While there was always an emphasis on an open world, only Driver 2 was the first to let Tanner go on foot at any time, as well as hijack other cars - sounding a lot like Grand Theft Auto, if from the other side of the law. Players control an undercover detective named John Tanner who completes missions in real-life cities like Havana, New York, and San Francisco. There have been many Driver games, but the ones relevant here are the first three, which shipped in 1999, 2000, and 2004. In fact, this rivalry manifested itself as repeated jokes in the GTA games, as well as at least one Driver title, in a way that would probably go over the heads of modern gamers. One example is the Driver games, developed by Reflections Interactive (now known as Ubisoft Reflections). Although Grand Theft Auto is usually considered an unchallenged juggernaut in 2021, there was a time when the series had rivals.
