Back in 2021, Meta announced that Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was coming to its Quest 2 VR platform. "Get a new perspective on Los Santos, San Fierro, and Las Venturas as you experience (again or for the first time) one of gaming’s most iconic open worlds," Meta said at the time. "This is a project many years in the making, and we can’t wait to show you more of it."
Alas, Meta did not show any more of it after that announcement, nor would it even say anything about the state of the game's development: When asked about it by UploadVR in 2023, for instance, Meta simply refused to comment. Now, finally, it has revealed what's happening with the game, and the news is not good.
"GTA: San Andreas is on hold indefinitely while we both focus on other projects," the official MetaQuestVR account said in response to an inquiry posted on YouTube. "We look forward to working with our friends at Rockstar in the future." Meta later confirmed that statement with IGN.
"On hold indefinitely" is not the same as being cancelled, but it's not a good place to be either. The KOTOR remake we still don't have was "delayed indefinitely" in 2022, for instance, while Life By You suffered the same fate just two weeks ahead of its planned early access release, before being axed outright not long after. In the case of San Andreas VR, Meta's statement that it looks forward to working with Rockstar "in the future"—but not necessarily on this game—does not grant added confidence.
The "not dead but sleeping" status of San Andreas VR could be seen as a reflection of the broader state of VR gaming. Adoption rates remain stubbornly low (the latest Steam Hardware and Software Survey indicates that well under 2% of Steam users are rocking VR headsets, a figure that hasn't moved meaningfully in years), there still hasn't been a killer game for VR platforms, and of course there's the whole upchuck thing that still hasn't been overcome—and even if you're not a puker, VR hardware is typically bulky, uncomfortable, and a headache to set up.
In spite of those challenges, though, VR development overall doesn't appear to be slowing down. IO Interactive announced Hitman 3 Reloaded VR earlier this year, and a new Batman: Arkham VR game is in the works too; the recent VR Games Showcase revealed numerous others in the works including VR takes on Flatout, Trombone Champ, Wrath: Aeon of Ruin, and a pile of others.
But on the Meta front specifically, the situation is not great. Its Reality Labs VR division is burning through mountains of money at an astounding rate, and there's no realistic hope of a turnaround anytime soon; earlier this month, Meta shuttered Lone Echo studio Ready at Dawn as part of its effort to meet new budgetary reductions.
Take-Two may have also lost interest in the project. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has previously expressed doubts about the VR market, and while that particular comment predates the announcement of San Andreas VR, not a whole lot has changed since then. It's also fair to say the company is probably focused right now on the upcoming Grand Theft Auto 6.
Whatever the reason for the indefinite hold, it's still possible that we'll see Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on VR platforms someday, but is it likely? At this point, I'm not overly optimistic. I've reached out to Take-Two for comment and will update if I receive a reply.
