The Grand Theft Auto games have widely been synonymous with controversies surrounding violence in the media. For all the franchise does, its satirical side is largely left out of the broader, more mainstream, conversation. With each iteration, the social commentary and stories presented have progressed along with real-world popular culture, providing a mirror to the real world. As such, the most important characters found in Grand Theft Auto are not the protagonists, but the worlds they inhabit.
When deciding where to set their games, Rockstar very thoroughly researches each environment. For example, Grand Theft Auto IV recreates New York as ‘Liberty City’ where Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas takes on the state of California. Through the series’ history, there is a clear preference given to re-creating American cities and territories. With that said, Rockstar North is not an American studio, so there is always the chance that the next game in the franchise will take place somewhere new around the globe.
With so many locations to choose between, it is important to cut a few cities from the list in order to make a game that will benefit the fan base and the story in a big way. Because the cities and locales of Grand Theft Auto often inform the story, themes, and game mechanics, the following list is a firm line in the sand of places this cherished series should never visit.
15 Chicago
After making an incredibly dull appearance in Watch Dogs, it is easy to see why Chicago would be an unpopular choice for the likes of a Grand Theft Auto game. It would provide a greater level of disconnect to established fans of open world games who were previously burned by Ubisoft’s efforts. This is not to say that Chicago is a boring or empty city, but gamers look for diversity, and its skyline bears too striking a resemblance to New York. We don’t need another game set in a ‘Liberty City’-type city after already having two. The monorail used in Grand Theft Auto IV signifies an amalgamation of New York and elements of Chicago already exist. It would be a waste of Rockstar’s energy to focus on building up a similarly-minded major American city as at the forefront of their next instalment.
14 Johannesburg
Welcome to Johannesburg – the largest city in South Africa. Cutting right to the chase, it would not make a good city for a satirical video game. Given the past geopolitical climate of apartheid and ongoing issues, it is difficult to suggest its largest city as the setting of any game. While it is important for the development of games as an art form to be socially conscious, one must consider the target audience for the Grand Theft Auto games. Many players enjoy the series for its sandbox playground of mayhem that can be caused. While this is perfectly acceptable, setting the game in a city that has had a slew of problems in the past, may be too politically incorrect to implement. Some controversy is too much (even for Rockstar).
13 Vancouver
This coastal Canadian city with its mountainous passes and breathtaking views would not work for Grand Theft Auto on a very different level. Given that it is also on the Western edge of North America, Vancouver’s setting may be too similar to that of Los Santos in Grand Theft Auto V. In the fifth game, players were treated to a metropolitan city along with the richly crafted outlying mountainous regions of San Andreas as a whole. Of course, Vancouver is a diverse city, but does little to entice a video game series to be adapted in a meaningful way. Typically, the GTA games focus on satirizing the United States, its media, and overall culture. Taking a Canadian city would be a risky move, and may misconstrue the social commentary at play.
12 Detroit
There is such a thing as being too ‘on the nose’ when it comes to bringing a city’s central realities into a fictitious game. With the abundance of crime already existing in Detroit, there is a strong reason to outright dismiss this city for a game adaptation. It is likely that the real Detroit would be far more crime-ridden than any city adapted for a game. It would just be pointing out the obvious problems the city already has. To add insult to injury, Quantic Dream’s yet unreleased Detroit: Become Human is entirely set in the titular city so it would be wise to avoid production of another game in the same locale. On top of it all, there are also no interesting gameplay incentives or unique activities that Detroit could feature to really warrant this game being produced.
11 Dallas
Fortunately, there have been so few story-oriented games focused in Dallas – most of them are sports games – that it would seem that Grand Theft Auto would feel right at home in Dallas. Unfortunately, this would be a mistake on the part of Rockstar. So far, they have taken GTA to big cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Miami for inspiration. To make Miami stand out as Vice City, they ended up taking it to the 1980s so that the story content would be prominently tied popular culture of that time. In order to take the series to Dallas, it would require a similar time displacement in order for the game to be relatable to its more prominent era of interest. In a time where there are several other noteworthy cities, Dallas simply does not stand out as interesting for a sandbox game.
10 Indianapolis
When Indianapolis is mentioned, it is synonymous with the Indy 500. In this exhilarating event, the fast lane is crucial, and winners are treated to excellence. Of course, there have been several games, from Forza Motorsport 5 to Gran Turismo 6, that have been featured prominently in Indianapolis. With that being said, it does not exactly stand out as an open world city. In fact, there is not much reason to set a game in Indianapolis unless it has to do explicitly with racing. The Rockstar games series that would benefit this city more would be Midnight Club. It is exclusively tailored to open-world races and taking on the track at Indianapolis, even if only for a short segment, would be an excellent opportunity for that particular series.
9 Manila
Heading out of North America, Manila, the capital of the Philippines, is the most densely populated city proper in the world at the time of writing. Forgetting the character of a city for a moment, this population density poses a huge problem for game developers. Though Grand Theft Auto V’s re-release on eighth-generation was an impressive feat, it is still widely considered a seventh-gen game. How much power can these new consoles truly output to create a city with such a large number of civilians? Of course, this is a case based on feasibility as much as it is based upon the interest of the public. Games are rarely set in any part of Asia unless developed there - much like many Western releases. Would there truly be an interest in going to Manila? It is a hard sell, especially with so many opportunities open in more distinctive locales.
