Rockstar (GTA) co-founder explains the real reason behind Agent’s cancellation, and it has to do with its open-world structure
They made five versions, but none of them worked.
The creators of GTA 6 worked for years on a new intellectual property. Agent was a spy game set in an open world, but the studio couldn’t quite get it right and the project was canceled. Many years later, Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser has spoken openly about the story behind this video game.
In an interview with Lex Fridman, Houser referred to Agent: “We worked a lot on multiple iterations of an open-world spy game, and it never came together.” According to the developer, there were up to five different versions, but in the end, he realized that none of them worked.
“It had about five different iterations. I don’t think it works, I concluded – and I keep thinking about it sometimes, I sometimes lie in bed thinking about it.” Houser has come to the conclusion that what makes spy stories work in movies is the same thing that prevents them from working as video games.
A different pace in video games
As he explained, the espionage and assassination mechanics typical of a secret agent do not fit into an open-world structure, because people are used to the idea that agents usually star in fast-paced, linear stories in movies. That doesn’t quite work in open-world games where the player is given more freedom.
“Those films are very, very frenetic, and they’re beat-to-beat,” he emphasized. You’ve got to go here and save the world. You’ve got to go there and stop that person being killed, and then save the world. An open-world gave does have moments like that when the story comes together.” However, in an open-world video game, it is inevitable that it will become diluted.
Related stories
“We do try and create external agency through these people kind of forcing you into the story at times. But as a spy, that doesn’t really work because you have to be against the clock. So I think for me, I question if you can even make a good open-world spy game.”
Follow MeriStation USA on X (formerly known as Twitter). Your video game and entertainment website for all the news, updates, and breaking news from the world of video games, movies, series, manga, and anime. Previews, reviews, interviews, trailers, gameplay, podcasts and more! Follow us now!