Rockstar’s Abandoned Zombie Game Was in Development Before the Rise of Grand Theft Auto
In 2002, Rockstar’s art team pitched a zombie game during the early stages of the Grand Theft Auto series. This was way before the popularity of zombie franchises like Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare.
Insider Reveals Rockstar’s Abandoned Projects
Obbe Vermeij, a former developer, shared this information on his blog about the development of the Grand Theft Auto series. Although the blog post has been taken down by Rockstar, other posts about Grand Theft Auto and Manhunt can still be found on the Internet Archive.
The Cancelled Project: “Z“
Rockstar’s project called “Z” was supposed to be a survival game set in Scotland, focusing on travel. However, the project was cancelled because it was deemed “too depressing” to work on. The art team initially came up with the idea, but even they lost interest in it after a month of development. Instead, they went on to create the highly acclaimed game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
Interestingly, “Z” would have been set in Scotland, where Rockstar’s main offices are located, and it would have featured fuel management in an open-world environment, similar to Bend Studio’s Days Gone.
Other Cancelled Project: Agent
Rockstar also had another cancelled project called Agent, a spy game inspired by James Bond. It was cancelled because it was considered “too distracting” from other ongoing projects. The game was initially announced as a PlayStation exclusive in 2009.
Vermeij revealed that internally, the project had the codename “Jimmy” and it was set in the 1970s. The protagonist, Jimmy, used transforming vehicles for his missions. Vermeij even shared details about the game’s structure, mission locations, and his work on one of the levels set in a ski resort in Switzerland.
Unfortunately, the development of “Jimmy” was put on hold during the development of GTA IV and eventually cancelled over a year later.