For most of its history, the Grand Theft Auto franchise has drawn inspiration from cities in the United States. Aside from a London expansion released in 1999 for the original GTA and Grand Theft Auto 2, which took place in a futuristic American city, every mainline entry has been set in a fictionalized version of a real U.S. location. However, a former Rockstar Games developer has revealed that the series once came surprisingly close to heading overseas — specifically to Japan.

Speaking in a recent interview with Gameshub, former Rockstar North technical director Obbe Vermeij reflected on the evolution of the GTA series and touched on the future of GTA 6. When asked whether Rockstar ever seriously considered setting a game outside the U.S., Vermeij confirmed that several international cities were discussed internally, including Rio de Janeiro, Moscow, Istanbul, and Tokyo.

“Tokyo almost actually happened. Another studio in Japan were going to do it, take our code and do GTA: Tokyo. But then that didn’t happen in the end,” he said.

Vermeij, who worked on major entries such as GTA III, Vice City, San Andreas, and GTA IV, explained why the franchise has remained rooted in American cities. According to him, places like New York, Los Angeles, and Miami are globally recognizable — even to players who have never visited them — making them safer creative choices.

He also emphasized the financial risks of moving the series to unfamiliar territory, especially given how much money is now tied to each release. “I think it’s unlikely it’s going to be in Bogota next time, especially since there’s just more and more money involved as the project gets bigger. It doesn’t make sense to set it in some left-field location for novelty. GTA: Toronto? It just wouldn’t work,” he said.

Looking ahead, Vermeij described the idea of a European-set GTA as implausible and suggested Rockstar would continue revisiting familiar American cities. “I’m afraid we’re stuck in this loop of about five American cities. Let’s just get used to it.”

These remarks align closely with comments made by Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser, who previously addressed why the series has always remained U.S.-focused. Houser explained that the franchise’s identity is deeply tied to American culture.

“I think for a full GTA game, we always decided that there was so much Americana inherent in the IP, it would be really hard to make it work in London or anywhere else,” Houser said during a podcast appearance last month. “You know, you needed guns, you needed these larger-than-life characters. It just felt like the game was so much about America, possibly from an outsider’s perspective. But you know, that was so much about what the thing was that it wouldn’t really have worked in the same way elsewhere.”

GTA 6 Price ‘Probably’ Won’t Be $100

During the same interview, Vermeij also shared his thoughts on GTA 6, praising the decision to return to Vice City and calling it a natural fit for the franchise.

“It’s been so long since Vice City that it’s exciting to revisit it and the trailers look absolutely amazing. I think it’s a good setting for that kind of GTA game. I’m looking forward to it and I think it’s going to be great,” he said.

He also addressed speculation surrounding the game’s price. Given the massive scale of GTA 6 and rising development costs, some fans believe it could become the first $100 triple-A release. Vermeij, however, doubts that will happen.

“Rockstar haven’t said anything about $100. This is just something that the internet has decided.

“I think that they probably won’t do that because, although they haven’t said anything about it either, they will have a GTA VI online component and they’ll be thinking we want the biggest user base we can possibly have.

“Rather than trying to cash in that extra $30, I think they’re just going to make it a regular priced game and then make the money on the back-end in the years to come,” he said.

Originally slated for release in 2025, GTA 6 was first delayed to May 26, 2026. Rockstar later pushed the launch again, setting a new release date of November 19, 2026.