Grand Theft Auto: London 1969

Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 is the first expansion pack the series ever released, and it needs a copy of the original 1997 game to run. It swaps American cities for a black cab and Mini Cooper version of 1960s London, complete with driving on the left, and takes its tone from British gangster cinema rather than American crime films.

A Very British Crime Story

The whole package leans into sixties London: mod suits, Carnaby Street, cockney dialogue and a soundtrack of period pastiche. Where the original game was deliberately generic, London 1969 commits to one place and one decade. It is the first time the series showed an interest in atmosphere and period detail, an instinct that would later define Vice City.

Driving on the Left

It sounds like a small change, and it is the single thing every player remembers. Traffic runs on the left, roundabouts appear, and the vehicles are recognisable British models rather than American muscle. After two years of American road layouts it reorients the whole game without touching the core mechanics.

London 1961, the Free Add-On

Rockstar followed the expansion with Grand Theft Auto: London 1961, released free for PC. It is smaller, harder, and was never sold at retail. Between the two, London remains the only real-world city the series has ever used, which is part of why fans keep asking for a modern GTA set in the UK.