A former Rockstar Games senior designer has claimed that Midnight Club 5 was cancelled because the racing franchise was never valued as highly within the studio as Grand Theft Auto. Kris Roberts, who worked at Rockstar San Diego, told Insider Gaming that internal tension between his studio and the New York headquarters, along with a perception that the series lacked GTA's acclaim, ultimately led to the project being scrapped during early development, ending the franchise for good.

Roberts said a fifth Midnight Club game had reached early development following Midnight Club: Los Angeles, with new locations including London already prototyped, but was cancelled amid what he called a "non-trivial conflict" with Rockstar New York. He noted that while missed deadlines on the previous title had caused genuine frustration, the deeper issue was that Midnight Club was treated as lesser despite strong player engagement compared with rivals like Need for Speed and Burnout. After the cancellation, remaining staff moved on to Red Dead Redemption and other projects, and fans now worry Rockstar's focus on GTA and Red Dead means smaller, distinctive titles like Bully, LA Noire and Midnight Club may never return.