Grand Theft Auto Online is one of Rockstar Games’ biggest and perhaps most successful happy accidents. Over a decade following its launch, it continues to generate billions in revenue for Take-Two Interactive. Its success has left Rockstar making the tough decision of cutting content from Grand Theft Auto V (like the Agent Trevor DLC that Steven Ogg was apparently on board with). But did you know that GTA Online itself went through at least one iteration that looks nowhere close to what we eventually got?

As shown in the images shared by Lucas7yoshi on Twitter, which, according to the Rockstar insider, came from an artist portfolio, Rockstar had a different vision in mind for the “original form of GTA Online.”

The images show scrapped user interface screens that were designed to put players directly into law enforcement or criminal roles from the start.

Surprisingly enough, these images aren’t related to the canceled Cops n Crooks downloadable content that Rockstar reportedly worked on five years back. Instead, these interface designs date back much further, representing the original concept for what GTA Online would actually be. The difference is significant because it suggests Rockstar's multiplayer vision was fundamentally different before they pivoted to the open-ended structure that eventually launched.

Rather than the freeform criminal sandbox that became GTA Online's signature, this earlier version appears to have centered on structured competition between law enforcement and criminal organizations.

The concept of Cops n Crooks itself has a long history with Rockstar. A similar game mode appeared in Grand Theft Auto IV, where teams competed with one side playing as criminals trying to escape and the other as police attempting to stop them. That mode proved popular with players and the newly revealed interface screens suggest Rockstar seriously considered building their entire multiplayer platform around this framework.

Unfortunately, for some reason, Rockstar Rockstar made the decision to abandon this structured approach in favor of a more open-ended design that didn’t lock players into specific roles or factions.

For what it’s worth, Rockstar’s decision proved remarkably successful from a business perspective. The flexibility of GTA Online allowed Rockstar to continuously expand the experience with new content updates, businesses, heists, and gameplay modes. This approach created a more dynamic and continuously evolving world that kept players engaged far longer than a more rigid structure might have allowed.

However, as we’ve already mentioned and have seen over the years, the concept never really left Rockstar’s mind, and it’ll be interesting to see if it will eventually make its way back to a future GTA Online update_,_ or perhaps in Grand Theft Auto VI.

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has already committed to supporting GTA Online for the foreseeable future, so maybe we’ll see even more parts of it reworked for upcoming content sooner rather than later.