Even GTA's Original Creators Haven't Played GTA 6: Dave Jones and Brian Baglow Are Waiting Like Everyone Else

Even the people who made the very first Grand Theft Auto haven't played GTA 6. Dave Jones, who co-created the original, and Brian Baglow, who wrote it, told the BBC they're waiting for November 19 like everyone else. Baglow's answer when asked if he'd played it: "I've got the pre-order."

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That says a lot about how tightly Rockstar is keeping this one locked down. Five days out, there's no special early copy for the guys who started the whole series back in Dundee. If you're in the same boat, GTA 6 unlocks at midnight on the 19th.

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Who they are

The first GTA came out in 1997, made by DMA Design, a small team in Dundee, Scotland. Same studio that made Lemmings. DMA later became Rockstar North, the studio that still leads Grand Theft Auto today.

Dave Jones founded DMA and co-created GTA. Brian Baglow wrote for the original game and also did its publicity. The BBC's Laura Cress spoke to both of them at Abertay University in Dundee, a few minutes from where the first game was made.

"We're all waiting to see what they've done"

That's Jones on GTA 6, and it's about the most honest answer you could ask for. Rockstar has kept the game under wraps, and from the BBC piece, there's no early access for the people who invented the series either.

Baglow sounded like any other fan. He's pre-ordered it and he's waiting, same as the estimated 12 million other people who've pre-ordered.

How GTA started

The fun part of the BBC piece is the history. The original GTA started life as a racing game called Race'n'Chase. At one point the idea was for you to play the cop. Jones said, "At some point we just said, you know what, it's way more fun playing the bad guy, so that's what the game was about."

He also called out one simple idea as the big breakthrough: "just getting out of the car." Once you could leave your car on foot, you could steal another one, and suddenly it wasn't a racing game anymore.

The fake brands, radio stations and DJs came partly from money. Real music and brand licences were too expensive, so the team made their own. Baglow said that's what he's proudest of: "It's the business names, it's the radio stations, it's the lyrics, it's the DJs. Every part of that is making you believe that this environment you're in is a big cohesive whole." The fake radio stations have been part of every GTA since.

It wasn't a hit right away

Jones called the original a "slow burn" compared to Lemmings, and said people had to "play it to get it." Baglow said it kept selling all year, and they put that down to word of mouth: "The people who had played it going, oh my God, have you played this game?"

It also got into trouble fast. The BBC points out the original sparked debates in the UK Parliament and calls for it to be banned. Jones said the team never sat around asking whether something was too controversial: "We just did things that we felt were fun."

If you want the full wild story of how the series grew from there, Jacked: The Outlaw Story of Grand Theft Auto by David Kushner is the book most fans point to.

What the Guardian's games editor said

The BBC also spoke to Keza MacDonald, video games editor at the Guardian. She called GTA "a deeply satirical game" that "really takes aim at the hyper-individualist, hyper-capitalist nature of the US." And she said everyone is "extremely excited" and that GTA 6 is "hoping to be a shot in the arm for the general games industry."

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Five days to go

GTA 6 is out on November 19 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. The original came out in 1997, so this lands 29 years later, and it's been 13 years since GTA V. Sony and Microsoft have both said it's the most pre-ordered game in their stores' history.

If you're getting ready:

• Pre-load it now. Times for every region are in our pre-load and unlock time guide.
• It's around 210GB, so check your space first.
• Run through the rest of our GTA 6 launch checklist.

Everything else, editions, price, platforms, is in our GTA 6 hub. And on the 19th, Brian Baglow, one of the people who started all this, will be downloading his pre-order too.

FAQ

Have the original GTA creators played GTA 6?
No. Co-creator Dave Jones and writer Brian Baglow told the BBC they hadn't. Baglow said he has a pre-order.

Who made the first GTA?
DMA Design in Dundee, Scotland, in 1997. The studio also made Lemmings and later became Rockstar North.

What was GTA originally called?
It started as a racing game idea called Race'n'Chase.

When does GTA 6 come out?
November 19, 2026, on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.