Just about three years ago Meta surprised many when it announced plans for a VR remake of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. However, the project has now been put on hold indefinitely, according to Meta’s official confirmation.
A Meta spokesperson confirmed the indefinite suspension of the game. Additionally, the Meta Quest VR YouTube account responded to users in the comments section of a trailer for the upcoming game Behemoth, developed by Skydance Games, stating, “GTA: San Andreas is on hold indefinitely while we focus on other projects. We look forward to working with our friends at Rockstar in the future.”
The VR version of GTA San Andreas was first announced at Facebook Connect in October 2021. However, no gameplay footage or release date was provided at the time. Meta described the project in a blog post as “a project many years in the making.”
This wouldn’t have been Meta’s first VR game remake, as the company had previously collaborated with Armature Studio and Capcom to bring Resident Evil 4 to Meta Quest headsets. Additionally, it would have been the second VR project for Rockstar Games, following L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files, which was initially released for the HTC Vive in 2017 and later for Oculus Rift and PSVR in 2018 and 2019.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was originally released in 2004 for the PS2, set in the fictional city of San Andreas, inspired by Southern California in the early 1990s. Players take on the role of Carl “CJ” Johnson, who returns to his hometown to investigate his mother’s murder.
The indefinite delay of GTA San Andreas VR comes at a challenging time for Meta, as its Reality Labs division has been losing billions in the VR gaming market. According to a recent Yahoo Finance report, the division suffered $16 billion in losses in 2023 alone.
