Midnight Club was cancelled by Rockstar because it wasn't GTA

Everyone knows Rockstar for the GTA and Red Dead Redemption franchise, but there is another franchise under the studio’s label that didn't make the cut. Midnight Club was first released in 2000 and, despite its popularity at the time, was given second-class treatment when compared to GTA.

Former Rockstar senior designer Kris Roberts worked on the Midnight Club series while at Rockstar San Diego. Around his departure from the studio, the team was still working on Midnight Club 5, and maps were being developed. However, the project was cancelled, and that brought an end to the franchise altogether.

Speaking with Kiwi Talkz, Roberts spilled the beans on why the project was cancelled and what the internal perception of the franchise was at Rockstar Studios. He called part of the reason for cancellation, “non-trivial conflict” between Rockstar New York and the San Diego team working on Midnight Club. Some of it was legitimate because the team had missed multiple deadlines during Midnight Club: Los Angeles’ development.

However, “creative control” was also another part of it. Despite its strong performance against the competition, Rockstar New York had a “You’re not GTA" sentiment towards the franchise. “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,” Roberts added.

Seems like Rockstar Studios did not deem Midnight Club to be a worthy franchise even after four instalments, and thus the team was dismantled.