This Game Never Made the Cut Because of GTA 4, as per Ex-Rockstar North Developer

While GTA fans are eagerly waiting for GTA 6, there has been some talk about an older title in the series. Remember GTA 4? The game was huge when it came out. And now, it turns out, another game that was being made got cancelled. Why? GTA 4 happened at the cost of another game.

An ex-Rockstar Games employee has revealed some telling information about this long-forgotten game. They have gone into detail about the game, its inspiration, and the reasons for its cancellation. Heard of Agent? If not, nobody blames you.

Ex-Rockstar North reveals how Agent was being made and how GTA 4 led to its cancellation!

GTA 4 was no doubt a revelation when it launched. The first ever GTA game to use Rockstar Games’ much-talked-about RAGE engine. It looked just brilliant, and to this day, many believe it to have the best story in any GTA game ever. However, an insider shared a post on X (formerly Twitter) about how Rockstar Games cancelled Agent in order to focus on GTA 4.

An EX-developer from Rockstar North revealed they wanted something different after GTA San Andreas’ launch. To get approval for that game, they even rebuilt some GTA San Andreas levels into spy game levels. Said levels featured a car turning into a submarine and a hang glider. Rockstar higher-ups were inspired by this dedication. And they divided their teams into two, one of which would work on GTA 4 and the other would work on Agent, which was previously codenamed Jimmy, the Scottish version of James.

The game was set in the 1970s and was a more linear affair, with shootouts, downhill ski chases, and space levels. However, the game turned out to be too much for the developers to handle, and they decided to cut the content. Eventually, higher-ups noticed this and decided that these developers should rather focus on GTA 4. And that’s when they cancelled Agent.

It’s surprising, considering Rockstar Games’ parent company Take Two Interactive had high hopes for the game. Former CEO of Take Two, Ben Feder, told Games Industry.biz, “The game, like anything from Rockstar North, is going to be very, very cool. It’s going to push the edge, it’s going to be genre-defining and it’s going to be a whole new way of experiencing videogames that we haven’t really seen before.”

It is not great knowing a game with such potential saw such an end. After all, Rockstar Games hardly fails, and they excel at everything they do, be it a horror game like Manhunt or a shooter such as Max Payne 3.

This is not the first time Rockstar Games has canceled an in-development game.

Rockstar Games is infamous for canceling their smaller in-development titles in favor of some specific, larger projects. Those larger projects are either a GTA game or a Red Dead Redemption title. Let’s not forget that leak where a Rockstar San Diego employee suggested that they had to stop working on Midnight Club game, something they wanted to work on, to start development on Red Dead Redemption. Although this never got an official nod from Rockstar, it is not uncommon.

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Numerous documents released over the years have also mentioned Bully 2. This game was reportedly in production multiple times. And every time it was cancelled for reasons. While Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive maintain that these franchises matter to them and mean a lot, fans only see two. Hopefully, their other games, like Agent see the light of day. Considering it’s Rockstar Games, surely they will be great.

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