Grand Theft Auto is a 1997 action-adventure video game created by British games developer DMA Design (now Rockstar North

Rockstar North

Rockstar North is a British video game developer based in Edinburgh, Scotland, best known for creating the Grand Theft Auto and Lemmings franchises in its earlier guise as DMA....

) and published by BMG Interactive. The game allows the player to take on the role of a criminal who can roam freely around a big city. Various missions are set for completion, such as bank robberies, assassinations, and other crimes. It is the first in the Grand Theft Auto series

Grand Theft Auto (series)

Grand Theft Auto is a multi-award-winning British video game series created in the United Kingdom by Dave Jones, then later by brothers Dan Houser and Sam Houser, and game designer Zachary Clarke. It is primarily developed by Edinburgh based Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games...

 that has thus far spanned ten standalone games, and three expansion packs.