Before Los Santos and Vice City, Rockstar Seriously Considered a GTA Set in Tokyo
AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer ·
Former Rockstar developers reveal the studio seriously considered setting Grand Theft Auto in Tokyo, Rio, Moscow, and Istanbul, with Tokyo coming the closest to reality before financial scale and cultural familiarity kept the series rooted in America.
For years, the Grand Theft Auto series has felt inextricably tied to its satirical, neon-soaked versions of American metropolises. However, former Rockstar North technical director Obbe Vermeij recently revealed that the studio extensively toyed with several international settings before narrowing its focus. According to Vermeij, development teams explored concepts for games set in Rio de Janeiro, Moscow, Istanbul, and Tokyo, with the Tokyo project coming closest to realization through a partnership with a Japanese studio that ultimately fell through.
The decision to abandon these global locales usually came down to financial risk and cultural familiarity. When billions of dollars are tied to a single release, publishers lean heavily into what is guaranteed to resonate globally. America functions as the primary export of Western media culture, meaning players worldwide already hold strong mental images of places like New York or Los Angeles. Former Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser added that the DNA of the franchise relies heavily on the specific friction between extreme wealth, organized crime, and gun culture, elements that the team felt best mapped onto the American landscape.
As development cycles stretch longer and production budgets scale upward, the likelihood of a mainline GTA traveling to an unconventional international city drops significantly. With players waiting over a decade between major entries, the margin for error leaves little room for leftfield experiments. While a quick side project might have allowed for a trip to London or Tokyo back in the era of annual releases, today's monolithic blockbuster model demands settings with immediate, universal recognition. You can read the original story over at Eurogamer.
For players deeply invested in open world design and industry history, these insights offer a fascinating look at roads not traveled. As we count down the days until the next chapter in the franchise, wondering how a Tokyo drift through a Rockstar sandbox might have played out remains one of gaming's greatest lost what-if scenarios.
Tags: Grand Theft Auto, Rockstar Games, Industry News, Open World, Gaming History
Original article: Eurogamer