171 (video game)

Lore & Background

171 was first conceived around 2010, when Brazilian-themed mods for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas were popular. Development was slow initially due to a small team of less than ten people working part-time. The game used the Blender 3D engine until 2015, when it was re-created in Unreal Engine 4. It was publicly unveiled that same year, generating media expectation and earning the nickname 'the Brazilian Grand Theft Auto' due to its similarities with that series. Betagames Group has since released regular development updates.

In January 2019, Betagames Group received over R$68,000 (US$18,378) in donations on Catarse, a Brazilian crowdfunding platform, which helped fund development and promotion at the 2019 Brasil Game Show. A pre-alpha version was released in March 2020, followed by a second Catarse campaign in May 2020 that raised over R$195,000 (US$37,500). An alpha version was released in November 2022 through early access. A full release is expected for 2026.

The game's name comes from article 171 of the Brazilian Penal Code, which describes the crime of estelionato (confidence trick). In Brazilian Portuguese slang, 171 refers to a con artist or criminal. Gameplay is inspired by Grand Theft Auto, featuring an open world with role-playing and third-person shooter elements, where the player controls a young criminal in a low-income Brazilian neighborhood.

Reader's Guide

171 is significant as a prominent independent Brazilian game that drew widespread attention for its ambitious open-world design and local cultural setting. Its development, spanning over a decade from concept in 2010 to expected release in 2026, illustrates the challenges faced by small indie teams working part-time. The game's nickname 'the Brazilian Grand Theft Auto' reflects both its inspiration and the public's desire for a major Brazilian-themed open-world title. The successful crowdfunding campaigns on Catarse, raising over R$195,000 in 2020, demonstrate strong community support. The game's inclusion in the 2019 Brasil Game Show, where IGN considered it a highlight, helped raise its profile. Its legacy lies in proving that a small Brazilian team could create a game that rivals international franchises in scope and ambition, while authentically representing Brazilian urban life and culture.

Did You Know?

• The fictional city Sumariti is based on the real city of Sumaré in São Paulo state.
• A second Catarse crowdfunding campaign in May 2020 raised over R$195,000 (US$37,500).

Origins & Cultural Roots

The game 171, also known as Um Sete Um, traces its creative spark back to roughly 2010, a period when Brazilian gamers were actively modding Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas to inject local flavor—Brazilian clothing, vehicles, and locations—into Rockstar's open world. That wave of community-driven content planted the seed for what would become a full standalone title. The title itself is a direct nod to Brazilian criminal law: Article 171 of the Penal Code defines estelionato, the crime of confidence trickery. In everyday Portuguese slang, "171" has become shorthand for a con artist or, more broadly, any crook. This linguistic reference frames the entire project as a story rooted in Brazilian street-level criminality rather than imported Western gang culture. When the game was publicly unveiled in 2015, media outlets quickly christened it "the Brazilian Grand Theft Auto," a label that stuck and shaped public expectations for years to come. The developers, an independent São Paulo–based collective called Betagames Group, saw the modding scene not merely as inspiration but as evidence that a Brazilian audience was hungry for an open-world experience reflecting their own neighborhoods, sounds, and social realities.

The Long Road of Development

From its inception around 2010 through the early 2020s, 171 was shaped by the realities of a tiny independent team. Betagames Group consisted of fewer than ten members, all working part-time on the project during their spare hours, which meant progress was painstakingly slow. For the first five years, the team built the game using the Blender 3D engine before making the significant switch to Unreal Engine 4 in 2015—a move that effectively required rebuilding much of the project from the ground up. Developer Diogo Moraes acknowledged in interviews that dedicating only free time to development inevitably stretched the production timeline, yet he emphasized the project remained in intense development throughout. The 2015 public reveal, marked by a teaser trailer on YouTube, became a cultural moment in Brazil: the video was picked up by television programs like RecordTV's Programa do Porchat and generated massive buzz. The developers also launched a cultural initiative, inviting independent musicians, DJs, and graffiti artists to contribute their work to the game, offering lesser-known creators a platform for national visibility. This blend of game development and community art curation became a defining feature of the project's identity.

World & Gameplay

Set in the fictional city of Sumariti—a name clearly derived from the real São Paulo suburb of Sumaré—171 places players in the shoes of Nicolau Souza, a young man whose turbulent personal circumstances pull him into the criminal underworld. The game is an open-world action-adventure blending role-playing and third-person shooter mechanics, drawing heavy inspiration from the Grand Theft Auto franchise. Players can traverse the city on foot or behind the wheel of various vehicles, completing both legal and illegal gigs, purchasing and wielding firearms, stealing cars, and engaging in acts like murder and theft. What distinguishes 171 from its Western counterparts is its commitment to visual authenticity: the neighborhoods are faithful parodies of real Brazilian low-income areas, complete with houses that have unfinished walls, scattered trash bins, and hand-painted utility poles. These details ground the gameplay in a specific social and geographic reality rather than a generic urban sandbox. The open-world structure grants players considerable freedom, allowing them to navigate the city at their own pace and engage with its systems in whatever order they choose.

Funding & Path to Release

Because Betagames Group operates as a small independent studio, 171 has relied heavily on community funding to sustain its long development cycle. In January 2019, the team launched a campaign on Catarse, a Brazilian crowdfunding platform, raising over R$68,000 (roughly US$18,378) to support development and their presence at that year's Brasil Game Show convention. A second Catarse campaign in May 2020 proved even more successful, accumulating over R$195,000 (approximately US$37,500). A pre-alpha build went out in March 2020, followed by an alpha version released through early access in November 2022. The full retail release is currently expected in 2026. Distribution is split between two publishers: Betagames Group handles the Windows version, while QUByte Interactive takes on the console editions for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch. This multi-platform strategy, combined with the steady stream of development updates the team has published over the years, reflects a deliberate effort to keep the project visible and the community invested throughout what has been one of the longest indie development timelines in Brazilian gaming.