactive, has described advance orders as unprecedented.
Strauss Zelnick, the company’s chairman and chief executive, said this week that the launch was expected to deliver a historic year for the business.
The company is forecasting net bookings of between $8 billion and $8.2 billion across its business for the financial year ending in March 2027.
It is another remarkable chapter in a story that began in Dundee in the 1990s.
The original Grand Theft Auto was created by DMA Design, a studio founded in 1988 by Scottish developer David Jones.
The company had already enjoyed international success with Lemmings, released in 1991, before turning its attention to a new type of action game in which players could explore a city, steal vehicles and pursue criminal missions.
Grand Theft Auto arrived in November 1997. Its overhead graphics and comparatively simple gameplay were a world away from the vast digital environments associated with the franchise today.
The game’s freedom, dark humour and controversial subject matter distinguished it from other releases and helped establish the formula that would eventually revolutionise open-world gaming.
DMA Design relocated to Edinburgh and became Rockstar North in 2002.
The studio helped deliver a succession of landmark titles, including Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City, San Andreas and Grand Theft Auto IV.
Then came Grand Theft Auto V in September 2013.
The game generated $1 billion in revenue within just three days of its release, setting an entertainment industry record. It has since sold more than 230 million copies worldwide.
Its online component has also helped sustain the franchise’s enormous popularity, creating a virtual world that players have continued to explore for more than a decade.
Grand Theft Auto VI now represents the next stage in that evolution.
The game returns players to Vice City, a fictional metropolis inspired by Miami, and the wider state of Leonida, modelled on Florida.
Its story follows Jason Duval and Lucia Caminos, two criminals who become caught up in a conspiracy after a robbery goes wrong.
Rockstar has promised its most ambitious open-world experience yet, with a vast environment designed to reflect modern American life.
The new game is being developed by Rockstar’s international network of studios, with Edinburgh-based Rockstar North continuing to play a central role.
It will be available on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S from 19 November, with no PC release date announced.
The launch will bring to an end one of the longest and most closely watched waits in modern gaming.
It also represents a major moment for Scotland’s creative industries.
From its beginnings in Dundee to its development in Edinburgh and its transformation into a worldwide entertainment empire, Grand Theft Auto remains one of Scotland’s most remarkable, and in many ways unexpected, cultural exports.