Rockstar Games once seriously considered taking Grand Theft Auto outside the United States with a GTA game set in Tokyo, according to former Rockstar North technical director Obbe Vermeij.
While Grand Theft Auto has become synonymous with fictional versions of American cities, Rockstar explored several international settings during the early years of the franchise. Ideas reportedly included Rio de Janeiro, Moscow and Istanbul, but Tokyo was apparently the concept that came closest to becoming reality.
Speaking about Rockstar’s abandoned ideas, Vermeij claimed that “Tokyo almost actually happened.” Rather than having Rockstar North develop the game itself, the plan would reportedly have involved a Japanese studio using Rockstar’s technology and code to create its own GTA experience.
The idea dates back to the early 2000s, around the GTA III era. Previous reports have also claimed that Rockstar staff travelled to Tokyo to research the city, taking photographs and studying its streets as the company investigated whether the Japanese capital could work as the setting for a future Grand Theft Auto game.
A Tokyo setting would have represented a huge departure for the series. Instead of the American cities that eventually became Vice City, San Andreas and Liberty City, players could have explored Rockstar’s interpretation of one of Japan’s biggest cities.
However, the project never entered full production. The logistical challenges of recreating Tokyo and adapting GTA’s distinctly American style of satire to Japanese culture reportedly contributed to Rockstar moving away from the concept.
Rockstar ultimately focused on locations it had already established within the GTA universe, leading to games such as Vice City and San Andreas and, eventually, modern versions of Liberty City and Los Santos.
There is currently no indication that Rockstar plans to revive GTA: Tokyo. However, the revelation offers an interesting look at just how different the Grand Theft Auto franchise could have become if Rockstar had followed through with its early plans to take the series around the world.