Rockstar reportedly considered Grand Theft Auto games set in Tokyo, Rio, Moscow, and Istanbul, former developer claims

It has been claimed Rockstar Games once explored the idea of taking Grand Theft Auto far beyond its familiar satirical take on American cities, with concepts for titles set in Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, Moscow, and Istanbul all reportedly on the table at one point.

The details:

• In a recent interview with GamesHub, former Rockstar North technical director Obbe Vermeij claimed that GTA: Tokyo “almost actually happened” and got further than mere internal discussion, with plans for the project involving an external studio based in Japan developing the title using Rockstar’s existing game code.
• Vermeij, who worked on GTA III, Vice City, San Andreas, and GTA IV, explained that there were once plans at Rockstar to take the series outside of the US for the first time since the release of the two London-based mission packs created for the original GTA. It’s said that the studio had ideas covering potential settings, including Rio de Janeiro, Moscow, and Istanbul, although none of these concepts would eventually materialize into released games.
• The veteran developer noted that it’s unlikely that we ever see the franchise move away from its current rotation of cities inspired by real-world US locations, including Vice City, San Andreas, and Liberty City, due to increasing budgets and development timelines. “It’s just not realistic. I would love it, and if games still took a year to make, then yeah sure, you can have a little fun, but you’re not going to get that when there’s a GTA every 12 years,” Vermeij said. “You’re not going to set it in a new location. You don’t really need to either because the technology changes so much. Nobody is going to say that they’re not going to play GTA VI because they’ve already played Vice City. That doesn’t make sense. It’s completely different.”