GTA Online goes old-school with top-down Tiny Racers mode

Grand Theft Auto didn't always look like it does today. The original, released in 1997, was built around not-entirely-dissimilar over-the-top crime spree action, but featured top-down, arcade style gameplay. It's a look that Rockstar is reaching back to for Tiny Racers, a new stunt racing mode coming to GTA Online next week.

Rockstar didn't have much to say about the mode except that it puts "a new spin on classic Grand Theft Auto action," but the trailer shows groups of four cars racing along narrow tracks, DMA Design style (that was the name of the original GTA studio), battling for powerups including weapons, mines, and parachutes—which look like they'll come in handy, given elevations (and lack of guardrails) involved.

GTA Online: Tiny Racers is set to go live on April 25.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.