The US government "nearly shut us down," former GTA lead says: "They decided we were the only people on the internet peddling pornography, apparently"

1. Games
2. Action Games
3. Grand Theft Auto

The US government "nearly shut us down," former GTA lead says: "They decided we were the only people on the internet peddling pornography, apparently" News By Dustin Bailey published 1 December 2025

Here we go again

Comments (0) ()

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

Grand Theft Auto has proven to be one of the most successful, influential, and beloved video game series of all time, but it wasn't all smooth sailing for Rockstar, a studio which has probably been blamed for each and every one of society's ills at one point or another. According to Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser, GTA's success created a whole lot of issues thanks to scrutiny from the US government.

"Our experience was success created loads of problems," Houser says in a recent interview for Virgin Radio (via VGC). "It was just worth it to have fun and do what you want to do."

Pressed on the exact nature of those "problems," Houser says that "it brought the US government down on us. They decided we were the only people on the internet peddling pornography, apparently, which was ridiculous. They nearly shut us down. We got fined a huge amount of money and it was very disruptive to the company. Some of my team members quit, and it was really tough."

You may like

• Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser says "no one" was excited for GTA 3 outside of the studio, but the devs believed there was "something really magical" about it
• The GTA 4 story is "really dark" because Rockstar's co-founder was "single and miserable" while making it: "We constantly thought we may be shut down"
• Former Rockstar and GTA lead Dan Houser says gaming can "either go somewhere really interesting or somewhere that gets overly focused on making money"

Dan Houser: "The Games Were So Big, 'They're Like Novels!'" | GRAND THEFT AUTO & RED DEAD REDEMPTION - YouTube Watch On

After the popularity of the series exploded in the wake of Grand Theft Auto 3's launch, GTA became one of the more popular scapegoats for criticism of violence and sex in video games. Houser doesn't name any specific incident, but his comments seem to allude to the Hot Coffee controversy, when modders discovered an unused playable sex minigame buried in the files of San Andreas.

Ultimately, the Hot Coffee discovery snowballed into an FTC investigation and an ultimately failed bill sponsored by Democratic then-senator Hillary Clinton which would've made it a crime to sell M-rated games to minors. Rockstar wasn't technically fined for the incident, but the company did suspend sales of the game while the developers fully removed the Hot Coffee files, which cost publisher Take-Two a reported $24.5 million dollars at the time.

As Houser sees it, the US politicians going after GTA were presenting these issues as "matters of public decency, but our discovery was they wanted a media bogeyman. It was mostly led by sort of centrist Democrats and they wanted a media bogeyman. They couldn't go after Hollywood because they were getting a lot of money out of Hollywood, and they couldn't go after rap music as that had funky racial connotations, so go after video games. We were an easy bogeyman and didn't understand the system."

From Houser's perspective, video games like GTA provided an easy scapegoat. "'We finally figured out the problems in America,'" he says, mocking the perspective of US politicians. "'It's these idiots.' And we were those idiots."

Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Rockstar certainly got the last laugh with many of the best open-world games of all time under its belt and GTA 6 poised to be one of the biggest entertainment launches ever.

TOPICS Rockstar Rockstar Games Take-Two Interactive Dustin BaileySocial Links NavigationStaff Writer

Dustin Bailey joined the GamesRadar team as a Staff Writer in May 2022, and is currently based in Missouri. He's been covering games (with occasional dalliances in the worlds of anime and pro wrestling) since 2015, first as a freelancer, then as a news writer at PCGamesN for nearly five years. His love for games was sparked somewhere between Metal Gear Solid 2 and Knights of the Old Republic, and these days you can usually find him splitting his entertainment time between retro gaming, the latest big action-adventure title, or a long haul in American Truck Simulator.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.

