How Rockstar Squeezed a Whole City into Your PS2

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It’s hard to explain just how groundbreaking Grand Theft Auto 3 was when it first came out on PlayStation 2, especially if you didn’t experience it then.

Open world games weren’t entirely new – Shenmue came out a few years earlier in Japan – but none had offered the sheer size and freedom of Liberty City. It felt like a truly alive and interactive world where players could explore and do almost anything.

It’s amazing how Rockstar managed to fit such a detailed world into the PlayStation 2’s limited 32MB of memory. This video explores the clever techniques the developers used to achieve it.

Many of you likely know the ideas presented in the Game Maker’s Tool Kit, but we wanted to share it anyway because it’s exceptionally well-made.

Mark Brown excels at explaining complex concepts in a clear and understandable way.

He’ll explain the technical details, but basically, the game developer split Liberty City into a grid. As you move around, the game loads in the necessary details for each area, and then removes them from memory once you’ve left, keeping the game running smoothly.

This video explains common issues in the original game, such as things appearing suddenly or low-resolution textures. It also details how Rockstar solved the problem of the PlayStation 2’s slow DVD drive speed.

Many of these methods are still used in game development today, though they’ve become much more advanced. This video will explain how open-world games function and highlight the impressive technical achievements the developers made with the PlayStation 2.

Ultimately, GTA 3, along with its even better follow-ups, Vice City and San Andreas, became some of the most popular and best-selling games ever released on the PlayStation 2.

Rockstar Games has consistently innovated, most notably with Red Dead Redemption 2, and we can expect the same from the highly anticipated GTA 6.

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2026-05-12 01:06