Former GTA V producer says Rockstar cut fully finished minigames and entire levels that 'just disappeared'

GTA V shipped with 60 random encounters, 20 Strangers and Freaks mission arcs, and nearly 42 minigames. But according to former lead producer John Riccitiello, that was only after Rockstar cut an enormous amount of content that never made it into the final game.

Speaking on the Kiwi Talkz podcast, Ricchio said, "There was so much stuff in GTA, particularly in GTA 5. Oh my god, there was so much stuff that was done. Like minigames that were completely done and ready to go, except for, like, animation, right?"

Those cuts came down to the animation team becoming a bottleneck. Every part of the game had to reach Rockstar's usual level of polish, and with animators already stretched thin, even finished minigames were left on the cutting room floor because there wasn't enough time to bring them up to that standard.

It was not just minigames. Ricchio said Rockstar leads threw out entire levels when resources ran short. These were not half-finished ideas. They were things developers had iterated on for a long time, things people on the team were genuinely happy with. "It wasn't like they went into DLC or anything," Ricchio said. "They just disappeared."

2

Riccitiello was candid about the human cost of those decisions. Cutting finished work is difficult, especially for the designers who lived with it through every stage of development. Still, he described it as an inevitable part of working on a production as large as Rockstar's. "Every decision can't be made by everyone," he said.

According to a Rockstar Games co-founder, an entire single-player Trevor DLC for GTA V was scrapped so the studio could focus on Red Dead Redemption 2. So despite the sheer scale of open worlds like GTA V and Red Dead Redemption 2, Rockstar has long been willing to cut major content if it doesn't fit the studio's priorities.

Frequently Asked Questions

TweakBot answers common questions about this news using TweakTown's own coverage from this page and related content from our archive. Tap a question to reveal the answer, or type your own below.

Question #1

Which types of fully finished minigames and levels did John Riccitiello say were cut from GTA V?

He said fully finished minigames that were "completely done and ready to go" except for animation were cut, because the animation team became a bottleneck. He also said entire levels that had been iterated on and that the team were happy with were thrown out and "just disappeared."

Answered

Question #2

Why did Rockstar cut completed minigames from GTA V despite them being 'done'?

They were cut because the animation team became a bottleneck and Rockstar required every part of the game to meet its high polish standard. Even minigames that were "completely done" lacked the necessary animation or final polish, and with animators stretched thin there was not enough time to bring them up to that level, so they were removed from the final game.

Answered

Question #3

Are there examples of previously planned single-player GTA V content that Rockstar canceled in favor of other projects?

Yes. According to the article, Rockstar scrapped an entire single-player Trevor DLC for GTA V so the studio could focus on Red Dead Redemption 2. The article also reports former lead producer John Riccitiello saying fully finished minigames and entire levels were cut during GTA V’s development, though those cuts were attributed to animation and polish constraints rather than being explicitly moved to other projects.

Answered

Question #4

What did Riccitiello say about the impact on developers when finished work was removed from GTA V?

Riccitiello said cutting finished work had a real human cost, and was difficult for the developers, especially designers who had lived with the content through every stage of development. He described those cuts as painful but inevitable on a large production where not every decision can be made by everyone.

Answered

Have a question not listed here? Ask below and TweakBot will answer it.

Your questionAsk

Answering your question×

TweakBot is analyzing your question…

Could not get an answer

TweakBot is generating an answer

Read More

Was TweakBot helpful?Thanks for the feedback!

Whether any of that cut content resurfaces in GTA 6 is an open question. Ricchio suggested it is possible if the technology carries over. GTA 6 launches on PS5 and Xbox Series X and S on November 19, with no confirmed PC release date.