Why Rockstar may have scrapped GTA 6’s original story concepts

Rockstar Games

co-founder

Dan Houser

wrote multiple versions of Grand Theft Auto VI's story, but these original concepts were all cancelled, a report claims. These may be the potential reasons behind a shift in the game's narrative development. The majority of the Take-Two-owned studio's games have been written by a core group, often led by Dan Houser. However, Houser departed Rockstar in 2020, nearly a year after the release of Red Dead Redemption 2. Houser's departure has raised questions about who is currently responsible for writing GTA 6. While some key personnel left with him,

Red Dead Redemption 2

writer Michael Unsworth remained at Rockstar until 2023. The extent of Houser's direct work on GTA 6 before he left remains unclear; however, he may have contributed to the early concepts of the upcoming game.

Rockstar may have cancelled three different GTA 6 stories

According to a report by Medium, multiple storylines for GTA 6 were allegedly developed and later scrapped over the years, with each version featuring different sets of protagonists. The report claims that Dan Houser, Rockstar’s former creative lead, proposed three distinct narratives between 2014 and 2019.The first story, pitched in 2014, involved three protagonists — a corrupt cop, his troubled son, and a drug lord’s ambitious right-hand man. This version was reportedly dropped by publisher Take-Two after two years for being “too dark.”

The second concept, from around 2016, focused on a Vice City policewoman who goes rogue to avenge her mother’s death, paired with a reckless drug smuggler. This, too, was cancelled by 2018. The final story, reportedly written in 2019, revolved around a grieving female officer replaced by an ex-soldier, leading her into the criminal world.Houser is said to have taken a sabbatical in 2019 due to creative fatigue and eventually left Rockstar in 2020.However, the report's authenticity is unverified, and some fans are sceptical, citing Houser’s heavy involvement in Red Dead Redemption 2’s development during the same period.