Reorganization plans
The open world crime game Grand Theft Auto IV was released 15 years ago on April 29, 2008. Unlike previous episodes, this project is very fond of actors from Russian-speaking countries – not because of the setting, but the main character.
He was a soldier from Southeast Europe, Niko Bellic. Gained combat experience in the Yugoslav War and stuck in deals with the Russian mafia, he tries to start a new life in New York’s local counterpart, Liberty City.
The plot of the game started with a car trip to Hove Beach, the game version of Brighton Beach, where everyone around speaks Russian, because this is an area inhabited by immigrants from former socialist countries.
Tez, an authorized insider, reports that while Rockstar is actively working on the new sixth episode of GTA, the company plans to remake Grand Theft Auto IV with Bellic.
According to the source, Rockstar was considering releasing an updated version of GTA IV in 2023, but something unexpected happened.
In the fall of 2021, the studio, known for the high quality of each new game, released remasters of the classic GTA III trilogy Vice City and San Andreas, and these projects were unsuccessful. According to many players, the updated versions have become one of the worst remasters in the history of the gaming industry.
Many errors in the texts, graphical flaws, game crashes and poorly drawn faces of characters are just a few of the things players found on the day the projects were released.
According to Tez, such a “raw” release forced Rockstar’s senior executives to freeze the first development of the Grand Theft Auto IV remaster. Insider RalphsValve claims that Rockstar Games aims to create an updated version of the “four” for PC and consoles PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series.
The game is scheduled to be released with all the add-ons – two separate stories for other characters, biker Johnny Klebitz and nightclub owner sidekick Luis Lopez. A multiplayer mode would not be added to the Remaster.
According to the sources, this plan, which is set to start the development of the remaster after the release of the new GTA VI, remains in effect.
Is Mashkov in the game?
It is known that the game may be even more interesting in terms of including Russia in the project. Actor Vladimir Mashkov was supposed to voice the main character in the original.
It was originally planned that his character would be an exact replica of the artist’s character from the movie Behind Enemy Lines. Mashkov played a negative character, a Serbian warrior with a sniper rifle, Sasha Ivanich. He is in pursuit of American sailor Chris Burnett, played by Owen Wilson. The plot of the movie is based on the events of the Bosnian War in 1995.
GTA IV has references to the movie at the end – Bellich is wearing the same sweatpants as Ivanic. There are also several sniper missions in the game where Bellich confidently controls a rifle like his prototype character.
In the end, it was American actor Michael Hollick, not Mashkov, who voiced Bellich. Mashkov refused, considering the offer meaningless.
“We took this image (Sasha Ivanich – socialbites.ca) and made a GTA computer game. I did not have time to voice it, and even then I did not understand what it was. Nobody told them what to do. I was far from gaming disciplines. They called me and offered to voice the game. They said I should go to America, but I was already in Russia. Mashkov, in an interview with journalist Nadezhda Sagittarius on YouTube in November 2021, I can’t.
The actor admitted in phone calls that he didn’t quite understand what he was giving up as Rockstar was top secret with him.
“You should also understand that this is a semi-secret story. Everything is classified. They do not speak directly, they ask you to come, they will tell you on the spot,” he said.
According to Mashkov, the developers of GTA IV have created a game comparable to a blockbuster budget, which causes privacy in communications.
“You see, we’re talking about a blockbuster movie with a budget of $250 million. And these bourgeois have to get that money back, so every page of the script is signed there.” And I will read a generally abstract text, which can only be remotely close to what happened in the project itself, ”she added.
The Russian actor also noted that in such conditions there are two options – it is not clear where to go, it is not clear why or refuse. “In some blockbuster movies, the plot is maximal. They can literally just say: “Please come and I can assure you that you will not be disappointed.” And that’s all,” said Mashkov.
Mashkov is also expected to be absent from the remake – Rockstar will use prerecorded lines from Michael Hollick, who originally voiced Bellich. The player was paid a contractual fee and does not charge a percentage from the future remaster’s sales.
In this regard, some players believe that Mashkov did the right thing by refusing to voice the character in the game. In their opinion, as a result, the Russian actor can be deceived and paid only a modest amount, instead of a percentage of the outstanding sales of the game itself.
After the game’s release, Hollick claimed that he wasn’t paid enough to work. According to the American artist, while he received $100,000 (8.1 million rubles at the current exchange rate), the game raised more than $600 million (48.6 billion rubles) in total.
Will Seryoga and Ruslana come back?
The appearance in the remaster of the main Russian-speaking stars of the game of that era – rapper Seryoga and singer Ruslana – is doubtful due to the fact that the past is more than 15 years since the game’s release and the rights. Artists’ songs will need to be re-owned.
Ruslana performed in Liberty City as the leading radio station called Vladivostok FM, which only featured songs by Russian-speaking artists. Ruslana’s choice is probably related to her victory at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2004.
Serega also became the main musical artist, the song “King of the Ring” (King Ring), which she made for the Russian movie “Shadow Boxing” (2005), was also included in the third trailer of GTA IV.
Especially for the Rockstar project, he recorded the song “Invasion” (The Invasion), about the character of Bellich and his departure to Liberty City.
At the same time, Serega in the song about the main character refers to Bellich’s life in Russia, which partially contradicts the plot of the game from American developers – GTA IV does not directly mention whether Bellich was in Russia after the collapse of the USSR. .
Among the lines about Bellich’s Russian past include “Tomorrow morning you will meet far from the Moscow Ring Road”, “The Russian Child has arrived – Uncle Sam, wait!”, “Rublyovka is not Hollywood! LC (City of Freedom – socialbites.ca) is not Moscow!
The rapper also drew attention to the fact that the main character went to the United States, due to the search for him by Russian law enforcement agencies. This is “a particularly dangerous criminal, according to the reports of the Ministry of the Interior” and “There is nothing else to do in Russia, you must run!”
On April 26, 2018, 10 years after the release of GTA IV, some expired parts from Rockstar Games were removed from the game. The repertoire of the Vladivostok FM radio station has been completely changed. Since then, only one of the 13 songs on the station’s broadcast waves has survived. The remaining 12 songs were replaced with 11 new ones.
Seryoga’s King’s Ring was also removed, only the Invasion survived.
Ruslana is expected to remain the host of the radio station in the remaster, as all her lines are still in the original game many years later. Serega may also return for the GTA IV remaster. His song, Invasion, is still played in the opening sequence of the original project’s first mission. The composition replaced the song “Schweine” with Glucose.