In very simple terms, drifting is power-sliding through a turn without spinning out. Racing games and even open-world games like GTA have gone out of their way to integrate drifting as part of their gameplay mechanics.
GTA 5 did not fail to capitalise on the trend by making a huge part of their racing meta. It is an integral part of street racing and was deeply ingrained in the public mind after the release of The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift. Drifting has always been a huge part of racing in pop culture, be it movies or games.
