A source close to the developer Rockstar Games reveals Grand Theft Auto almost used Tokyo as a location at one point, and that GTA 6 is currently in development.
Although Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto series has only placed one of the franchise's materials outside of the United States — that is, the first entry's London-based mission pack set in 1969 — the press outlet TechRadar discovered that Grand Theft Auto developers were quite "serious" about creating a GTA title with Tokyo as its backdrop. In fact, around the time that GTA 3 and Vice City were created, Rockstar even went as far as to visit the Japanese capital on a reference trip to take pictures, meet locals, and assess the general vibe of the city to see if it would fit Grand Theft Auto's aesthetics.
As it happens, in December of 2003, Rockstar Games' parent company Take-Two Interactive filed trademarks for GTA: Tokyo, GTA: Bogota, as well as Grand Theft Auto: Sin City, further indicating developers' interest in making the series international. However, the projects were ultimately shuttered, with one major problem of using the Japanese city as a location being the metropolis' road system presenting a huge hurdle for development, on top of the fact that Rockstar decided to leave the series' brands and car types intact, as their names would likely have to change if Grand Theft Auto went abroad.
Furthermore, TechRadar's source let it slip that Grand Theft Auto 6 is currently in the preliminary stages of development. As of now, though, Rockstar Games has yet to have officially determined the site for the next sequel in its wildly popular action-adventure series.
Considering the fact that it's has been nearly three years since Grand Theft Auto 5's release, it's not an outlandish notion for Rockstar to begin drawing up the blueprints for yet another entry in the series. Nevertheless, fans shouldn't expect to hear concrete details about GTA 6 anytime soon, especially since publisher Take-Two Interactive has said its not interested in rushing development. Plus, with the space between GTA 4's and GTA 5's releases being close to five years, it's a safe bet that Rockstar will keep up a similar production pace for the forthcoming follow-up.
At any rate, there are loads of people trying to figure out what Rockstar Games' next step will be, with one rumor saying Red Dead Redemption 2's release date is in 2017. Of course, speculation involving the return of John Marston's world has been rampant ever since the western title became available back in 2010, so it's important to take such conjecture with a grain of salt. In the meantime, we would all do well to just sit back, relax, and think about the cities we want to explore in GTA 6.
What do you think about Grand Theft Auto coming close to using Tokyo as a location in the franchise? If it is true that GTA 6 is in development, how would you feel about Rockstar Games using the Japanese city as its setting? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
The most recent entry in the Grand Theft Auto franchise is Grand Theft Auto 5, which is available for PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.