Rockstar Games is basically the center of the universe now. Everyone is waiting for GTA VI. People are losing their minds over trailer breakdowns. But if you go back—way back—there is this strange, pixelated relic called Grand Theft Auto: London 1969. It wasn't even a full game. It was a mission pack. It’s the only time the series ever actually left the fictionalized United States to set a game in a real-world city with its real name.
London 1969 is weird.
Actually, it's more than weird. It’s a testament to a time when DMA Design (the studio that became Rockstar North) was still figuring out what "GTA" even meant. They hadn't settled on the satirical, hyper-violent Americana we know today. Back then, they were just trying to make a top-down car thief simulator fun. They decided to lean into the "Swinging Sixties."
Why Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 felt so different
Most people forget that this was the first ever expansion pack released on the PlayStation. Think about that. We take DLC for granted now, but in April 1999, the idea of needing the original disc to play a new "add-on" was a bit of a nightmare for some players. You literally had to boot up the original GTA, swap the disc for the London 1969 expansion, and then start playing. It was clunky. It was loud. It was very 90s.
The vibe was a massive departure from the grit of Liberty City. Instead of hip-hop and generic rock, you got this incredible surf-rock and ska soundtrack. Think Monty Python meets The Italian Job. You play as a low-level criminal working for the Crisp Twins—a very obvious, non-too-subtle nod to the real-life Kray Twins who dominated London’s East End underworld.
The slang was laid on thick. You weren't just a criminal; you were a "geezer." You didn't get busted; you got "nicked." The voice acting was wonderfully campy, full of Cockney accents that sounded like they were pulled straight from a Guy Ritchie film before Guy Ritchie had even really mastered the genre. It felt authentic in a way that only a British development team could pull off. They weren't mocking British culture from the outside; they were celebrating its seedier side from the inside.
The gameplay hurdles
Honestly? It's hard to play today.
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If you try to go back to the top-down perspective of Grand Theft Auto: London 1969, you’re going to hit a wall. Hard. The controls are "tank controls," meaning you rotate your character and then move forward. In a fast-paced car chase through the winding, narrow streets of Soho or Chelsea, this is a recipe for a massive headache.
But there’s a charm to it. The cars are all parodies of real British vehicles. You’ve got the "Moke," the "Crapi" (a play on the Ford Capri), and of course, the iconic Vespa-style scooters. Oh, and the biggest change of all? You have to drive on the left side of the road. For American players in 1999, this was arguably the hardest "boss" in the game. You would instinctively swerve into oncoming traffic every single time you turned a corner. It was chaos.
The Mystery of the 1961 Expansion
Here is something a lot of people miss. There wasn't just one London game. Shortly after the 1969 version, Rockstar released Grand Theft Auto: London 1961 as a free download for PC users. It was even more niche. It featured new missions, new maps, and was notoriously difficult.
It’s basically the "lost" GTA. Because it was a free digital download in the era of dial-up internet, many console players didn't even know it existed. It used the same engine but cranked the difficulty to eleven. If you think the modern GTA games are too easy with their regenerating health and auto-aim, go try to finish a mission in London 1961 without throwing your monitor out the window. It won't happen.
Realism vs. Satire
In modern entries like GTA V, the world is a parody. Los Santos is a "funhouse mirror" version of Los Angeles. In Grand Theft Auto: London 1969, the map was surprisingly literal. Landmarks like Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, and the Tower of London were all there, albeit in 2D sprite form.
The game didn't rely on the "everything is a joke" philosophy that Dan Houser later perfected. It felt more like a love letter to 60s British crime cinema. It was gritty, but in a grey, rainy, "cup of tea and a knuckle sandwich" kind of way. It’s the only game in the franchise where the police shout "You're nicked!" instead of opening fire with an M16 the second you clip a pedestrian’s bumper.
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Will we ever go back to London?
This is the question that haunts every GTA forum. "GTA VI is Florida, but what about VII? Could it be London?"
Dan Houser, the co-founder of Rockstar who recently left the company, once told The Guardian that the "GTA DNA" is fundamentally American. He argued that the satire works best when it's aimed at US culture. However, he also teased that London is a great location that could potentially work for a different standalone title.
The reality? Rockstar has built a multi-billion dollar empire on the "Americana" brand. Going back to London would mean changing the car culture, the gun culture, and the radio stations. It would be a massive risk. But looking back at Grand Theft Auto: London 1969, you realize they’ve already proven it can work.
The atmosphere in that 1999 expansion was thicker than a London fog. It had a specific soul that the Liberty City and Vice City of that era lacked. It felt lived-in.
Technical Limitations of the Era
The game ran on the same engine as the original GTA, which meant it inherited all the problems. The camera zoomed out the faster you drove, which was supposed to give you a better view of the road, but usually just made your car look like a tiny, uncontrollable speck.
There was no in-game map.
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None.
If you wanted to know where you were going, you had to look at the physical paper map that came inside the jewel case. It’s a level of immersion—or frustration—that modern gamers just wouldn't tolerate. Yet, for those of us who played it then, it made the city feel massive. Navigating the back alleys of Westminster felt like a genuine skill.
How to play it now
If you’re looking to experience Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 today, it’s a bit of a legal gray area. It’s not on Steam. It’s not on the PlayStation Store. Rockstar hasn't included it in any of their "Definitive Edition" bundles.
Your best bet is finding an original disc on eBay or using an emulator. There are also various fan-made patches for the PC version that make it playable on modern widescreen monitors. It’s worth the effort just to hear the soundtrack. Seriously, the music is a time capsule of 1960s "mod" culture that hasn't been matched in gaming since.
Actionable Steps for the Curious Player:
- Check the Soundtrack: If you don't want to struggle with the 2D controls, at least go find the soundtrack on YouTube. Look for tracks like "Bushwacker" or "Saturday Night Out." It defines the "Swinging London" aesthetic.
- Emulation is Key: If you’re on PC, look into DuckStation or PCSX-Redux to run the original PlayStation version. It's often more stable than trying to get the 1999 Windows executable to run on Windows 11.
- Study the Map: Find a high-resolution scan of the original paper map. It’s a beautiful piece of graphic design that shows just how much detail the developers tried to cram into a very limited engine.
- Compare to "The Getaway": If you want to see a 3D version of London from a similar era, check out The Getaway on PS2. It’s interesting to see how another studio handled the "GTA in London" concept just a few years later.
Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 isn't just a footnote. It’s a reminder that this massive franchise started as a series of experiments. It wasn't always a polished, cinematic experience. It was once a grimy, top-down, British car-thief simulator that asked you to drive on the wrong side of the road while listening to ska. And honestly? It was brilliant.