Rockstar Games came surprisingly close to taking the Grand Theft Auto series to Japan with a canceled project known as GTA: Tokyo. According to former Rockstar North technical director Obbe Vermeij, the proposed game would not have radically changed the franchise’s established formula, instead using a GTA 3-style open-world structure set in Tokyo, while introducing samurai swords as a major gameplay element.
Vermeij discussed the project in a recent interview with Thunderpick. His comments provide some of the clearest details yet about how Rockstar intended to develop the canceled game and why it ultimately never reached production.
GTA: Tokyo Was Rockstar’s Most Serious International GTA Idea
Rockstar considered several locations outside the United States during the early 2000s, including Rio de Janeiro, Moscow, Istanbul, London and Paris. However, Vermeij said Tokyo was the most serious proposal among those ideas.
The project was primarily driven by Rockstar’s New York office, while Rockstar North was aware of the plans. Rather than completely reinventing the series, the team wanted to build something that closely resembled Grand Theft Auto 3, which had established the modern 3D formula for the franchise.
“We weren’t going to change too much about the gameplay,”
Vermeij explained. However, Tokyo’s setting would have allowed Rockstar to introduce mechanics and weapons that were unusual for the series at the time. Most notably, he revealed,
“Samurai swords were going to play a big part.”
The concept therefore appears to have been less of a completely different GTA and more of an early attempt to adapt the established formula to Japanese culture, locations and gameplay.
Rockstar Planned To Give the Project to a Japanese Studio
One of the most interesting aspects of GTA: Tokyo was Rockstar’s proposed development structure. Rockstar North was not expected to build the game itself. Instead, the company planned to provide a Japanese studio with its technology and code, allowing that team to develop the project.
Vermeij compared the plan to Bully, which was developed by Rockstar Vancouver after Rockstar North supplied the newly established studio with technology and code. The same approach was intended for GTA: Tokyo, with a Japan-based team taking responsibility for development.
The reasoning was partly cultural. Rockstar believed a Japanese developer would be better positioned to capture local references and create a more authentic representation of Tokyo. The completed project could then have been brought to Western audiences.
However, the plan never progressed far enough. Vermeij confirmed that “the contracts were never signed,” meaning GTA: Tokyo never reached full production.
GTA: Tokyo Was Not Built Around the Yakuza
Despite the Japanese setting, Vermeij clarified that the Yakuza were not the primary reason Rockstar wanted to make GTA: Tokyo. The Yakuza had already appeared in GTA 3, but their inclusion was largely connected to the series’ earlier games rather than a long-term plan for a Japanese GTA.
Rockstar’s Tokyo concept was instead intended to become its own game. Vermeij also suggested that the city could have offered plenty of opportunities for new gameplay, including Japan’s street-racing culture.
There is also historical evidence that the concept was more than a rumor. Take-Two filed a U.S. trademark application for Grand Theft Auto: Tokyo in December 2003, although the application was eventually abandoned.
For now, GTA: Tokyo remains one of Rockstar’s most intriguing canceled projects. More than two decades later, Vermeij’s comments reveal that the idea had a concrete development plan, a potential Japanese studio and a distinct gameplay hook—but never made it beyond the contract stage.
