Ex-Rockstar Tech Director Shares Disappointment with GTA 4’s Gameplay at Launch

Obbe Vermeij, a former technical director at Rockstar, has expressed his reservations about GTA 4, noting that it scaled back many elements fans loved.

GTA: San Andreas remains a fan favorite for good reason. It was a sprawling adventure that pushed the PS2-era gameplay to its limits. Following that up with a next-gen title was no small feat, which likely led Rockstar to take a more realistic and character-focused approach with GTA 4. This shift resulted in a game that has sparked mixed reactions, not just among players but within the development team as well.

In a conversation with an outlet, Vermeij shared, “I actually didn’t like GTA 4 that much when it was done because, yes, it does have the atmosphere and I think Nico Bellic is probably the best and most fleshed-out character in the series, but I think we had to sacrifice so much in terms of gameplay.”

He pointed out that the game suffers from a lack of mission variety, stating there are “four missions.” He elaborated, “You could either follow that car, clear out this compound, follow this car with a time limit, or assassinate this character, or it’s a mix of all those. But that’s it.” Vermeij reminisced about the previous titles, saying, “In the games before, there were crazy missions like following the train, taking a plane to dump flyers, and you didn’t know what to expect.”

Vermeij concluded, “I felt we lost a little bit too much of that gameplay in GTA 4, and I actually think Rockstar recognized that too because GTA 5 and its characters are a bit more cartoony, a bit more extreme. I think the missions in GTA 5 are a bit more varied too.”

It seems unlikely we’ll ever see a Grand Theft Auto set in a futuristic city like GTA 2, as the team “hated it”: “People didn’t connect with the game or its city.”