Former Rockstar North technical director Obbe Vermeij told GamesHub that a version of Grand Theft Auto set in Tokyo had reached discussion stages inside Rockstar before the plan was abandoned.
Vermeij said the company considered several international settings over the years, including Rio de Janeiro, Moscow, and Istanbul, and that Tokyo almost actually happened. According to him, another studio in Japan was going to adapt Rockstar’s codebase and build the Tokyo entry, but the collaboration never came together.
He added that as GTA projects have grown bigger and more expensive, Rockstar has tended to stick with places that are widely recognized by a global audience. Vermeij argued that the franchise’s close ties to American cities give players an instant mental map of the world the games mine for story and satire.
Vermeij also addressed fan hopes that GTA 6 might expand into the Caribbean or Colombia. He said he would enjoy those settings personally and that themes like drug running fit the series, but he thinks the practical cost and extra development work make such moves unlikely for now.
The tip that a Tokyo plan existed is a sharp reminder that Rockstar has explored far more than the U.S. states and fictionalized cities it’s become known for. For context on recent GTA activity and how the series still evolves on consoles and PC, see our coverage of the latest GTA 5 update and what it changed here.
