Former Rockstar Dev Reveals Why Midnight Club 5 Was Canceled

Rockstar Games apparently had plans for Midnight Club 5, but internal problems prevented the street-racing sequel from getting far.

According to a report from Insider Gaming, aformer Rockstar senior designer, Kris Roberts, revealed that the studio began exploring another Midnight Club game after completing Midnight Club: Los Angeles. Unfortunately, what should have been the franchise’s next major step was derailed by conflict behind the scenes.

Midnight Club 5 Could Have Taken Players To London

Midnight Club 5 reportedly entered pre-production, with London considered as its primary setting. The location would have marked a return to the city featured in Midnight Club: Street Racing while giving Rockstar a chance to rebuild it for a new generation of hardware.

When I [left], the core Midnight Club team continued to develop. I  think they had even had some prototype cities; I kind of recall London was the one they were doing map development and stuff for. There was effort, and they were starting, and they were starting Midnight Club 5, or whatever they were going to call it, but it didn’t last, and it was canceled”

That is particularly disappointing when you consider what the series did best. Midnight Club offered dense urban environments, extensive vehicle customization, and arcade racing that was far less concerned with keeping players on a designated track. A larger, modern version of London could have been an excellent fit.

Internal Conflict Reportedly Ended The Project

The cancellation was not simply attributed to poor sales or a lack of ideas. The former developer described a “non-trivial conflict” between Rockstar San Diego and Rockstar New York.

Roberts pointed out that part of the conflict was legitimate and was related to missing multiple deadlines. Robert also pointed out the fact that while Midnight Club was doing well against its competitors such as Need for Speed and Burnout, they were still treated as less because Midnight Club wasn’t as big as GTA.

The perception was we never got the accolades or the reception. The New York perspective was, ‘You’re not GTA’. When you’re the red-headed stepchild project—you know, we’re doing a good job, we’re world-class, but we’re still treated less than. It was challenging.”

That dispute reportedly contributed to developers leaving the studio, depriving Midnight Club 5 of the team needed to push it beyond pre-production. Once key personnel moved on, the project effectively fell apart.

Rockstar San Diego was also becoming increasingly important to Red Dead Redemption, which launched in 2010 and grew into one of Rockstar’s biggest properties. Midnight Club, meanwhile, disappeared after Midnight Club: Los Angeles and its Complete Edition.

Will Midnight Club Ever Return?

Once Midnight Club Part 5 was cancelled and the team moved on to other projects like working on Rage Engine and Red Dead Redemption, it was pretty clear the Midnight Club was never coming back, says Robert.

When they cancelled it, it was pretty clear that there would be no more Midnight Club and everything was going to be GTA and stuff moving forward, and that’s just the way it was going to be.

With GTA 6 on the horizon and GTA Online still making the big bucks, Robert might be right, and Rockstar may have buried Midnight Club for good.