How 9/11 gave GTA 3 its famous squares cover
The little squares that frame every Grand Theft Auto cover were a last-minute fix after 9/11.
GTA co-creator Dan Houser has described how the 11 September attacks forced a rapid rethink of Grand Theft Auto 3, from its box art to lines of dialogue. He spoke in a career look-back video interview with IGN titled 'GTA Co-Creator Dan Houser on How 9/11 and a 'Kick Me' Sticker Changed Rockstar Games Forever'. IGN also published an accompanying article titled 'Dan Houser Reveals How 9/11 Changed GTA Forever'. IGN
Houser, a co-founder of Rockstar, said the original Grand Theft Auto 3 box art, the illustration printed on the game case, had to be changed at the last minute. It used the same drawing style, but it was laid out like an old movie poster. That early concept showed a blown-up bridge with police firing in the air and helicopters overhead.
The problem was what else it showed. The image included burning buildings. After the 11 September attacks, Houser said it was considered too offensive to release.
Artist Stephen Bliss was asked to start again. He produced the replacement cover in about two evenings. Instead of one large scene, he split characters and moments of action into separate blocks and shards. That fractured grid stuck, and it became the visual signature for GTA covers that followed.
Houser said the shards and squares look only appeared because of 9/11. Eurogamer The edits went further than the case. Grand Theft Auto 3 is set in Liberty City, a fictional parody of New York City. It was released in October 2001. Houser said Rockstar removed some content from the game and edited lines of dialogue in response.
The account was summarised by Eurogamer on 13 October 2026. Houser had described the old movie-poster layout in an earlier IGN interview from 2011, which provides background to the latest account. IGN
What makes this stand out is the speed. Bliss had about two evenings to replace a finished cover. That hurried grid is still the look people link with GTA. For anyone picking up a game in a shop, that image is the first pitch.
