Over 230 million copies of Grand Theft Auto 5 exist worldwide. As the second-highest-selling game of all time, players worldwide have spent billions of hours on it, making it one of the most significant pastimes in the world. That’s an impressive achievement for what in 2013 was simply the highly anticipated next entry in Rockstar’s beloved (and notorious) open-world crime series. But GTA 5 proved to be much, much more than a typical sequel. It has become home to a huge, expressive, and loyal community that has made a digital hobby of everything from [warring alien clans](https://www.ign.com/articles/gta-online-alien-war-green-purple) to producing slick vehicle stunt movies.
This is the story of how a video game became much more than a crime simulator. This is how GTA 5 took over the world.