‘It By no means Fairly Got here Collectively, and It Was By no means Completed’ — Rockstar Co-Founder Dan Houser Discusses Canceled GTA 5 Single-Participant Trevor DLC for First Time

Grand Theft Auto followers have identified for a while that Rockstar Video games labored on a single-player DLC for GTA 5 that may have seen Trevor assume the position of a undercover agent.

Final yr, voice actor Steven Ogg stated Rockstar initially deliberate to make a narrative growth centered on his character, Trevor, with it thought to have fallen by the wayside because the developer centered on the money cow that was GTA On-line.

Ogg was joined by Michael actor Ned Luke and Franklin actor Shawn Fonteno in a Questions and Solutions session with Streamily. The trio make clear what they claimed was scrapped downloadable content material for GTA 5 that starred Trevor as a Federal Investigation Bureau agent.

“Initially they have been gonna do persevering with tales of Michael, Franklin, and Trevor,” Luke stated, and Ogg expanded on his model. “We additionally had that basically cool s**t of — and I overlook if it was DLC, I don’t know — however the place Trevor was gonna be undercover, he works for the FEDs,” Ogg stated. “And we did shoot a few of that stuff with James Bond Trevor. He is nonetheless sort of a f**okay up however he is doing his greatest. And we shot some stuff after which it simply disappeared and so they by no means adopted up on it.”

Additionally final yr, Joe Robino, who was a senior digital camera artist and digital cinematographer working at Rockstar’s New York workplace from 2010 to 2016, spoke to the SanInPlay YouTube channel about why the GTA 5 story DLC was canceled.

“Loads of the staff went to do Purple Lifeless Redemption 2 immediately and I took on this different challenge that was a standalone DLC for GTA that by no means got here out and it was kick ass,” Robino revealed.

“That was my factor. I used to be one of many essential editors, digital camera artists, and on-stage stuff. We break up our groups into two. I stayed on GTA On-line after which this DLC, which Steven Ogg [the actor who played Trevor Philips] was an important a part of.

“After which among the staff overlapped and went to RDR2 early on, after which we simply sort of did this [flipped motion], as a result of when that recreation received shelved, we spent a lot cash… lots of that stuff although did find yourself making it I imagine into later iterations of GTA On-line, I feel. So it’s not like they wasted it.

“It was actually actually good. However when GTA On-line got here out it was a lot of a money cow and other people have been loving it a lot that it was laborious to make an argument {that a} standalone DLC would outcompete that. I feel trying again now you may in all probability do each. However that was a enterprise choice they made. I used to be slightly upset about that.

“That really was lots of the explanation for me being slightly bitter at the moment. As a result of I used to be like yo, WTF guys? This s**t’s superior. Let’s maintain going. Let’s end this s**t.”

Followers have had snippets of details about GTA 5’s fabled story DLC through the years. GTA dataminers have additionally found a reference to Trevor with a jetpack, which suggests story mode DLC was repurposed into GTA On-line, as Robino stated. In 2018, Rockstar lastly unveiled GTA On-line’s Doomsday Heist missions alongside the Thruster jetpack.

Now, talking on the Lex Fridman podcast, Rockstar Video games co-founder and former lead author Dan Houser has addressed this DLC for the primary time, insisting that if the developer had continued with it, it wouldn’t have been capable of make 2018’s Purple Lifeless Redemption 2.

“The web is aware of we made a DLC… single-player DLC for GTA 5 that by no means got here out,” Houser stated.

“It was one while you performed as Trevor, however he was a undercover agent. It was cute. It by no means fairly got here collectively, and it was by no means completed. It was about half achieved when it received deserted. However I feel if that had come out, we in all probability wouldn’t have gotten to make Purple Lifeless 2. So, there are all the time compromises.”

It’s the primary time Houser has addressed the canceled GTA 5 story DLC, but it surely turns on the market’s one other challenge he would have beloved to have made whereas he was on the studio: GTA Zombies. “I preferred the thought of it, it was a GTA zombie recreation,” he stated. “That will have been humorous. I feel that would have been fairly enjoyable.”

GTA followers typically lament the lack of single-player story DLC for GTA 5 after it did so effectively for earlier GTA video games. Houser stated he stays a giant fan of single-player DLC, and is hoping to make some as a part of his new firm, Absurd Ventures.

“I like making the tales,” he stated. “For me, I really like the mannequin of GTA 4 while you had the additional tales coming afterwards, or Purple Lifeless 1 while you had the zombie pack coming afterwards. I like simply doing these additional issues. So, I’d personally wish to have achieved extra of that in that firm. And with stuff we’re doing sooner or later, we’re going to try to provide you with worlds the place we will add extra tales.

“I like single-player DLC. I simply suppose the viewers loves it, and it’s actually enjoyable to make.”