GTA 3 multiplayer was in the works, but creating the open-world blueprint for the next 20 years meant there "was too much to be done"
May. 23, 2024Not to worry, the PS2 GTAs now have unofficial ways to play online
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Rockstar Games' former technical director has revealed that the studio, at one point, was developing multiplayer for its three-dimensional debut Grand Theft Auto 3.
In response to a player who wondered why the series gave up multiplayer offerings for a while after GTA 2, former technical director Obbe Vermeijtweetedthat he did in fact code multiplayer for GTA 3, it just never crossed the finish line to release. “Since GTA 1 & 2 had [multiplayer] we thought GTA 3 should have it as well,” Vermeij explains.
Adding in multiplayer functionality while accidentally creating the open-world blueprint for the next two decades of mainstream games was seemingly too much, however. “The basic gameplay was working but there was too much to be done and we canceled it,” Vermeij continues. “We tried again for [GTA Vice City] and failed. When [GTA San Andreas] came around we thought it was too late in the console cycle and settled for the co-op mode. It was only for GTA 4 that we assigned enough coders and level designers to make it happen.”
GTA Online is now the juggernaut multiplayer experience that almost every other live service is gunning for, but the studio’s older catalog is still being supported by dedicated fan communities. For instance, the Multi Theft Auto mod extends multiplayer functionality to all three PS2-era GTA games, and Vermeij himself said it was “great to see the communities are still so active” for the unofficial online projects.
For now, check outeverything we know about GTA 6so far.
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Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that’s vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he’ll soon forget.
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