The game is set in the fictional city of Steelport, and continues the story of the 3rd Street Saints, once again putting players in the role of the gang's leader, who is fully customizable.

[10] Outside of structured diversions, players are free to make their own fun by purchasing property, shopping for items, finding hidden sex doll and money cache collectibles, and wreaking unsolicited havoc.

While robbing a bank in Stilwater to promote an upcoming film about themselves, the Boss (Troy Baker, Kenn Michael, Robin Atkin Downes, Laura Bailey, Tara Platt, Rebecca Sanabria or Steve Blum) and the Saints' top lieutenants, Shaundi (Danielle Nicolet) and Johnny Gat (Daniel Dae Kim), encounter unanticipated resistance on the job, which ultimately leads to them being arrested.

The group are bailed out by Phillipe Loren (Jacques Hennequet), head of an international criminal enterprise called "the Syndicate" that owned the bank they robbed, and held as captives aboard his jumbo jet.

After refusing Loren's deal to give him most of their profits in exchange for their lives, the Saints stage a breakout, though Gat is forced to sacrifice himself to allow the Boss and Shaundi to escape.

In the process, they rescue Oleg Kirrlov (Mark Allen Stuart), a former KGB agent being forcefully cloned to provide super-soldiers for the Syndicate, who helps them to track down other allies: ex-FBI agent Kinzie Kensington (Natalie Lander), who seeks to disrupt the Deckers; veteran pimp Zimos (Alex Désert), who lost his business to the Morningstar; and Angel de la Muerte (Hulk Hogan), Killbane's embittered former wrestling partner.

Killbane steps in to succeed the late Loren as leader of the Syndicate, and soon kills Kiki in a jealous rage when she refuses to take orders from him.

Meanwhile, the lawlessness in Steelport leads to the federal government approving the deployment of a task force to combat it - the Special Tactical Anti-Gang initiative (S.T.A.G.

With only the Luchadores left, Angel and Viola suggest humiliating Killbane during his next major wrestling match, resulting in him going on a rampage across Steelport after he loses.

The Saints decide not to pursue Killbane, who has fled Steelport, and instead resume their consumer activities, focusing on a new film called Gangstas In Space that stars the Boss.

[20][21] For its first six months of development, the team tested a choice-based adventure concept featuring an undercover agent infiltrating the Saints, which was dropped for not aligning with the spirit of the series.

The final version featured bits from Bad Boys II, Shoot 'Em Up, Hot Fuzz, and Mötley Crüe's "Kickstart My Heart".

[22] The city of Steelport was designed such that the player could identify locations without needing a minimap, with a spatially recognizable skyline and iconic gang vehicles in specific regions.

[24] The title was not shown at the 2010 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) with the explanation that the company had spent the year "rebuilding the technology", but a tie-in movie was mentioned as in production and a Saints Row 3 announcement was expected at the December Spike VGAs.

[33] The studio considered the Red Faction series' Geo-Mod 2 engine but chose against it due to the implementation's difficulty and not wanting that degree of destruction.

Players can switch between the playlists, which range from classical to electronic to hip hop, rock, or customize their own station based on their preferences.

[8] The November 17, 2011, Japan release had the veins removed from the Penetrator weapon (the three-foot long phallus bat) due to regulatory restrictions on depictions of genitalia.

[42] A North American limited edition box set release called the Platinum Pack included the preorder content, the soundtrack, and a custom headset.

[49] THQ hosted an event in Redfern, Australia where women in skintight clothes pumped free gas for three hours, which generated an estimated 35 times return on investment.

[52] By January 2012, the game had shipped 3.8 million units worldwide, which THQ cited as an example for its business model change to focus on the big franchises.

The remastered version was developed by Sperasoft and features remodeled assets for high-definition, enhanced graphics and lighting, and includes all of the game's downloadable content.

[3] A "definitive edition", Saints Row: The Third – The Full Package, contains all post-release downloadable content—including all three mission packs ("Genkibowl VII", "Gangstas in Space", and "The Trouble with Clones") and bonus items (clothes, vehicles, and weapons)—in addition to the main game.

[8][84] Critics praised the degree of customization options,[8][10][15] and had mixed views of the array of activities, but found Professor Genki's Super Ethical Reality Climax a high point.

[87] Edge said that the series "wants to be the WarioWare of open-city games", "a cartoon flipbook of anything-goes extremity" to Grand Theft Auto's "ostentatious crime drama".

[82] Eurogamer's Whitehead added that the tiger escort Guardian Angel missions appeared to draw from Will Ferrell's Talladega Nights, and that the Prof. Genki's Super Ethical Reality Climax shooting gallery drew from Bizarre Creations' The Club shooter.

[6][10] Ryan McCaffrey of Official Xbox Magazine thought that the game resolved some of the problems of open world design and thus allowed for an experience with good times and no filler, such as Burnout-style arrows on the streets instead of hidden in the minimap GPS.

[83] Grimm from GamesRadar similarly praised Volition for their "http://deckers.die" mission, which was "so insanely creative and funny that it single handedly makes the game worth playing".

[9] Saints Row's weakest parts are hand-me-downs from its GTA source text, uncomfortably echoing the squalid business of pimpin' and hustlin' in the form of a lame cartoon, a whooping fratboyish endorsement of crime and female degradation, devoid of any conscience or commentary.

[6][82] 1UP.com reported the PC version's graphics to be more stable,[84] and Eurogamer's Digital Foundry face-off recommended the PlayStation 3 release for its lack of screen tearing.

[88] Eurogamer's Whitehead felt that the game crept closer "from ironic sexism to outright misogyny" in missions such as "Trojan Whores" and set pieces like "Tits n' Grits" and "Stikit Inn", even in the series' "gloriously lowbrow standards".