Americans are just discovering Grand Theft Auto was invented in Dundee, not Los Angeles

The GTA series was invented in Dundee by DMA Design in 1997. (Picture: DMA Design)

Many Grand Theft Auto fans in the US are only now learning that one of the world’s biggest video game franchises was created in Dundee, not Los Angeles.

The surprise discovery has sparked a wave of online discussion after a viral Instagram post highlighted the game’s Scottish roots.

The post, shared by popular account The Brit Spot, has already attracted more than 13,000 likes and hundreds of comments.

It points out that the GTA series is developed by Rockstar North, which is based in Edinburgh and originally grew out of the Dundee game studio DMA Design.

Grand Theft Auto was first released in 1997, when DMA Design was still headquartered in Dundee. The studio later became Rockstar North, going on to create some of the most successful video games of all time, including GTA III, Vice City, San Andreas and GTA V.

Fans have long noticed subtle Scottish references hidden throughout the games, but the viral post appears to have introduced this history to a much wider American audience.

Commenters highlighted number plates, place names, football nods and in-jokes that many players outside Scotland had never spotted.

The comments section quickly filled with Scots pointing out further references, from colour schemes inspired by Edinburgh football teams to landmarks and cultural jokes slipped into the background of the games.

Others expressed disbelief that such a globally recognised series did not originate in the US.

Several users also reminded readers that Rockstar’s founders and early developers were British, with much of the creative direction for the franchise shaped in Scotland long before the series became a worldwide phenomenon.