Logout Read more Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser says "no one" was excited for GTA 3 outside of the studio, but the devs believed there was "something really magical" about it    The GTA 4 story is "really dark" because Rockstar's co-founder was "single and miserable" while making it: "We constantly thought we may be shut down"    Former Rockstar and GTA lead Dan Houser says gaming can "either go somewhere really interesting or somewhere that gets overly focused on making money"    Dan Houser says Rockstar Games only attempted GTA London once in 26 years because the series is “so much about America” that “it wouldn’t really have worked in the same way elsewhere”    Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser says GTA is so successful because of its "sense of freedom," and because it "smashed together" shooting, driving, and simulation genres in a way games hadn't done before    Rockstar "laughed at all the controversy" surrounding Bully's name before the cult classic open-world game launched: "They were freaking out over something they didn't really know anything about"    Latest in Grand Theft Auto GTA 6 trailer 3 is nowhere in sight, but fans have still managed to uncover a few more seconds of behind-the-scenes footage thanks to a leak from an apparent dev demo reel    Rockstar co-founder and former GTA lead writer Dan Houser says "AI is eventually going to eat itself," and that the people behind chatbots and AI models "aren’t fully rounded humans"    Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser left the studio because of how long GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 took to make: "I don't know if I had another one of those games in me"    Anticipation for GTA 6 isn't enough to overshadow Rockstar Games' alleged union-busting scandal as a Scottish councillor calls for political action    GTA 6 fans grab their spare pitchforks and torches as AI "leak" gets out of hand, turning 8 million views into an angry mob: "I wouldn't have thought it would go this far"    Rockstar topples $100,000 GTA 5 server "for no reason" according to creator who also denies any copyright infringement: "We have NOTHING TO DO with Harry Potter"    Latest in News The US government "nearly shut us down," former GTA lead says: "They decided we were the only people on the internet peddling pornography, apparently"    Embark makes free-to-play Arc Raiders sound like a nightmare, says its $40 price let it cut a lot of un-fun crap: "Crafting no longer has timers on it that you have to wait out"    Fortnite Chapter 7 was designed to take the game "back to its battle royale roots," even though it didn't actually start as one, and one lead is "both in awe and hugely proud of this team"    New KPop Demon Hunters art book confirms a tragic theory about Rumi's mom    New open-world MMO Where Winds Meet hits 9 million players in 2 weeks, with Steam reviews soaring at a "Very Positive" rating    Two Avatar: Fire and Ash actors have seen the James Cameron movie early, and their tear-stained faces say it all    GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS

1. 1Marvel Cosmic Invasion review: "Excellent '90s-tinged superhero brawling across a punchy campaign falls just short of arcade bliss"
2. 2Escape from Tarkov review: "An extraction shooter that will make you truly miserable if you let it, but can offer dizzying highs you won't find elsewhere"
3. 3Fans think this is the best strategy board game ever made, and I have to admit that they've got a point
4. 4Constance review: "If Hollow Knight: Silksong seems too daunting, this wonderful paint powered adventure should do nicely"
5. 5This enthralling team board game is perfect for playing with family this Thanksgiving

1. 1Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery review: "Brings Knives Out back to its roots for a sequel that's almost on a par with the original"
2. 2Wicked: For Good review: "Builds to an incredibly cathartic conclusion, but isn't quite as captivating as Part 1"
3. 3The Running Man review: "Some fun action and Glen Powell's star power aren't enough to energize this disappointing Stephen King adaptation"
4. 4Predator: Badlands review: "Die-hard fans may be disappointed, but as a blockbuster action-adventure, Badlands kills it"
5. 5Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc review "Storytelling just as compelling as the chainsaws, devils, and visually excessive fight scenes"

1. 1Stranger Things season 5 volume 1 review: “Can the Duffer brothers stick the landing? It’s sure looking like they will”
2. 2Pluribus season 1 review: "Easily one of the year's best dramas"
3. 3The Witcher season 4 review: "The Henry Cavill-less fourth season is the best yet"
4. 4IT: Welcome to Derry review: "A supremely confident step back into the history of Stephen King's cursed town and killer clown"
5. 5Splinter Cell: Deathwatch review: "A pale imitation of the long-dormant stealth franchise"