Ex-Rockstar Dev Says GTA Doomed Midnight Club 5

Rockstar Games canceled Midnight Club 5 even after early development had begun, according to former Rockstar San Diego senior designer Kris Roberts. Roberts told Kiwi Talkz in an interview published by Insider Gaming that prototype work was already underway before the project was shelved.

The decision ultimately ended Rockstar's long-running street racing franchise.

Roberts stated that the team had started building prototype maps, including an early version of London. He explained that a mix of production setbacks and internal disagreements caused the cancellation. The cancellation was driven by missed deadlines during the development of Midnight Club Los Angeles, along with disputes over creative control between Rockstar New York and the San Diego team.

Midnight Club Supposedly Lived in GTA's Shadow

The Midnight Club series debuted in 2000 and released four games over nine years. It competed against franchises such as Need for Speed and Burnout. Roberts disclosed that the San Diego team believed the series was successful. Internal data also showed players stayed engaged longer than with competing racing games.

Despite that, he noted the franchise never earned the same internal support as Grand Theft Auto (GTA). "The New York perspective was, 'You're not GTA’," he said, describing how the racing series was viewed inside Rockstar.

After Midnight Club 5 was canceled, the team was dismantled. Some developers were reassigned to Rockstar's RAGE engine, the company's proprietary game engine that powers titles such as GTA and Red Dead Redemption (RDR), while others moved to work on RDR. Others were laid off.

He also added that the cancellation made it clear Rockstar's future would revolve around GTA.

The comments provide fresh insight into why Rockstar never revived Midnight Club after Midnight Club: Los Angeles. With GTA VI approaching launch, Roberts' account shows how the studio's biggest franchise shaped its development priorities years before its next release.