its original appeal is that it's a game that caters to jocks too, not just nerds, while for nerds it's still a fun sandbox-esque game. granted, those lines have blurred a lot in the past 13 years since gta 5 and especially in the 18 years since gta 4, so it's more of a series riding on past fame and goodwill these days while promising to make bigger and bigger games every time. but it's the jock angle why the series got popular in the first place.