Agent: The Overhyped Rockstar Game That Was Never Released
Since the turn of the millennium, Rockstar Games has been at the forefront of gaming and has released numerous classic titles. Be it "Grand Theft Auto 5," "Red Dead Redemption 2," or "Bully," Rockstar has a laundry list of hits that have proven to be extremely popular and borderline timeless over the years. However, for every classic that the New York-based company has churned out over the years, there are several games the company has developed that gamers will never have a chance to play. "Agent" is one of those games.
Originally announced in 2007, "Agent" was intended to be a massive-scale stealth-action game that put players in the shoes of an international spy. Developers claimed it would be the next GTA, which generated interest from gamers looking to see what Rockstar would do with the unique premise. Unfortunately, after its initial announcement, the planned title faded into obscurity, left to languish by Rockstar until it seemingly gave up on the title back in 2021. But what was "Agent" supposed to be, and why was it canceled by Rockstar without so much as a warning?
What was Agent?
Because it was never heavily advertised outside of its initial announcement and a few small updates, many gamers never found out what "Agent" was, or what it was going to be about. Over the years, however, fans have been given small glimpses into what the title might've looked like and some details about the story. As stated by Rockstar North — the Scottish arm of Rockstar Games and developer of the project — "Agent" was to focus on a counter-intelligence agent who would become increasingly more paranoid as the story went on (via GameRant).
Though no footage of the game was ever released, some screenshots from the development of "Agent" were leaked online via the portfolios of some of the artists who worked on the title for Rockstar North. The game was also set to take place in several different locations across the world. Research for "Agent" took developers as far as Cairo, Egypt where several of the game's artists were temporarily arrested and held by local police while scouting locations to feature in the game (via Game Informer).
Why was Agent never released?
Behind the scenes, anything could have led to the game ultimately being shelved such as issues with scope, execution, or narrative. However, when reading between the lines, it isn't too hard to see why Agent might've been put on Rockstar's backburner and ultimately abandoned.
While Agent was being developed, so too was "Grand Theft Auto 5," which went on to become one of Rockstar's most lucrative and successful titles. Throughout the 2010s, "Grand Theft Auto Online" — the game's online companion — rapidly picked up steam, garnering a massive player base and raking in tons of cash for Rockstar. Meanwhile, Rockstar was developing "Red Dead Redemption 2," the highly anticipated sequel to "Red Dead Redemption," a game that is truly huge in scope. Furthermore, Rockstar has been working on the highly anticipated "Grand Theft Auto 6," which was the subject of one of the biggest leaks in gaming history last year.
With so many resources being allocated to such big IPs, it's likely that "Agent" fell way down in the pecking order in terms of priority. All speculation aside, the real reason why Agent never came out is, and will likely remain, a mystery to the general public.