Rockstar were “definitely” thinking about giving a Japanese studio the keys to GTA, says former tech director – “I have a name, but I’m not gonna say it”

Rockstar seriously considered setting a Grand Theft Auto game in Tokyo and working with a Japanese studio, according to former technical director Obbe Vermeij. The plan matters as it shows the company explored taking the series beyond the United States, partly to appeal to Japanese players, though the project never advanced to release.

Vermeij said negotiations with a studio took place, but he did not identify it or know how close the deal came. The proposed game was likely set in the present day and would have included samurai swords; Take-Two filed a GTA Tokyo trademark in 2003 and abandoned it in 2008. Vermeij also recalled other possible overseas settings, including Moscow, London, Istanbul, Rio de Janeiro and Paris, while Dan Houser later said the series’ Americana made a full game set abroad difficult to imagine.