“Yes, it’s real, I admit it.” A former Rockstar developer has revealed that online features were in the works for GTA 3, San Andreas, and Vice City. Rockstar Games veteran Obbe Vermeij explained the attempts to integrate online modes into these classic titles.
Since the release of Grand Theft Auto 3, Rockstar has been a trailblazer in creating immersive open worlds. However, their evolution truly began when they started experimenting with online gameplay. While GTA Online has achieved unprecedented success, Rockstar had been attempting to incorporate similar features into its earlier games since the 2000s. Surprisingly, many plans to bring online functionality to GTA San Andreas and Vice City were scrapped.
The Origins of Online Gameplay Stretch Back to the Early 2000s
The rise of GTA Online wasn’t an overnight phenomenon. According to Vermeij, the roots of its concept lie in the early 2000s when Rockstar began working on a project called GTA 3 Online. On his X/Twitter account, Vermeij shared that he worked on a basic deathmatch mode for about a month. “There’s a GTA 3 design document making rounds. It’s legit, I’ll confirm that,” he stated.
“There were two main components to GTA 3 Online. First, I developed a very simplified version of a player-vs-player deathmatch mode. I spent around four weeks on it. Players could earn points by eliminating others and steal cars,” Vermeij explained. However, the project was shelved. “It was clear it required much more development, so we decided to abandon it,” he added.
Barking Dog and the Blueprint for GTA Online
“The second aspect is more complex. Barking Dog, later known as Rockstar Vancouver, was brought in to draft an initial concept for GTA Online. I remember attending a few meetings with them. They probably produced a design document, but I don’t recall seeing it at the time. None of it was ever approved or further developed,” Vermeij revealed. The efforts to create online functionality didn’t stop there, as Rockstar also revisited the idea for San Andreas and Vice City.
Online Features Were Also Attempted for GTA San Andreas and GTA Vice City
“We gave it another shot for Vice City and even hired two specialists for the task. Again, we had to abandon it due to time constraints. For San Andreas, we opted for a co-op mode instead. By the time we got to GTA 4, we finally had the resources to do it justice,” Vermeij said. He also recently commented that GTA 6 shouldn’t include too many interiors as current technology often leads to dull and uninspiring designs.
Source: 3djuegos
