GTA 4 Remaster Urged by Ex-Rockstar Dev: 'Niko Is the Best GTA Protagonist'

A former Rockstar veteran, Obbe Vermeij, has weighed in on the swirling rumors of a potential re-release of Grand Theft Auto IV (GTA 4) for the latest generation of consoles, expressing his belief that the game deserves a remaster. Vermeij, who served as a technical director at Rockstar from 1995 to 2009 and worked on GTA 4, shared his thoughts on social media, stating that the game "should be remastered" due to its quality and the success of recent remasters, such as The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered. He praised GTA 4's protagonist, Niko, as the best in any GTA game.

The speculation about a GTA 4 re-release originated from a post by Tez2, a well-known figure in the GTA community for leaking Rockstar information. Tez2 suggested that a modern port of GTA 4 could be released this year, hinting that this project might be why Rockstar recently shut down a GTA 5 Liberty City Mod. However, Rockstar has not officially confirmed any plans for a GTA 4 re-release, and given their focus on Grand Theft Auto VI (GTA 6), such a move would be surprising.

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Vermeij speculated that a remaster could involve porting GTA 4 to the latest version of Rockstar's Rage engine. However, it’s crucial to note that Rockstar has given no indication of plans to remaster GTA 4. Considering the massive project that is GTA 6, taking on a GTA 4 remaster concurrently might be too much, even for a studio with Rockstar's resources. An external studio could handle the port, similar to how the Red Dead Redemption port was managed, but releasing a GTA 4 remaster in 2025, alongside GTA 6's planned fall release, seems unlikely, as it might detract from the focus on GTA 6.

Some fans speculate that Liberty City, the setting of GTA 4 and inspired by New York City, could appear in GTA 6 either at launch or as post-launch DLC. GTA 6 is set in the fictional state of Leonida, which is based on Florida and includes Vice City, Rockstar's version of Miami.

As we await further news, there's plenty more to explore about GTA 6, including detailed information, 70 new screenshots, and expert analysis on how the game will perform on the PS5 Pro.