Ex-Rockstar dev Obbe Vermeij looks back at GTA 3's rough development

Former Rockstar developer Obbe Vermeij has marked GTA 3's 25th anniversary with a long post on Twitter about how close the game came to not working. GamesRadar+ has written it up. Vermeij says the game crashed often and had holes in its map, and that it only came together in its final six months. In his words, the frame rate looked headed for 20 fps until the team "manage[d] to hit 30."

He also describes a small team that tried missions out loosely and kept the fun ones. He says the story came second, with the opening Catalina betrayal added well into development. He remembers little extreme overtime, and recalls that the game drew a lukewarm reaction at E3 in May 2001.

GamesRadar+ contrasts this with GTA 6, which it says Rockstar has acknowledged stalled over shifting creative direction. According to the outlet, studio leadership expects future games to be less difficult and time-consuming to make. The full piece is on GamesRadar+.