Driver has often been compared to the Grand Theft Auto series.

The game was notable at the time of its original release insofar as the player was able to explore each city as an open world environment. A fifth bonus city, Newcastle (where Reflections Interactive is based), is unlockable in the PC version through gameplay and in the PlayStation version using a cheat device, but no missions are available and the playable area is small. The game is played out in four cities: Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York, each of which remain only partially faithful to the actual city layouts. The game's success led to further sequels, including Driver 2 in November 2000 and Driver 3 in June 2004. The game was re-released on the PlayStation Network on 14 October 2008.

Additional versions were created and released at later dates – two ports for Microsoft Windows and Mac were released on 11 October 1999 and in December 2000 respectively and handheld remakes for the Game Boy Color, developed Crawfish Interactive and published by Infogrames, and for iOS, developed and published by Gameloft, were released in May 2000 and on 8 December 2009 respectively.

The game proved a commercial hit upon release, and received favorable reviews from critics. The game, inspired by movie car chases, sees players driving around four real-life cities – Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York – using a variety of vehicles, with the plot focusing on the work of an undercover police officer, John Tanner, who infiltrates a criminal outfit to investigate their operations, only to discover a plot by their boss to assassinate the President of the United States. Developed by Reflections Interactive and published by GT Interactive Software, it was released on the PlayStation on 25 June 1999. Driver (known as Driver: You Are the Wheelman in North America) is an action driving video game and the first installment in the Driver series.

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