Stanford Student Creates Viral 'GTA'-Style Game Using Real San Francisco Streets

A video game inspired by the popular "Grand Theft Auto" franchise, which enables players to navigate a digitized version of San Francisco, has gained significant attention. Thijs Simonian, a computer science student at Stanford University, developed the game using data from Apple Maps.

Clips shared on social media show users driving cars through city streets, climbing buildings, and using a hang glider to soar over San Francisco landmarks and its skyline. Simonian reported on Monday that the game had logged 884 hours of playtime, with users collectively "walking" over 15,900 miles of the city.

Simonian stated that he has been adding new features in response to player demand, including teleportation to any address, multiplayer capabilities, avatar customization, and shareable location links. He noted his engagement with the game's development, saying, "This is so fun, I get to build new game features all night while hundreds of people try them out!"

The game has evoked emotional responses from players, with one user commenting, "Genuinely this made me emotional. Was weird as hell walking around my backyard." Others shared similar sentiments, exploring familiar locations from their past.

The game also sparked humorous commentary related to San Francisco's reputation and societal issues. Some users made light-hearted jokes about the game's "steal cars" feature, referencing real-world concerns, while others humorously linked the ability to explore the city in a game to the challenges of the housing crisis in the Bay Area, with one user joking, "Housing supply is so bad in SF they’re makings video games where you can explore it."