A former Rockstar North developer has revealed new details about the canceled Grand Theft Auto: Tokyo project, including how Rockstar expected the game to play and how it planned to get it made. The account offers a clearer picture of one of the most intriguing abandoned ideas in Grand Theft Auto history, which came closer to reality than several other international settings considered for the franchise.
The new insights come from former Rockstar developer Obbe Vermeij, who served as a technical director during a formative period for the hit series. His credits include GTA 3, Vice City, San Andreas, and GTA 4, giving him firsthand knowledge of Rockstar North’s development process during the era when the Tokyo project was being discussed.
GTA: Tokyo Would Have Been Similar to GTA 3
Reflecting on the idea in a new interview with Thunderpick, Vermeij said GTA: Tokyo was largely being driven by Rockstar’s New York City office. Of the international locations discussed at the time, which also included Rio de Janeiro, Moscow, Istanbul, London, and Paris, he described Tokyo as the “most serious” idea. The project was envisioned as a GTA 3-style game rather than a major reinvention of the series’ formula, which was still in its relative infancy at the time. That notwithstanding, Vermeij recalled at least one notable addition: “Samurai swords were going to play a big part.”
GTA: Tokyo Project Chronology
- Development discussions: Rockstar considered multiple international GTA settings, with Tokyo emerging as the most serious proposal in the early 2000s.
- GTA Tokyo Trademark: Take-Two Interactive filed a US trademark application for Grand Theft Auto: Tokyo in 2003, alongside GTA: Sin City and GTA: Bogota.
- Proposed production plan: A Japanese studio was expected to receive Rockstar’s technology (including RenderWare engine tools) and develop the project.
- Project stalls: The contracts with the prospective developer were never signed, and GTA: Tokyo did not enter production.
Rockstar also did not intend for its North studio to make the game itself. Vermeij compared the proposed arrangement to the development of Bully: Rockstar North had provided the newly formed Rockstar Vancouver with its technology and code to help the studio get started, after which the Vancouver team went off to make its own game. The plan was to follow the same model with GTA: Tokyo, giving a Japan-based studio Rockstar’s technology and letting that team take the lead on the project. However, Vermeij said the project “never got to that point” because “the contracts were never signed.” He did, however, recall Rockstar co-founder Sam Houser visiting the North studio and discussing GTA: Tokyo, noting that producer Leslie Benzies was more directly involved with the idea.
The choice of a Japanese developer was not simply a matter of outsourcing. Vermeij said Rockstar believed a local studio could do a better job capturing Japanese cultural references, while the project could become its own distinct GTA game before being sold to Western audiences. He also rejected the idea that the Yakuza gang featured in GTA 3 was driving the Tokyo concept, explaining that there was no plan to carry those characters or that storyline over to Japan.
Vermeij also noted that a project like GTA: Tokyo would be far more difficult to pursue today, suggesting that the opportunity for such an experiment may have long passed. He contrasted the comparatively smaller GTA projects of the early 2000s with Rockstar’s increasingly long development cycles, which have grown so costly that setting a game outside the United States could now be viewed internally as an unnecessary risk. For reference, GTA 5 is estimated to have cost around $137 million, not counting post-launch development, while the GTA 6 budget is said to be around ten times that amount.
Sources: GamesIndustry.biz, Business Insider