Rockstar Games once considered launching GTA: Tokyo, planning to retain the core framework of GTA III and give katanas a significant role in gameplay. However, the relevant contracts were ultimately not signed, and the project never entered formal production.
Former Rockstar North Technical Director Obbe Vermeij stated that this concept was primarily driven by Rockstar's New York office. Rockstar North was aware of the plans, but its developers had no direct contact with the proposed Japanese studio.
Among the overseas settings discussed by Rockstar, the Tokyo proposal progressed the furthest. London, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Moscow, and Istanbul were also listed as potential backdrop cities. The Tokyo project did not intend to drastically change the series' gameplay, but rather to add new elements fitting the local environment based on the GTA III model.
The development plan was originally intended to follow the production model of Bully. After Take-Two acquired the team formerly known as Barking Dog.exe Studios, Rockstar North provided technology and code to the renamed Rockstar Vancouver, which would then complete the game independently. GTA: Tokyo also planned to hand over existing tools to a Japanese team for use.
Vermeij stated that Rockstar hoped local developers would more accurately portray Japanese culture, thereby increasing the series' appeal to Japanese players before bringing the work to Western markets. This idea did not stem from the gangster setting in GTA III; the related factions in that game were simply carried over from the previous two entries in the series.
Rockstar co-founder Sam Houser visited the relevant team to discuss the Tokyo proposal, while GTA producer Leslie Benzies was more directly involved. Vermeij stated that the project was ultimately halted because contracts were never signed, and it "never entered production."
Vermeij believes that Japan's street racing culture could have provided unique content for the Tokyo setting, but the scale and cost of modern GTA development make it harder for overseas spin-offs to move forward. He estimates that the investment for a new title today could reach approximately $2 billion.