Dan Houser reveals why Rockstar Games hasn't turned GTA into a movie yet

The gaming community eagerly awaits the release of Grand Theft Auto 6, which is likely to hit markets in the fall of 2025, as confirmed by Take-Two Interactive. Amid anticipation, Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser has spoken about the possibility of a movie or series adaptation of GTA. Given the way the game is received by its huge fan base, the continuous talks on adaptation into movies or series haven’t flowered into any project.

In a recent interview, Houser revealed various reasons behind not making a movie or series for the same. He said that executives pitched the ideal only for the sake of making a movie; the glamour of Hollywood was supposed to charm Rockstar into doing it. But Rockstar declined the offer because of a lack of control and bad quality of game adaptations reaching the box office.

The discussion went into great detail, and poor quality of game adaptations was the major factor, Houser noted. The executives believe, he said, that the glamour of Hollywood would seduce Rockstar. However, he said with a beaming inner self, again, that didn’t make any economic sense for the Studio, simply looking at the risks involved. On the other hand, games made poor-quality movies throughout history.

While Houser himself left Rockstar Games in 2020, he said instances are changing. Furthermore, he thinks that the present workforce of Rockstar Games might be much more open to a GTA movie now that the subtleties of game adjustments are unfolding. Minecraft, Fallout, Tomb Raider, Halo, The Last of Us, Resident Evil, and The Witcher were a couple of the games that acquired fruitful TV show adaptation; this has transformed the dynamics of this industry.

This has made Rockstar Games very conscious about the integrity and control of their IP. Houser explained that it has a lot to do with the worth of GTA as a multi-billion-dollar IP. It’s a massive weight stuck on this decision that kept film adaptations at bay. Though, with the gaming adaptation scene changing these days, probably future contemplation of a movie adaptation for GTA isn’t completely shut off too.