Independent game engine
OpenRW
Category: Games & game engines · Type: Reconstruction
Target: Grand Theft Auto III · C++
A cross-platform, open-source re-implementation of Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto III (2001) engine for Linux, macOS, Windows and BSD.
Relationship
Independent reimplementation
Evidence scope
The upstream README describes OpenRW as a cross-platform, open-source re-implementation of Grand Theft Auto III and states that a legitimate copy of the original PC game is required. No REA involvement is claimed.
Know before you try
Requires the original GTA III PC game files; Rockstar assets are not redistributed. Mission completeness is tracked upstream rather than claimed as full parity. We have not independently tested it.
Status
Long-running community project; last upstream push mid-2025
License
GPL-3.0-or-later
OpenRW code is GPL-3.0-or-later; bundled dependencies (FFmpeg, Bullet, SDL) keep their own licenses; GTA III assets remain Rockstar/Take-Two property.
Source checked