Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser has revealed that the series’ signature, multi-panel cover art style was born out of tragedy. The original box art for 2001’s Grand Theft Auto III was scrapped at the last minute following the September 11 attacks, as it featured imagery of burning buildings that the studio deemed too offensive for release.
Houser shared that artist Stephen Bliss created the now-famous “shards” design in just two evenings to replace the original artwork. The change was part of a larger, urgent effort to scrub sensitive content from the game, which included altering police car colors and modifying flight paths, just weeks before its October 2001 launch.