8 Brussels
The City of Brussels is the capital of Belgium and is a large and impressive city. It is known for international politics, particularly after the Second World War. This is a case of a truly interesting city that would be more interesting to visit in another era. The 1950s or 60s would be an enticing shift for the Grand Theft Auto series, but alas, it is doubtful that such a change will occur that is so far removed from present day. Instead, there is another game in Rockstar’s repertoire that would be fascinating and appropriate for the city of Brussels: the long-discussed Agent. Now, this may be a sore spot for many disappointed fans who have long-awaited this game, but it this spy thriller has the potential to truly shine in Brussels.
7 Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland and the home of Rockstar North, the developer of the Grand Theft Auto franchise. In this case, basing a studio’s next game in the same city as the studio may be a very literal appeal to the ‘too close to home’ argument. Sure, Rockstar could pack in a lot of Easter eggs for those who are well acquainted with Edinburgh, but that hardly seems interesting for the developers. Can you imagine how bored they would get in trying to create an accurate depiction of their home base? It seems like a task that the developers would obsessively nitpick over – something this writer is confident they do anyway while making a game. Aside from this reason, Edinburgh is on a list because of how it compares to other nearby locations.
6 Kyoto
Known as the thousand-year capital, Kyoto is a city with a very rich history and its historical landmarks. Kyoto is beautiful, but is not as interesting a Metropolitan center in Japan as Tokyo. In this case, Rockstar would likely be attracted to prominently known international cities that have distinct identification markers. It could also greatly tie into the overall story. For example, because Los Angeles was used in the last game, there was a delightful parody of Hollywood and the problems arising when producing a film. It may be difficult for Western audiences to care about a game set in a city that is overshadowed by the popularity of a larger one in an Eastern country. That being said, a different series could easily set a game in Kyoto.
5 New Orleans
Much like was discussed in the Watch Dogs article, New Orleans would be a terrible setting for a modern open-world video game. It was recently used for a fictionalized take of Mafia III, a game that did not do well as well as 2K, their parent company, hoped. For Grand Theft Auto, this is simply the case of demanding diversity from games. Players may not be as interested in playing another sandbox open-world game in yet another fictionalized New Orleans. This is not to say that it is not a good city for a game, but Rockstar spends so much time crafting the world that it is imperative for gamers to be interested enough in it to play the game. We all need diversity in video games to push the medium forward, and unfortunately for New Orleans, that means being passed up in favour of a more interesting venue.
4 Orlando
Orlando suffers from a different problem that is entirely unique to this city. There are some things that Grand Theft Auto omits out of taste due to the nature of their games. In fact, one element that is frequently omitted from every open-world game is the inclusion of children. This makes sense when considering the violence that players can inflict to the NPCs, whether accidental or on purpose. To replicate Orlando faithfully, one would need the potential to re-create the many theme parks in this hot vacation destination. While games in the past have featured rides without children, given the extreme tourist attraction, it is an area that is better avoided entirely for the sake of these games’ reputation. It would be best for these games to pick a city that has a reputation for having a distinct character.
3 Vatican City
Can you imagine the religious condemnations and extra-helping of hatred that would be directed towards the Grand Theft Auto franchise if they pulled a move as bold as this? Setting the game in Vatican City, while a unique and inspired idea, feels like a major red flag for controversy for this violent series. This is, of course, not to imply that these games are tasteless, but there is definitely a side to it that the Catholic Church would not appreciate. Setting any game in Vatican City is an invitation for controversy, let alone the much-maligned Grand Theft Auto. For that matter, how many cars would there actually be in the Vatican? Aside from the Popemobile, what would you do? The Vatican is not big enough to match the scope of previous GTA games either, so the whole idea is entirely silly.
2 Boston
Boston is among the more common cities adapted into games across a wide breadth of genres. From The Last of Us to Quantum Break and from Assassin’s Creed III’s periodic setting to Fallout 4’s wasteland, Boston has been stretched thin in its adaptations. For that reason, it feels like a bad move to add Grand Theft Auto to the list of games. Now, this is not to say that Boston is uninteresting because several triple-A games have found success with unique tales in the city. Grand Theft Auto could do its own unique take on Boston, but really, it likely would not stand out as much as if it were in another, less utilized city. For this series’ entries to shine, they need to be in a fresh setting that has a vivid personality, not serve as a placeholder city out of convenience for gamers to have a comfortable metropolis.
1 Toronto
Toronto is probably one of the worst choices, and it is for a very simple reason: the city’s naming convention has the possibility to seriously mess with GTA players. Known widely as the Greater Toronto Area, what would happen if the next Grand Theft Auto game was titled GTA: GTA or some variation of that? Of course, the cities have a history of being re-named for adaptation in the game but to that end, Toronto is often confused for New York and even doubles as such in several films and television shows. It would be fascinating to see the city, but due to the striking similarity to the Big Apple, it will be a very hard trick to pull off while taking an identity of its own.