A former Rockstar developer, Obbe Vermeji, has shed light on the intriguing yet ultimately unsuccessful journey of ‘Agent,’ a once highly-anticipated game. Announced in 2007 as a PlayStation exclusive, ‘Agent’ was envisioned as a secret-agent-themed action game featuring diverse levels set in locations like a Swiss ski resort, Cairo, a French Mediterranean city, and a space station. The game’s ambitious scope, resembling more ‘Moonraker’ than ‘Casino Royale,’ was an exciting prospect for gamers.
However, the development of ‘Agent’ encountered significant challenges. Despite Vermeji’s year-long involvement and the team’s efforts to streamline the game by cutting entire levels, the project couldn’t progress as hoped.
The studio’s focus shifted towards Grand Theft Auto IV, leading to ‘Agent’ being handed off to another internal studio. The game’s fate was seemingly sealed in 2018 when its trademark expired, marking the end of an era for what could have been a groundbreaking title.
Vermeji also detailed a brief stint where Rockstar North considered developing a zombie survival game after the release of Vice City. Set on a foggy Scottish isle, the game was to be built on Vice City’s code base and featured an open-world environment with relentless zombie attacks and a focus on vehicle refueling for navigation.
Despite the initial enthusiasm, the concept was abandoned after a month, as the idea lost traction even among its proponents. The team then redirected their efforts towards San Andreas.
Following the revelation of these behind-the-scenes details, Vermeji has since closed his blog, citing a terse email from Rockstar North and a desire not to upset his former colleagues in Edinburgh.
In his concluding remarks, Vermeji expressed a wish for Rockstar to share more about their development process but acknowledged that such transparency seems unlikely in the near future. He left the door open for potentially revisiting these anecdotes in a decade or two.
