Ex-Rockstar Developer Spills Secrets on Abandoned GTA 6 Zombie Game and James Bond Project! You Won’t Believe What Happened Next
In the lead-up to the highly anticipated release of the GTA 6 trailer, an ex-developer formerly with Rockstar Games has been divulging anecdotes from his tenure at the company. Obbe Vermeij, a former technical director at Rockstar North from 1995 to 2009, has shared insights in his blogs, covering topics such as the “Development of San Andreas (2003-2004),” “The development of GTA & GTA 2 (1994-1999),” and “Development of GTA 3,” among others.
One revelation is about a zombie survival game that Rockstar Games was working on for a brief period, utilizing the codes of GTA: Vice City before abandoning the project.
GTA 6
Vermeij recounts that the idea for the zombie game emerged post the release of GTA 6: Vice City when Rockstar North sought to explore something distinct from their customary game genres. The project, tentatively titled “Z” (pronounced Zed), aimed to maintain the existing code of Vice City while shifting the setting to a “windswept foggy Scottish island.” In this envisioned game, players would face constant zombie attacks while navigating the island in vehicles, with fuel acquisition posing a significant challenge. However, the project, codenamed Z, was reportedly abandoned after a month or so, as the concept became disheartening and lost momentum.
Vermeij emphasizes in his blog that game development is a demanding endeavor, and after a while, developers yearn for a change. Following GTA 6: San Andreas, Rockstar North once again sought to create something different from GTA, this time exploring a James Bond-style game incorporating spy elements in the San Andreas setting. While Rockstar San Diego and New York joined the effort, the development of GTA 4 loomed. Consequently, the team split, with half working on the James Bond game (codenamed Jimmy) and the other on GTA 4.
Although Rockstar North reportedly invested over a year in the Jimmy project, Vermeij notes that the game faced challenges and wasn’t progressing as anticipated. Recognizing the impending need for the entire company to focus on GTA 4, the Jimmy project was eventually transferred to another Rockstar subsidiary. Despite desperate attempts to complete the game, even at the cost of removing entire levels, Jimmy also never reached completion.
