There Was Almost a GTA Game Set in Tokyo

Grand Theft Auto has maintained its reputation as a franchise set in America, but according to an ex-Rockstar dev, the company was once surprisingly close to making a game set in Tokyo. Over the years, Grand Theft Auto has ventured to its own fictional cities, like Vice City and San Andreas, and it’s fascinating trying to picture what Rockstar’s version of Tokyo would have looked like.

The Grand Theft Auto franchise has focused on crime-filled stories centered around heists and the darker corners of society, but despite the mature subject matter, Rockstar also approaches it with a wild sense of humor. GTA games have been satirical takes on American pop culture and its relationship with crime, and while that’s been a solid match-up, it’s also compelling to imagine a scenario where Rockstar ventured outside America and made its way to a different country. According to one of Rockstar’s former technical directors, Japan was a real possibility at one moment, and it could have marked a seriously big turning point for the crime-focused franchise.

A Tokyo-Based Grand Theft Auto Would Have Changed the Franchise’s Legacy

In an exclusive interview with GamesHub, Rockstar North’s ex-technical director, Obbe Vermejj, revealed that the company was once considering venturing out to other countries and cities, with Tokyo being the closest to becoming a reality. According to Vermeij, Rockstar even had a Japan-based developer on board to take over the project. When talking about the game, Vermeij said, “Tokyo almost actually happened. Another studio in Japan were going to do it, take our code and do GTA: Tokyo. But then that didn’t happen in the end.” Unfortunately, that’s about all the information that Vermeij gave in the interview. Of course, development never officially began on the project, but with a Japanese developer lined up for production, it’s clear that it was at least once seriously considered. GTA’s cities serve as their own characters for each game, and Tokyo would have been a fascinating direction. Even though GTA itself hasn’t explored outside U.S. borders, other games inspired by the Rockstar franchise have taken the leap.

GTA-Likes That Are Based Outside of America

Sleeping Dogs – Hong Kong

Watch Dogs: Legion – London

Mafia: The Old Country – Sicily

The above games are proof that the GTA formula works outside its American roots. Vermeij even claimed that GTA’s once-planned Tokyo spin-off was merely the tip of the iceberg, stating, “We had ideas about GTA games in Rio de Janeiro, Moscow, and Istanbul.” With GTA 6 returning to Vice City, it makes one wonder what the franchise would look like today if Rockstar had decided to move away from its American focus. Vermeij had a reason as to why Rockstar chose to stick with one country, explaining, “America is basically the epicenter of Western culture, so everybody knows the cities, even people who haven’t been there. They have a mental image of the cities.” With Rockstar dealing with such large budgets, Vermeij claimed that it was simply safer to stay in the U.S., which makes sense, but it still leaves the question of “what if?” hanging in the air.

A new GTA game that took place on the busy streets of Tokyo would have been fascinating, but it looks like it will remain a case of what could have been instead of being something that will ever actually happen. A Tokyo-based GTA would have probably featured things like the Yakuza and illegal Kanjo street racing, but this is purely speculation. Even though it looks like Rockstar will never take GTA to a non-American city, it’s really fun imagining the possible scenarios that other locations would present.