Rockstar Games once planned to take the Grand Theft Auto (GTA) series to international cities, including Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro and Moscow. Despite the excitement around these new locations, the Take Two-owned gaming studio reportedly chose to stick with American settings to protect the brand’s image and massive financial success. Former Rockstar technical director Obbe Vermeij has revealed that a Tokyo-based game nearly became a reality through a partnership with a Japanese studio. However, the project was later cancelled, along with early ideas for versions set in Istanbul.In an interview with GamesHub, Vermeij 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.”
Why Rockstar decided to stick to GTA’s American setting
Rockstar decided to keep the games in the US because the country is seen as the centre of Western culture, making its cities familiar and relatable to players worldwide, which helps build trust and comfort with the brand. As Vermeij suggests, this familiarity with US cities provides a competitive edge to Rockstar globally. This bond also draws gamers closer to the game and enhances the franchise’s association with its American heritage. Moreover, the company didn’t want to experiment with the financial gains offered by the franchise. “When you’ve got billions of dollars riding on it, it’s too easy to go, ‘Let’s do what we know again,’ and also America is basically the epicentre of Western culture, so everybody knows the cities, even people who haven’t been there. They have a mental image of the cities,” Vermeij explained.However, it’s important to note that the only GTA title set outside the United States was GTA: London.
What Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser said about sticking to GTA’s American setting
Earlier, Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser also explained why the franchise stays rooted in the US. He noted that GTA required “guns” and “larger-than-life characters” while being fundamentally connected to America. He mentioned that the game portrayed the nation “from an outsider’s perspective,” which meant it “wouldn’t really have worked in the same way elsewhere.”GTA isn’t the only game that maintains geographic consistency. Todd Howard has even explained why Fallout continues to be set in the US, expressing his appreciation for the series’ “Americana naivete.” He emphasised this element as core to Fallout’s character and stated the franchise will “predominantly keep it in the US”Meanwhile, in other news, this week’s GTA Online Christmas update has already arrived. The latest update introduces seasonal snow alongside numerous complimentary items such as a Season’s Greetings Sweater, New Year Fireworks bodysuit, Snowball Launcher, Candy Cane melee weapon, Firework Launcher, and several other rewards.
