For years, Grand Theft Auto fans have wondered if Rockstar could take the franchise from its time-honored American setting to cities in other countries. But according to one former developer, such a thing will never happen – and fans will just have to accept it.
In an interview with Gameshubformer Rockstar Games CTO Obbe Vermeij, who worked at the company from 1995 to 2009, said there were “ideas” about GTA games after Liberty City, San Andreas and Vice City set in Rio de Janeiro, Moscow and Istanbul, but “it almost actually happened” with GTA: Tokyo.
According to Vermeij, who left Rockstar immediately after completing GTA 4, another studio in Japan was to take over the Rockstar code and create GTA: Tokyo (Vermeij did not say which studio). “But in the end, it didn’t happen.”
Why? It seems that Rockstar has realized that American cities are the natural and best place for GTA, and considering that it takes so long to release fresh games in the series, entering the international market is too much of a risk.
“People love these crazy ideas, but when you have billions of dollars at your disposal, it’s too easy to do, let’s do what we know again, and besides, America is basically the epicenter of Western culture, so everyone knows these cities, even people who haven’t been there,” Vermeij said. “They have a mental image of cities.
“I think it’s unlikely that it will be Bogota next, especially since more and more money is needed as the project grows. There’s no point in putting it in some left field for novelty. GTA: Toronto? That just wouldn’t work.”
GTA 6 is, of course, set to return to Vice City, the fictionalized version of the GTA series set in Miami, Florida. But what then? Will Rockstar ever bring GTA International to continental Europe or London?
“It’s just unrealistic,” Vermeij countered. “I would love it, and if it still took a year to make games, then yes, you can have some fun, but you don’t get that when GTA comes out every 12 years.
“You won’t set it up in a new location. In fact, it’s not necessary either, because technology is changing so much. Nobody will say they won’t play GTA 6 because they’ve already played Vice City. It doesn’t make sense. It’s completely different.”
“They’ll visit New York again. They’ll go back to Los Angeles, or maybe Las Vegas. I’m afraid we’re stuck in a loop of about five American cities. Let’s get used to it.”
Vermeija’s comments echo those of Rockstar co-founder and former CEO Dan Houser, who recently explained why the Grand Theft Auto series won’t be leaving the United States for the sake of action.
I keep talking Lex Fridman podcastHouser said that – apart from GTA London – Grand Theft Auto remains firmly rooted in the United States because it is so American-based.
“26 years ago we created a little thing in London – GTA London – for the PS1 pre-release version. It was quite cute and fun for the first mission pack ever on PlayStation 1. I think for a full GTA game we always felt that the IP was so American that it would be really hard to make it work in London or anywhere else.
“You know, you needed weapons, you needed these larger-than-life characters. It just felt like the game was very much about America, probably from an outsider’s perspective. But the thing was, it wouldn’t work the same way elsewhere.”
Tier list of every Rockstar game
Tier list of every Rockstar game
Indeed, such is the GTA’s relationship with America, built through the creation of so many video games, that a history professor at the University of Tennessee will be teaching a history class at a GTA college in early 2026. Professor Tore Olsson recently told IGN: “Video games are great at evoking fictional worlds, but they also influence players’ thinking about times and places in the real world. And just as Red Dead Redemption 2 shaped their perception of the 19th-century American West, and Ghost of Tsushima influenced their vision of feudal Japan, millions of people around the world imagine modern America through the prism of the Grand Theft Auto series. Just think how many GTA veterans have recognized landmarks in Los Angeles and New York thanks to the hours they spent in Los Santos and Liberty City!”
Houser’s position on GTA is similar to that of the creators of the post-apocalyptic RPG series Fallout, which also remained in the United States. Last year, Bethesda’s head of development, Todd Howard, ruled out leaving the United States for the future Fallout video gamesaying that he is a huge fan of “American naivety”, which largely influences the tone of Fallout.
Wesley is the news director at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. Wesley can be reached at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
