What would GTA London look like?

We got GTA London before we got GTA 6. Well, almost. This week, self-taught 3D artist and editor Carlos Rico went viral after posting a fake Grand Theft Auto trailer set in London.

Growing up in Waltham Abbey but now based in Barking, East London, the 28-year-old has worked with Stefflon Don on a Glasto set, served as creative director on Munya Chawawa’s UK tour and reimagined the 2004 Def Jam Fight game for the English capital. It was only a matter of time before Carlos put his spin on GTA.

Following a protagonist who’s just been given an early release from Brixton prison due to overcrowding (“a big real-life story at the time”), Carlos’ trailer takes us from an obligatory phone snatching to shootouts against the EDL and a DJ AG video to a street fight against, er… D Double E.

We hopped in a pungent phone box to give Carlos a ring to find out more about all of this.

Hi, Carlos! Where did the idea for GTA London come from?

Most of my work revolves around US rap culture, but I don’t see many videos highlighting London or UK culture. I wanted to create something that bigs up the culture I grew up with, and it felt like the natural next step from a previous project – a character selector concept of If Def Jam Fight For NY was set in London.

Were there any films that inspired the trailer?

The two big film and TV inspirations were Top Boy and Snatch. A lot of modern GTA London concepts, and even London-themed GTA V servers, lean heavily into the tone of Top Boy. I wanted mine to feel lighter and show more sides of London than just one, and of course, I have to mention Anuvahood, especially since Eddie Kadi’s traffic warden character makes an appearance in the video!

You’ve previously said that the 2004, London-set game The Getaway: Black Monday had a big influence on you. Tell us about that…

What. A. Game. I’m pretty sure it was my brother’s disc. I remember putting it in the PS2 as a kid and suddenly being dropped into a city I only got to visit on the odd weekend. What really stuck with me was Team Soho’s insane attention to detail: real shopfronts, real bus ads, London exactly as it was. I’m confident I could fire it up today, drive around without a map, and still get where I need to go. Now it’s even cooler as it’s essentially a time capsule of early 2000s London. I think, subconsciously, I wanted my animation to give people that same feeling I had playing that game. Seeing the city recreated, it doesn’t just look like London, but feels like it.

Why do you think London would be a good place for GTA?

I’m not sure it is! The pothole-riddled roads aren’t exactly fun to speed down, and a sweaty Central line trip doesn’t sound that great either. I’d probably blow all my in-game cash on congestion charges alone. That said, I’d still happily pay an absurd amount for Rockstar to make a modern GTA London.

Which neighbourhoods did you primarily focus on and why?

I tried to stay unbiased when picking locations, but there’s probably a slight East London lean, partly because when I was 3D scanning some of the assets, it meant I didn’t have to travel far. My goal was to make something people from all over London could recognise as home, even if it’s not always obvious where you are. There are the bait spots, like Southbank and Mile End Station, but many of the locations in the video don’t actually exist. I just used real shopfronts and spray tags (big up 10Foot) to make it feel like London.

What’s your favourite spot in London?

If I could teleport anywhere in London right now, it’d be Lenny’s Apizza in The Bedford Tavern on Seven Sisters Road. I actually modelled that pub and popped it in a couple of shots in the video.

What’s in your London starter pack (for tourists or visiting aliens)?

£8 pint, a Travs Presents event and a tight grip on your phone.

What was the hardest section to create in this trailer?

Either the helicopter shot of the car zooming through Piccadilly Circus or the final car crash. I changed that car crash maybe six or seven times. And in classic fashion, put the first version of it back in 20 minutes before uploading it.

What was the most fun to create?

Probably the South Bank shots. When I was outside of London in my early teens, I visited London with my boys to skate all the time. So that became my image of London. Southbank, Mile End skatepark, Meanwhile Gardens… So it was just fun to animate something there, really took me back.

Any easter eggs we might have missed?

There’s some spray paint work from two artists that I haven’t seen anyone spot yet. One is tricky to catch because it’s on a moving – and flipping – object, while the other shows up on one or two walls. Most of the other easter eggs are subtle, designed to sell the scene subconsciously, like the metal ​“laughing gas” canisters in the Hatton Garden shot. You don’t notice they’re there but if things like that weren’t dotted all over the scenes, you’d notice that they were absent. A full easter egg breakdown is on the way!

Do you think we’ll really get GTA 6 next May?

I really hope so. But that said, if they need more time, I wouldn’t be mad about it. Rockstar delivers unparalleled gaming experiences. I trust that they only say that if it’s necessary to hit our unreasonable expectations!