The original player was a police officer
Before it became Grand Theft Auto, the project was called Race’n’Chase. Its early premise put players on the law-enforcement side: drive through a city and chase criminals. The top-down view and open streets that later defined the game were already useful for that setup, letting a pursuit unfold across a larger urban space rather than along a fixed track.
The chase worked better from the other side
During development, the police cars’ aggressive pursuit made being chased more exciting than doing the chasing. The team shifted the player into the criminal role, turning police pursuit into pressure on the player rather than the player’s objective. That change also gave the city a different purpose: its streets became routes for escape, not just a course for a chase.
The surprising part of Grand Theft Auto’s origin is that its central thrill began as a police game. A change in perspective transformed the same basic ingredients—cars, streets and pursuit—into a game about breaking the law.
