Grand Theft Auto: Harbour City Leaked

Massive news hit IGN Australia this morning with the leak of what appears to be the design documentation for the next Grand Theft Auto instalment. According to photos provided by a reliable source, these images show 'Grand Theft Auto: Harbour City' – set in a fictionalised Sydney, Australia in the 1970s. What's more, the developer appears to be 'Rockstar Bondi' – formerly Team Bondi, makers of the mysterious and oft-delayed L.A. Noir.



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IGN has come into the possession of two photos, allegedly taken at the Team Bondi studios last week, showing the cover - the 14th edition of the 'Grand Theft Auto: Harbour City' design document – and a page outlining the overview, key points and gameplay hooks. The email claims that these were taken on an old Nokia handset and had to be "done in a hurry".

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We've done our best to transcribe what we can make out, and we've indicated points where the text was too grainy to be sure:
Grand Theft Auto: Harbour City expands and improves on (ed: not sure) the benchmark Grand Theft Auto IV from Rockstar North, bringing Rockstar Bondi (formerly Team Bondi) into the spotlight (ed: not sure).

Set during the 1970s(?), the story follows Harbour City resident and low-level thug, Tresle(?) 'Thumb' Conroy (ed: not sure), from his accidental invitation(?) into the high rollers' gambling circuit(?) (ed: not sure) through to dominance of the city's underworld, financial district and celebrity system(?). The tone pays reference to famous Australian con-films(?) 'Chopper' and 'Dirty Deeds'.

The game's mission-based structure will remain in place, with a greater emphasis on side-missions, environmental interactivity and destructibility. Harbour City will run on an enhanced version of the Rockstar Advanced Game Engine supported by the continued licensing of the Euphoria animation engine.

Missions will take players across the iconic Coathanger (Sydney Harbour Bridge) and Harbour City Amphitheatre (Sydney Opera House), into the sleazy (Seedy? Sassy?)(ed: not sure) Knight's Crown (Kings Cross) and Greenleaf (Redfern) districts, into the surrounding beach communities of (Sheldon? Shevon? Slebbon?) (ed: not sure) (Bondi) and through the tangle of city streets and inner-city residential suburbs.

While Harbour City takes cues from Sydney's urban landscape, a portion of the Australian outback will also feature (ed: whaaaa? Seriously?).
Tantalisingly, the Motifs section points out some of the game's potential themes:


High rollers (ed: not sure), gambling, beach lifestyle, c--(?) (ed: not sure), information (immigration?), drug-running, military ---(?) (ed: not sure), Australiana, celebrities, street racing, nautical activities, committees(?)(ed: not sure)

Finally, the release date is listed as October 2010, which sounds about right to us in terms of timing. The logo looks vaguely retro, which also fits a possibly 1970s setting. The 'Gameplay Hooks' section lists a branching story arc, what we think says 'Enhanced Euphoria animation' and environmental destruction, as well as online stock trading and, tantalisingly, co-op mission structure.

A close-up of the Harbour City skyline.
There are a few other curiosities on offer here. There's a single image of what looks Sydney – Centrepoint Tower appears to be visible. It's not clear whether this is a screenshot, target render, a photograph or conceptual art. We've blown it up for your dissection.

The Rockstar Bondi logo?
Team Bondi has been mysteriously quiet lately, leading some to suspect that their previously announced project, L.A. Noir had been cancelled. However, it appears that Rockstar was impressed with the studio's work – to the point where they've effectively handed them the keys to the GTA castle. Incorporating Team Bondi makes a lot of sense, as does a rebrand to fit under the Rockstar banner. There also appears to be a new Rockstar logo in the bottom-right corner of the page, in green and gold – very Australian.

At this stage, these photos are all we have to go on. We're currently seeking comment from Rockstar's local PR arm to confirm or deny the authenticity of these images and we'll update this article accordingly.

http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/968/968383p1.html