Rockstar Games might be mostly known for its work on the Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption franchises, but these aren't the only franchises that the publisher has worked on. Contrary to its recent development efforts, Rockstar Games has quite the diverse portfolio of games spanning across multiple genres, with a consistently high level of polish that has made the publisher so beloved by longtime fans. One such franchise is the Midnight Club racing series.
However, it cannot be denied that Rockstar Games has been ignoring a lot, if not most of its franchises for some time now. Midnight Club was Rockstar's attempt to capture racing fans, but it seems that Rockstar has kept its feet on the brakes for quite some time now. The last Midnight Club game came in the form of Midnight Club: Los Angeles, and it's been over a decade since fans have been waiting for new information about a potential entry in the series.
Midnight Club Wasn't The Heaviest Hitter For Rockstar
The Midnight Club franchise was one of the first games to put quality arcade racing on home consoles, with the first entry in the form of Midnight Club: Street Racing. Ditching the at-the-time prevalent pursuit for realistic driving, Angel Studios delivered a great and rather unique experience for fans of the genre. Midnight Club ushered in a whole new era with many more developers jumping on to create high-octane illegal street races.
The game might have reportedly only sold two million copies, but it was more than enough for Rockstar to warrant a sequel. 2003 brought with it Midnight Club 2, which upped the ante just like a great sequel should do, and it certainly paid off. While exact sales figures aren't known, the game sold 1.2 million copies on the PlayStation 2 alone. Rockstar continued to invest in the franchise, developing two more mainline entries and a handheld port for Midnight Club: LA by Rockstar London.
Midnight Club: Los Angeles is said to have sold seven million copies, but it's possible that Rockstar wanted a lot more out of the franchise in terms of commercial success. Rockstar's other franchises were reaching great heights by the time Midnight Club: Los Angeles hit shelves, and it could have been a financially driven decision to put the franchise on an indefinite halt.
Rockstar's Shift To Heavy-Hitters Like GTA
Rockstar's diverse portfolio of quality titles was a sight to behold during the turn of the millennium, but the giant turned its back on most of its lesser known titles when it saw unrivaled success in the Grand Theft Auto series. Despite seemingly great sales for the last Midnight Club game, it couldn't hold a candle to Grand Theft Auto 4, which reportedly surpassed 25 million copies by 2013.
Rockstar San Diego (previously Angel Studios), the developer behind the Midnight Club games, were reportedly subject to a toxic work environment and long stretches of crunch, as wives of developers came together for a then-viral blog post. While such accusations haven't been confirmed by Rockstar, it's known that the team, or whatever was left of it, was transformed into a support studio for assisting in Rockstar's other projects.
Since the release of Midnight Club: Los Angeles, Rockstar San Diego worked as a support studio for 2010's Red Dead Redemption, 2011's L.A. Noire, 2012's Max Payne 3, 2013's Grand Theft Auto 5, and 2018's Red Dead Redemption 2. As Rockstar continues to remain focused on making the most money out of its heavy hitters, perhaps the studio never had a chance to work on a potential sequel.
Will There Be Another Midnight Club Game Anytime Soon?
While the candle of hope for a new Midnight Club game is dwindling by the day, there might be a couple of rumors that may suggest otherwise. After the release of Midnight Club: Los Angeles, Rockstar reportedly had a few plans for a new game with an intention of outsourcing development, but that never materialized. However, Rockstar's parent company Take-Two showing interest in acquiring Codemasters (now acquired by EA) might have lightened the hopes for many Midnight Club fans.
In addition to this, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has also announced that Rockstar might work on smaller-scale projects alongside its bigger games like Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto. This might hint towards revitalizing a couple of different franchises, which would likely include Midnight Club. However, there is another glaring issue that might lessen such a possibility.
Racing games such as the likes of Midnight Club have increasingly become more complex throughout the years, with many games even transitioning into the live-service model. As much as the Midnight Club series has a fan reputation, it would inarguably have a hard time competing with games like the newer entries in the Need for Speed, The Crew, as well as the Forza Horizon franchises. Thus, it seems quite unlikely that Midnight Club might be one of the publisher's top priorities for a revival.
Midnight Club: Los Angeles Complete Edition released on October 12, 2009, on PS3 and Xbox 360.