Take-Two Interactive seems to have put its WWE and NBA game developer, Visual Concepts, at the helm of an unannounced open-world racing game that's being made as part of a major existing IP, according to some new job listings. There are five listings in total, and it's not entirely impossible that they may be hinting at the return of Midnight Club, of all things.
Previous Midnight Club titles had been developed by Rockstar Games, but it's not impossible that Take-Two would reassign the Midnight Club IP over to another developer under its umbrella. Especially since Rockstar recently confirmed that Grand Theft Auto 6 is in active development, which means the company has presumably got its hands full already.
It's no secret that GTA games are huge undertakings that require all hands on deck, and now that Grand Theft Auto 6 is announced in an official capacity, it's clear what Rockstar is now focusing on. The fact that Visual Concepts is working on a racing game with a "major license", however, suggests that Rockstar's old racing IP may be getting a revival sometime down the line. An optimistic outlook for fans of Midnight Club, but the series' return has been a long-lasting rumor by now.
Unlike some other franchises that Rockstar abandoned over the years, Midnight Club may still have a future in front of it, if this is, indeed, the IP that the listings are referring to. Take-Two currently doesn't have any dedicated racing games on the market, and even though Grand Theft Auto does prominently feature street racing, it's not a proper competitor to the likes of Forza Horizon and Need for Speed.
According to its LinkedIn job listings, Visual Concepts is looking for a number of veteran game developers to help produce its new open-world driving game. The list includes a Producer, a Senior Technical Artist, a Senior Build and Automation Engineer, a Senior Software Engineer, and another Senior Software Engineer that specializes in Multiplayer features. This, combined with the recent Take-Two financial report, suggests that the project is in its pre-production stages at most.
Of course, it's worth concluding on an objective note. While it's entirely possible that Visual Concepts is working on a Midnight Club game, it's far from confirmed in any way, shape, or form. The studio is also simultaneously working on its next WWE title, so there's a significant likelihood of the unannounced open-world driving game being Take-Two's long-term project that won't be getting revealed anytime soon.
Source: LinkedIn