“We’re Stuck in a Loop of Five American Cities—Let’s Get Used to It”: Former Rockstar Dev Says GTA: Tokyo Nearly Happened but Was Ultimately Scrapped

In an interview with GamesHub, former Rockstar Games technical director Obbe Vermeij, who worked at the company from 1995 to 2009, revealed that there were once discussions about future Grand Theft Auto titles set in locations such as Rio de Janeiro, Moscow, and Istanbul. However, the concept that came closest to becoming reality was GTA: Tokyo.

Vermeij explained that after he finished work on GTA 4 and left Rockstar, another development studio in Japan was set to take Rockstar’s existing code and build GTA: Tokyo. He did not name the studio, and ultimately, the project never moved forward.

According to Vermeij, the reason for abandoning international settings comes down to risk. With billions of dollars invested and development timelines stretching over a decade, Rockstar has little incentive to experiment with unfamiliar locations.

“People love having these wild ideas, but when you’ve got billions of dollars riding on it, it’s much easier to stick with what you know,” Vermeij said. “America is basically the epicenter of Western culture, so people already have a mental image of these cities—even if they’ve never been there.”

He added that setting a future GTA in a less familiar location would feel risky rather than exciting. “It’s unlikely the next game will be set somewhere like Bogotá. GTA: Toronto? It just wouldn’t work,” Vermeij said.

Grand Theft Auto 6 is confirmed to return to Vice City, Rockstar’s fictionalized version of Miami, Florida. That decision alone raises questions about what comes next for the series and whether Rockstar might ever consider Europe, London, or other international cities.

Vermeij believes that scenario is unrealistic. “If games still took a year to make, maybe you could experiment,” he said. “But when there’s a GTA every 12 years, you’re not going to gamble on a brand-new setting.”

He also noted that advances in technology make revisiting familiar locations less of a concern. “Nobody is going to skip GTA 6 just because they’ve already played Vice City,” Vermeij said. “It’s completely different every time.”

Looking ahead, Vermeij expects Rockstar to continue cycling through familiar American cities such as New York, Los Angeles, and possibly Las Vegas. “I’m afraid we’re stuck in this loop of about five American cities,” he said. “Let’s just get used to it.”

Vermeij’s comments align with previous remarks from Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser, who has explained that Grand Theft Auto’s identity is deeply rooted in Americana. Speaking on the Lex Fridman podcast, Houser said that aside from GTA London, the series has always relied heavily on American culture.

Houser explained that while GTA London was a fun experiment on the original PlayStation, the franchise’s larger-than-life characters, gunplay, and satirical tone are all closely tied to the United States. As a result, replicating that formula elsewhere would be difficult.

The connection between Grand Theft Auto and American culture has become so influential that a University of Tennessee history professor is set to teach a college course focused on the franchise in early 2026. Professor Tore Olsson has noted that millions of players around the world now visualize modern America through the lens of GTA, recognizing real-world landmarks thanks to time spent in Liberty City and Los Santos.