Obbe Vermeij, a former technical director at Rockstar North and one of the key figures behind Grand Theft Auto’s leap into the iconic 3D era, says he has zero regrets about the studio walking away from several ambitious projects over the years. Vermeij helped shape the games that defined Rockstar’s rise, including GTA III, GTA: Vice City, GTA: San Andreas, and later the first entry in the HD universe, GTA IV. From his perspective, scrapping ideas that couldn’t match GTA’s standard wasn’t a loss—it was smart focus.
In a recent interview, Vermeij pushed back on the popular belief that Rockstar “missed out” by canceling concepts like Agent, a zombie-survival title often referred to internally as Project Z, or even a potential Bully sequel. His reasoning was simple: these games risked becoming distractions that would never measure up to what Grand Theft Auto already delivered at its best.
One of the more intriguing canceled concepts was Project Z, described as a zombie game set on a Scottish island. According to Vermeij, the project reused code and assets from San Andreas and aimed for a bleak, isolated tone. That atmosphere may have worked for a horror-heavy survival experience, but it reportedly didn’t fit Rockstar’s creative DNA. The idea sounded interesting on paper, yet the end result was shaping up to be unusually grim—perhaps too oppressive for a studio known for satire, big personalities, and expansive open worlds.
Then there’s Agent, an espionage thriller that once drew attention for its “spy fantasy” premise. The project was envisioned as a more linear, James Bond-style adventure with international locations like Southern France and Morocco. But over time it lost momentum—especially as it moved away from the open-world freedom and player-driven chaos that defined GTA. Vermeij’s stance is that once you remove what makes Rockstar’s biggest games special, you’re left trying to compete in a space where the studio’s unique strengths matter less.
Looking back, he argues there wasn’t a “missed opportunity” at all. In his words, these experiments likely would not have been as good as GTA, and spending years building them would have pulled energy away from the series that fans consistently show up for. To Vermeij, chasing radical detours after Grand Theft Auto became a global phenomenon simply doesn’t make much sense.
He also believes Rockstar’s best path forward is to funnel unusual mechanics and wild concepts into the GTA ecosystem rather than launching entirely new franchises. Instead of reinventing the wheel with separate projects, he suggests the studio could fold fresh ideas into GTA itself—or into smaller side experiences and expansions that complement the main releases. He pointed to examples along those lines, like Liberty City Stories, Chinatown Wars, and the GTA IV episodic expansions, as a better outlet for experimentation without risking the studio’s core momentum.
Of course, not every fan loves the idea of Rockstar narrowing its focus. Many players still want the studio to diversify again, whether that means a long-awaited Bully sequel, a return of Midnight Club, or another revival from Rockstar’s back catalog. But Vermeij’s comments suggest the internal logic is clear: when one franchise consistently sets the bar, the safest—and most profitable—choice is to keep refining it rather than gambling on something that might land as “good, but not great.”
Interestingly, Vermeij did acknowledge how rare it is for a successful studio to walk away from what’s working. He praised Larian Studios for choosing not to immediately chase another Baldur’s Gate sequel and instead announcing a different project after the massive success of Baldur’s Gate 3. He described that decision as bold, risky, and far from obvious—because continuing an established hit is always the easier route.
Vermeij’s perspective offers a revealing look at how major studios think when they’re sitting on one of the biggest entertainment brands in the world. For players, canceled games like Agent or a Rockstar zombie survival title will always fuel curiosity and “what if” conversations. But from the inside, his view is that Rockstar didn’t lose anything by walking away—it protected the legacy of GTA by refusing to split its attention on projects that couldn’t realistically compete with it.
