A Side Game, By Design

Christofer Sundberg doesn’t want to topple Grand Theft Auto. He wants Samson, Liquid Swords’ open-world crime brawler, to live beside it. “There are times when you want to put GTA down and pick up something else,” the studio co-founder told PC Gamer. “I think there’s a space for us there.”

Sundberg, who also co-founded Avalanche Studios and served as creative director on the Just Cause series, isn’t shy about acknowledging the shadow GTA casts. He called it a phenomenon that stretches beyond games entirely: “It competes with everything in entertainment.” When Rockstar ships a new entry, he said, “it’s just Christmas for everyone… like when a new iPhone releases… the talk of the town.”

Liquid Swords has heard the comparisons since day one. In February, mission designer Donald Young said the GTA link “makes sense, just because it’s an open world city game.” A short gameplay clip in 2025 fueled that further, with fans immediately lining it up against GTA 4. Sundberg accepts there are “similarities,” but he’s not chasing a 1:1 replica. Trying to duplicate Rockstar’s opus is, in his words, “impossible.”

Shorter, Sharper, Meaner

So what is Samson aiming for? Think a gritty, street-level story about a low-rung enforcer clawing up through a city of crooks and cars—familiar territory, but scoped for shorter sessions. Sundberg frames it like an old-school action flick: “Back in the day when action movies were 90 minutes long, not over two hours. I keep on going back to watching Die Hard and Ronin and First Blood and Rambo.” That’s the pacing target: fast setups, punchy payoffs, and out before the bloat sets in.

That approach puts Samson in a different lane from the sprawling, everything-box ambition of GTA 6. It’s less about simulating a metropolis down to the last sidewalk and more about a focused crime brawler that hits hard, then hands you back your evening. If GTA is your epic weekend binge, Samson wants to be the stylish single-serving thriller you reach for on a Tuesday night.

The team’s scale drives that philosophy too. Liquid Swords is building a smaller game with a smaller crew than Rockstar, and they’ve been candid about it. The aim isn’t to compete with GTA on size or spectacle; it’s to slot into the gaps between those marathon sessions with something tighter and more immediate.

Owning The Constraints

Development hasn’t been smooth. Midway through production, Liquid Swords laid off half its staff in 2025 and pared the project back. That forced a reset on scope, trading big ambitions for a more concentrated design. It’s the kind of hard pivot that can sink a game—or sharpen its identity. Here, it seems to have pushed Samson further toward that 90-minute-movie ethos Sundberg keeps citing.

The 2025 footage that drew GTA 4 comparisons suggested a rough-and-tumble tone: close-quarters scraps, grimy streets, and a focus on fists as much as fenders. That’s a space open-world crime games often rush past on their way to bigger set pieces. If Samson leans into the immediacy of brawling and quick-hit missions, it could turn a potential limitation into a calling card.

Just as important is expectation-setting. Sundberg’s “play it alongside GTA 6” line is more than a soundbite—it’s a way of telling players what Samson is and isn’t. It’s not a replacement for Rockstar’s blockbuster. It’s the palate cleanser, the intermission, the “one more job” before bed.

What To Watch For At Launch

All eyes now turn to April 8, when Samson is set to launch. The question isn’t whether it can outgun GTA; it’s whether it can carve out that side-game sweet spot Sundberg keeps describing. Can it deliver quick, satisfying arcs without feeling slight? Will its street-level scale come off as focused rather than thin?

If Liquid Swords sticks the landing, Samson could thrive precisely because it isn’t chasing GTA’s grandeur. There’s comfort in a game that knows its lane—especially when the other option is a hundred-hour epic. When GTA 6 finally takes over living rooms, a lean crime brawler that respects your time may be exactly the thing you pick up when you put it down.