Ex-Rockstar North dev spills on Agent, abandoned zombie game, and more in fascinating new blog
UPDATE 23/11/23: Ex-Rockstar North technical director Obbe Vermeij has U-turned on plans to share more about the development of early Rockstar games he worked on, after Rockstar itself got in touch.
“Today I got an email from R* North,” Vermeij wrote in a new blog post, after his earlier details about Agent and an abandoned zombie project caught the eyes of fans. “Apparently some of the OG’s there are upset by my blog. I genuinely didn’t think anyone would mind me talking about 20 year old games but I was wrong. Something about ruining the Rockstar mystique or something.
“Anyway, this blog isn’t important enough to me to piss off my former colleagues in Edinburgh so I’m winding it down. I’ll maybe just leave a few articles with anecdotes that don’t affect anyone but me.
“I would love for Rockstar to open up about development of the trilogy themselves, but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen anytime soon.
“Maybe I’ll try again in a decade or two.”
We reported yesterday on details shared by the blog already – but it sounds as if few more will be forthcoming, which is a real shame. Rockstar rarely discusses its development processes and plans publicly – enough that two decades on, there was real interest in hearing more, with the benefit of time meaning nothing would spoil the company’s plans for what’s next – Grand Theft Auto 6, which we’ll get a first glimpse of next month.
ORIGINAL STORY 22/11/23:The world has been given a tiny glimpse into the uber-secretive world of Grand Theft Auto developer Rockstar North thanks to a fascinating new blog from former technical director Obbe Vermeij, who, in just a few short weeks, has shed light on the studio’s cancelled spy game Agent, discussed a zombie game abandoned by the company after it was deemed to be too “depressing”, and more.