Recently, Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser spoke with IGN and shared memories of working on various projects. During the interview, the history of the Grand Theft Auto III cover was also touched upon. At that time, the authors used a distinctive style that many players recognize the franchise by to this day.
As it turned out, the GTA III cover was supposed to look different – at the last moment, the design had to be changed due to the September 11 attacks. On the original version, Houser says, burning buildings were planned to be depicted. Obviously, after the destruction of the World Trade Center, such an illustration was considered inappropriate.
As a result, artist Stephen Bliss prepared another version “in about two evenings”:
It's funny that the cover, which became iconic for the GTA series, was made by Stephen Bliss in literally a couple of evenings, because the old cover after September 11 would have been considered too offensive – it had burning buildings. If September 11 hadn't happened, it wouldn't have been changed. So that cover, which became so recognizable, only appeared because of September 11.
The terrorist attack also affected the available content in Grand Theft Auto III. The game's events take place in Liberty City, a fictional version of New York, so the authors made a number of changes – some scenes and lines could evoke associations with the tragedy.