The Time Extension portal, in a retrospective dedicated to unreleased games in the GTA series from Rockstar Games, shed light on the fate of the mysterious Grand Theft Auto: Tokyo, which intrigued fans in the early 2000s.
The idea of developing GTA in Tokyo came about after Rockstar co-founder Sam Houser visited Japan frequently during the GTA 3 promotional campaign. Tokyo seemed like an interesting and exciting city for a new game in the series, which could give it a fresh breath of life.
However, the project faced a number of obstacles. The main problems were logistics and cultural peculiarities. The development team would have to spend a long time in Tokyo to map the city in detail. In addition, there were difficulties in adapting the series’ characteristic satire to Japanese realities and creating an appropriate narrative.
In the end, Rockstar decided to stick to the tried and tested path. Instead of experimenting with a new location, the company focused on developing the cities already familiar to players, presented in the first part of Grand Theft Auto.
Rockstar is currently working on GTA 6, which will be released in the fall of 2025 on PS5 and Xbox Series.