While the "Grand Theft Auto" series has always centered on American cities, a former senior Rockstar developer recently revealed that the production team once came very close to releasing a title set in Tokyo, Japan, though the project ultimately never materialized.
In a recent interview with GamesHub, former Rockstar North Technical Director Obbe Vermeij stated that during early conceptualization, the team indeed discussed several non-U.S. cities as potential settings for new "GTA" installments, including Rio de Janeiro, Moscow, and Istanbul. Tokyo, he noted, was "almost a reality." Vermeij even mentioned that there was consideration at the time to hand the project over to a Japanese studio, which would use Rockstar's core code to create a game titled "GTA: Tokyo."
However, this ambitious plan was eventually shelved. Vermeij admitted that as the series' scope expanded over the years, especially after the unprecedented success of "Grand Theft Auto V," "GTA" transformed into a colossal project involving billions of dollars in investment. In such a high-stakes environment, choosing familiar American cities with strong market recognition became the safer decision for both development and marketing.
Vermeij further elaborated that American cities are particularly well-suited as "GTA" backdrops primarily due to their cultural influence.
"America is essentially the center of Western culture, and even if players have never visited, they can immediately visualize these cities in their minds," Vermeij explained. He suggested that setting the game in a relatively unfamiliar location might not generate the same cultural resonance, posing too high a risk for the brand.
Further Reading:
Rockstar Co-Founder Explains Why "Grand Theft Auto" Maps Stay in the U.S.: "That's Where the Soul Is"
Vermeij also expressed reservations about some players' hopes for "Grand Theft Auto 6" to extend its map to the Caribbean or South America. While he personally enjoys transnational themes like drug trafficking and even tried to push for such content in early development, he ultimately concluded that investing massive additional production costs for such an expansion was not a realistic consideration for Rockstar.
via： GamesHub