
GTA 4's NPCs Were Almost Alive: The Ambitious Design That Proved Too Problematic
Grand Theft Auto 4 could have featured a radically different open world, one where NPCs lived out their own independent lives. According to former Rockstar lead Obbe Vermeij, producer Leslie Benzies had early ambitions to give the citizens of Liberty City genuine autonomy, with routines and behaviors that went far beyond what shipped in the final game. It was a bold vision that reflected the studio's drive to push open-world simulation to its absolute limits.

