Rockstar Games might be mostly known for its work on theGrand Theft AutoandRed Dead Redemptionfranchises, but these aren’t the only franchises that the publisher has worked on. Contrary to its recent development efforts, Rockstar Games has quite the diverse portfolio of games spanning across multiple genres, with a consistently high level of polish that has made the publisher so beloved by longtime fans. One such franchise is theMidnight Clubracing series.
However, it cannot be denied that Rockstar Games has been ignoring a lot, if not most of its franchises for some time now.Midnight Clubwas Rockstar’s attempt to capture racing fans, but it seems that Rockstar has kept its feet on the brakes for quite some time now. The lastMidnight Clubgame came in the form ofMidnight Club: Los Angeles, and it’s been over a decade since fans have been waiting for new information about a potential entry in the series.
RELATED:Grand Theft Auto 6 Isn’t Announced Yet But Already Has One Big Disadvantage
Midnight Club Wasn’t The Heaviest Hitter For Rockstar
TheMidnight Clubfranchise was one ofthe first games to put quality arcade racing on home consoles, with the first entry in the form ofMidnight Club: Street Racing. Ditching the at-the-time prevalent pursuit for realistic driving, Angel Studios delivered a great and rather unique experience for fans of the genre.Midnight Clubushered in a whole new era with many more developers jumping on to create high-octane illegal street races.
The game might have reportedly only sold two million copies, but it was more than enough for Rockstar to warrant a sequel.2003 brought with itMidnight Club 2, which upped the ante just like a great sequel should do, and it certainly paid off. While exact sales figures aren’t known, the game sold 1.2 million copies on the PlayStation 2 alone. Rockstar continued to invest in the franchise, developing two more mainline entries and a handheld port forMidnight Club: LAby Rockstar London.
Midnight Club: Los Angelesis said to have sold seven million copies, but it’s possible that Rockstar wanted a lot more out of the franchise in terms of commercial success.Rockstar’s other franchiseswere reaching great heights by the timeMidnight Club: Los Angeleshit shelves, and it could have been a financially driven decision to put the franchise on an indefinite halt.
Rockstar’s Shift To Heavy-Hitters Like GTA
Rockstar’s diverse portfolio of quality titles was a sight to behold during the turn of the millennium, but the giant turned its back on most of its lesser known titles when it saw unrivaled success in theGrand Theft Autoseries. Despite seemingly great sales for the lastMidnight Clubgame,it couldn’t hold a candle to Grand Theft Auto 4, which reportedly surpassed 25 million copies by 2013.
Rockstar San Diego (previously Angel Studios), the developer behind theMidnight Clubgames, were reportedly subject to a toxic work environment and long stretches of crunch, as wives of developers came together for a then-viral blog post. While such accusations haven’t been confirmed by Rockstar, it’s known that the team, or whatever was left of it, was transformed into a support studio for assisting in Rockstar’s other projects.
Since the release ofMidnight Club: Los Angeles, Rockstar San Diego worked as a support studio for 2010’sRed Dead Redemption, 2011’sL.A. Noire, 2012’sMax Payne 3, 2013’sGrand Theft Auto 5, and 2018’sRed Dead Redemption 2. As Rockstar continues to remain focused on making the most money out of its heavy hitters, perhaps the studio never had a chance to work on a potential sequel.
RELATED:Rockstar Games Titles Keep Disappearing from Steam
Will There Be Another Midnight Club Game Anytime Soon?
While the candle of hope for a newMidnight Clubgame is dwindling by the day, there might be a couple of rumors that may suggest otherwise. After the release ofMidnight Club: Los Angeles, Rockstar reportedly had a few plans for a new game with an intention of outsourcing development, but that never materialized. However,Rockstar’s parent company Take-Twoshowing interest in acquiring Codemasters (now acquired by EA) might have lightened the hopes for manyMidnight Clubfans.
In addition to this, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has also announced that Rockstar might work on smaller-scale projects alongside its bigger games likeRed Dead RedemptionandGrand Theft Auto. This might hint towards revitalizing a couple of different franchises, which would likely includeMidnight Club. However, there is another glaring issue that might lessen such a possibility.
Racing games such as the likes ofMidnight Clubhave increasingly become more complex throughout the years, with many games even transitioning into the live-service model. As much as theMidnight Clubseries has a fan reputation, it would inarguably have a hard time competing with games like the newer entries in theNeed for Speed,The Crew, as well as theForza Horizonfranchises. Thus, it seems quite unlikely thatMidnight Clubmight be one of the publisher’s top priorities for a revival.
Midnight Club: Los AngelesComplete Editionreleased on June 06, 2025, on PS3 and Xbox 360.
MORE:What Grand Theft Auto 6 Should Bring Over From GTA 5, and What It Should Drop
