For years, fans of the Grand Theft Auto series have speculated about the possibility of Rockstar expanding the game’s settings beyond the familiar American cities to include international locations. However, according to insights from a former developer, such a change is unlikely, and fans may need to embrace this reality.
In a conversation with Gameshub, Obbe Vermeij, a former technical director at Rockstar Games from 1995 to 2009, revealed there were once ideas to set future GTA games in places like Rio de Janeiro, Moscow, and Istanbul, but it was GTA: Tokyo that “almost actually happened.”
Vermeij shared that after his departure following GTA 4, there were plans for a Japanese studio to use Rockstar’s code to develop GTA: Tokyo. “But then that didn’t happen in the end,” he stated.
Why did these plans never see the light of day? It seems Rockstar concluded that the essence of the GTA series is deeply entwined with American cities. Given the lengthy development cycles for new games, venturing overseas was deemed too risky.
Sticking to American Roots
“People love having these wild ideas but then when you’ve got billions of dollars riding on it it’s too easy to go let’s do what we know again, and also America is basically the epicenter of Western culture, so everybody knows the cities, even people who haven’t been there,” Vermeij explained. “They have a mental image of the cities.
“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.”
The upcoming GTA 6 is slated to revisit Vice City, Rockstar’s fictional version of Miami, Florida. But beyond that, is there any chance of GTA heading to Europe or London?
The Unlikelihood of International Settings
Vermeij expressed skepticism: “It’s just not realistic,” he said. “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.
“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 6 because they’ve already played Vice City. That doesn’t make sense. It’s completely different.
“They’ll revisit New York again, they’ll go back to LA or maybe Las Vegas. I’m afraid we’re stuck in this loop of about five American cities. Let’s just get used to it.”
Vermeij’s comments mirror those of Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser, who has also spoken about why the Grand Theft Auto series is unlikely to leave its U.S. roots. Speaking on the Lex Fridman podcast, Houser highlighted that aside from a brief foray with GTA London, the franchise has remained American due to its heavy reliance on Americana.
“We made a little thing in London 26 years ago — GTA London — for the top-down for PS1. That was pretty cute and fun, as the first mission pack ever for PlayStation 1. I think for a full GTA game, we always decided there was so much Americana inherent in the IP, it would be really hard to make it work in London or anywhere else.
“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 that was so much about what the thing was that it wouldn’t really have worked in the same way elsewhere.”
Indeed, the relationship between GTA and America is so intrinsic that a University of Tennessee history professor is planning to offer a GTA-themed college history course in early 2026. Professor Tore Olsson has expressed that video games greatly influence players’ perceptions of real-world locations and events. “Just think of how many GTA veterans have recognized landmarks in Los Angeles and New York thanks to their hours in Los Santos and Liberty City!”
This perspective aligns with those behind the Fallout series, another franchise firmly rooted in the U.S., with Bethesda’s Todd Howard expressing a fondness for the “Americana naivete” that shapes Fallout’s tone.