GTA Tokyo nearly became a reality, until Rockstar deemed it too risky.
For GTA fans who have been anticipating an international expansion–whether in the near future or far down the line–the former Rockstar technical director has a blunt message: “It just won’t work.”
Former Rockstar technical director spills GTA's scrapped international concepts
The classic AAA franchise, which dates back to 1997, has built one of the largest player bases in gaming history. GTA’s locations are famously inspired by major American cities, including Los Angeles, Miami, and New York City. Conversations about whether GTA will ever take its map international have existed for as long as fans can remember, but today, we finally have a definitive answer.
In an interview with GamesHub, the former technical director of Rockstar North Obbe Vermeij burst that bubble of hope by explaining the challenges that come with making such a major shift in an already expensive project.
Apparently, an international version of GTA was once close to becoming a reality. GTA Tokyo was in development and was set to be handled by a studio in Japan before the project ultimately fell through. Other international concepts that were discussed included Rio de Janeiro, Moscow, and Istanbul.
“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.”
As the GTA franchise grows larger, costlier, and more time-consuming with each new installment–with GTA VI reportedly costing between $1 and $2 billion to develop–the risk increases exponentially. At this scale, Rockstar simply doesn’t believe an international pivot is worth the gamble.
“If games still took a year to make, then yeah, sure–you could have a little fun. But you’re not going to get that when there’s a GTA every 12 years. You’re not going to set it in a new location. You don’t really need to either, because the technology changes so much.”
He added: “There’s just more and more money involved as the project gets bigger. It doesn’t make sense to set it in some left-field location just for novelty. GTA: Toronto? It just wouldn’t work.”
GTA will remain with the same cities
The franchise appears content rotating between a familiar set of cities, with the former director describing America as the epicenter of Western culture. Given the expanding scale of each release, revisiting the same locations wouldn’t feel repetitive. Long-term fans can likely expect GTA to continue cycling through the same core American cities.
“They’ll revisit New York again. They’ll go back to LA or maybe Las Vegas. I’m afraid we’re stuck in this loop of about five American cities. Let’s just get used to it,” Vermeij stated.
The challenges of developing a modern AAA title are especially visible with Rockstar’s upcoming release. GTA VI has been highly anticipated for years and has already faced two delays, largely due to the sheer scope and time required to complete it.
GTA VI, the eighth mainline entry in the franchise, is currently scheduled to launch in November 2026–hopefully without any further delays.
