Rockstar’s story: The making of Grand Theft Auto is getting a 90-minute scripted drama from the BBC

Gaming is about to get its The Social Network.

The British Broadcasting Company announced today that it is making a 90-minute dramatic film that tells story of how developer Rockstar Games rose to prominence through its megapopular Grand Theft Auto games. It is part of the BBC’s Make It Digital initiative, which looks to celebrate coding in the United Kingdom. Rockstar North, the developer responsible for actually making the GTA games, is based in Edinburgh, Scotland. While games have regularly crossed over into the world of fiction-based films (Mortal Kombat, Need for Speed) and documentaries (Indie Game: The Movie), this is one of the first “docu-dramas” to come out of the industry.

Games and technology journalist Guy Cocker is helping to develop the show by providing the screenwriter with guidance. We briefly spoke with him about the project.

“It’s a drama based on the making of Grand Theft Auto,” Cooker confirmed to GamesBeat. “It’s going to air on BBC 2. It’s going to be a one-off, feature-length drama. There’s no other solid international release plans — although I imagine it will be shown abroad.”

The BBC hasn’t announced any details about when the program will air, its budget, or who will play in the starring roles. But it’s safe to assume that the story will need a pair of English fellows to play Dan and Sam Houser, the brothers who founded Rockstar and have overseen the development of every GTA game.

The making of Grand Theft Auto is a story that should easily support a dramatic film. It’s a multibillion-dollar franchise that brought a new level of violence and crime to games with GTA III on the PlayStation 2 in 2001. The game made headlines for its portrayal of cold-blooded murder, and it drew the ire of politicians and anti-game activists around the world.

In 2004, Rockstar released Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas for the PlayStation 2. Months later, that game came under intense scrutiny when gamers found that the retail version contained a hidden sex scene between the player character and a sex worker. Anyone could unlock the “Hot Coffee mod” — so called because the prostitute invited players in for a cup of hot coffee — using a special dongle that plugged into the memory card of the console. Due to the existence of this code in the game, the Entertainment Software Ratings Board re-rated San Andreas with an Adults Only label instead of M for Mature. This then caused retailers like GameStop and Walmart to stop carrying the game as a matter of policy.

While the BBC provided no details on the story, it’s easy to see how these events could serve as a strong backdrop in a dramatic plot.