Rockstar Video games nearly took gamers to Japan in a PS2 Grand Theft Auto recreation. New particulars for GTA: Tokyo, which was ultimately canceled, have now come to gentle. A former Rockstar Video games director has make clear the developer’s authentic plans for the open-world recreation.
Talking with Thunderpick, former Rockstar Technical Director Obbe Vermeij dove into what would have been included in GTA: Tokyo. “Of all our concepts of the place to take GTA subsequent, and we had Rio de Janeiro, Moscow, Istanbul, and London and Paris too, however Tokyo was essentially the most severe one, and it was simply going to be a GTA III-style recreation set in Tokyo,” Vermeij stated.
He went on to disclose that, as anticipated, GTA: Tokyo would have included samurai swords, which might “play a giant half.” One concept additionally included emphasizing Japan’s road racing. Vermeij additionally in contrast the canceled recreation to Bully, Rockstar’s controversial high-school journey. The thought, as he says, was to have a Japanese studio develop the sport, after which “export it again to the West and that was going to be extra of a second-order impact.”
Why Rockstar finally deserted its GTA Tokyo plans
Plans for GTA: Tokyo first materialized following the discharge of GTA III. In addition to that, Rockstar Video games additionally registered emblems for GTA: Bogota and Sin Metropolis. Nonetheless, the choice to cancel the sport got here all the way down to logistics. “The contracts have been by no means signed,” Vermeij concluded.
Since its inception, the Grand Theft Auto franchise has completely caught to satirizing America’s cities and tradition. Rockstar has launched eight mainline video games, together with a number of spin-offs and expansions. It’s presently growing GTA VI, which is able to carry gamers again to Vice Metropolis, a fictional tackle Miami. GTA VI shall be launched globally on November 19, 2026, on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Collection X|S.
