Canceled GTA 3 multiplayer project revealed by former Rockstar dev, said it was "too much"

Former Rockstar dev Obbe Vermeij, who has been revealing many tidbits about the earlier Grand Theft Auto games, recently made a post about GTA 3 multiplayer. Although GTA Online is immensely successful today, the series had its first proper multiplayer breakout in Grand Theft Auto 4. Multiplayer gameplay also existed in the first two games, but it was unfortunately missing in the 3D Universe titles — GTA 3, Vice City, and San Andreas.

Vermeij explains why this was the case and how Rockstar had originally planned for a GTA 3 multiplayer.

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Obbe Vermeij reveals why GTA 3 multiplayer was canceled

In an X post made yesterday (May 23, 2024), Obbe Vermeij, the former technical director at Rockstar North, revealed that he wrote the code for a GTA 3 multiplayer mode. This was in response to a fan (Lex Lopez, @lexum0) who asked "why only GTA2 had multiplayer until IV?"

Rockstar apparently wanted their first 3D Grand Theft Auto title to also have multiplayer functionalities just like its predecessors. Vermeij explains:

"The basic gameplay was working but there was too much to be done and we cancelled it."

However, this wasn't the end of it, as Vermeij revealed how they worked on trying it again for GTA Vice City but they failed to do so. It was only with Grand Theft Auto San Andreas that the 3D Universe got its first co-op mode. However, this wasn't the same as multiplayer, and it was exclusive to the consoles (PS2 and Xbox).

The former Grand Theft Auto 3 dev added:

"When SA came around, we thought it was too late in the console cycle and settled for the Coop mode. It was only for gta4 that we assigned enough coders and level designers to make it happen."

Although GTA 3 multiplayer didn't become a reality, Rockstar finally managed to make an online mode work in Grand Theft Auto 4. When another fan asked what he thought about SA:MP (San Andreas Multiplayer) and MTA (Multi Theft Auto), the two most popular fan-made multiplayer mods for GTA San Andreas, Vermeij replied:

"Pretty impressive. Great to see the communities are still so active."

It should be noted that several fans and dataminers have already managed to uncover the fact that there was supposed to be a GTA 3 multiplayer.

There is leftover data in the game files that points to this. In fact, you can even unlock the multiplayer option in the main menu with GTA 3 Menu Editor. Modders have even managed to recreate or export the multiplayer maps from the game files as part of the removed content for the game.

GTA 3 multiplayer was supposed to have several different game modes, including Deathmatches, Stash the Cash, Capture the Flag, Rat Race, and Domination.