Rockstar Games released GTA Online as the multiplayer mode of Grand Theft Auto 5 in October 2013. Today, it's one of the company's most successful ventures, but a recent leak suggests it may have originally been a 2001 project. Design documents for some Grand Theft Auto titles were leaked online on December 25, 2024, and reportedly mentioned plans for a multiplayer mode for Grand Theft Auto 3.
According to user X @videotechuk_, an active member of the GTA community on the platform, this canceled GTA Online 2001 project reportedly has plans to integrate features such as character customization, a skill system, as well as the ability to own properties.
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Obbe Vermeij, former Technical Director of Rockstar North, also provided information about X. New GTA leaks on Christmas Day. He said he had been working on the project for several weeks and had contacted Rockstar Vancouver (formerly Barking Dog Studios) to explore its design.
Note: Part of this article is based on a leak. Readers are advised to take the information contained herein with a grain of salt.
A former Rockstar Games developer talks about the leaked GTA Online 2001 project
Obbe Vermeij has revealed that he wrote the deathmatch core implementation for Grand Theft Auto 3's canceled multiplayer mode. He also revealed that players can earn points by killing each other.
The tweet further mentions that Barking Dog Studios was asked to review the design of Grand Theft Auto Online 2001. Although this project was eventually abandoned, Barking Dog Studios would go on to release Bully in 2006 as Rockstar Vancouver, a beloved title among fans of Rockstar Games.
Notably, Obbe Vermeij recently spoke about Grand Theft Auto 3's canceled multiplayer. GTA files leaked also.
In that tweet, the former Rockstar CTO noted that the planned Grand Theft Auto 3 multiplayer had “too much to do” while the main game was running, and it was canceled. He then stated that they tried to work on multiplayer for Grand Theft Auto Vice City, but failed again, and “settled for a Co-op mode” in Grand Theft Auto San Andreas.
The first proper online multiplayer experience in the franchise was introduced in 2008 with Grand Theft Auto 4 and then expanded in GTA 5 with Online multiplayer. In fact, it continues to receive fresh content to this day, the most recent example of this writing being the Agent of Sabotage update.
Also check: GTA Online weekly update continues (December 26, 2024 – January 1, 2025)
Edited by Angad Sharma