A former Rockstar North developer has confirmed that Grand Theft Auto once came very close to leaving the United States setting. Speaking about past plans inside the studio, former technical director Obbe Vermeij said that Rockstar seriously discussed making GTA games set in different countries, including one project that nearly moved forward.
Vermeij explained that several cities were considered at the time, not just as small ideas but as real options. He said:
“We had ideas about GTA games in Rio de Janeiro, Moscow and Istanbul. Tokyo almost actually happened. Another studio in Japan was going to do it, take our code and do GTA: Tokyo. But then that didn’t happen in the end,” confirming that GTA: Tokyo was closer than fans once thought.
According to him, the plan would have involved another studio in Japan using Rockstar’s existing GTA systems to build the game. However, the project was eventually dropped and never entered full development. The reasons weren’t fully detailed, but it’s clear the idea was left behind after all.
For now, these international GTA concepts are part of the franchise’s history rather than its future. Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, Moscow and Istanbul were once real possibilities, but none of them became actual games, and there is currently no sign that Rockstar plans to return to those ideas. With GTA 6 heading back to Vice City, these cancelled concepts remain interesting “what if” moments from Rockstar’s past.
So, would you have wanted to play GTA: Tokyo, or did Rockstar make the right call? Share your thoughts and stay tuned to VGNW and follow us on X for more gaming history deep-dives, developer stories, and everything Rockstar-related.
Was Rockstar really planning a GTA game set in Tokyo?
Yes. Former Rockstar North developer Obbe Vermeij confirmed that GTA: Tokyo was seriously discussed and almost moved forward before it was ultimately cancelled.
