GTA 5 on Wii U would have become a reality if Rockstar Games had not dropped the idea and instead pursued the possibility of turning the alleged prototype into the full game. This was a huge rumor back in the day when both the game and the device were very new. However, it got buried and with GTA 6 on the horizon, fans are wondering what happened to the project.
This article will discuss and disclose everything that is known about GTA 5 on Wii U and what happened to it.
Note: Some parts of the article are speculative and based on rumors and the writer's opinion.
Rockstar Games never confirmed the GTA 5 on Wii U prototype rumor
While some X and Reddit users claimed that Rockstar Games was working on a GTA 5 prototype for the Wii U, the studio never officially confirmed this information. A popular X user, @Doctor_Cupcakes, who uncovers rumors and canceled games mentioned in a tweet from 2015 that the developer was working on a Wii U prototype briefly.
That said, the project must have been soon canned as Rockstar never went forward with it. Since the studio has not released any of their major titles for the Nintendo Switch, it comes as no surprise that they didn't work on an official port for the Wii U.
The GTA 5 on Wii U rumor also stems from Rockstar Games asking the player base if they'd like a Wii U or a similar version of the game. However, this didn't receive much of a response which could also have led to the idea getting dropped. The community itself is divided on whether a Wii U port would be a good idea.
Most fans believe GTA 5 on Wii U would not have sold
Among the lack of response and Rockstar Games' habit of canning ideas and projects like the DLCs for GTA 5 story mode, other factors might have come into play. The biggest of them all might have been the device's popularity itself. Wii U failed to impress the fans and was not a major commercial success.
The device's lack of third-party app support was a major obstacle for numerous big game companies. This could have also prevented Rockstar Games from going forward with the GTA 5 on Wii U idea. On top of that, the handheld gaming console was not relatively powerful compared to PS3 and Xbox 360.
Most fans agree that Rockstar Games must have tested out a port for the game on Wii U but later canned the idea for multiple reasons. It is worth noting that these rumors came forward when the studio was also actively working on a PC port of the game.
Since Rockstar Games has not yet announced a PC release date for GTA 6, fans are wondering if it might suffer a similar fate. However, this might not be the case since the platform has a humongous player base compared to Wii U.