A character model datamined from Grand Theft Auto 5's source code 'could actually be Agent's protagonist', according to online sleuth

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GTAForums user provides compelling evidence that the model is the lead character of Rockstar's cancelled spy game.

Alleged in-game images from the cancelled game Agent.
(Image credit: Rockstar North)

Rockstar Games' cancelled open world game Agent is one of the more mysterious elements of the Grand Theft Auto 6 developer's history. Originally revealed back in 2007, Agent was a relatively high-profile project for years, but never showed much beyond the odd bit of concept art, eventually vanishing from Rockstar's website in 2021.

More information about Agent has appeared in recent years, however. Dan Houser recently explained the game went through "about five different iterations" and that it never came together because open world games and tightly crafted spy thrillers don't mix. Now, a data miner believes they've uncovered a little more information on Agent via Grand Theft Auto 5's source code, specifically the identity of its main character.

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A horizontally split image of the character model from Agent. The top half shows him with original face and textures, the bottom half shows his model with the facial textures of GTA 4's Niko Bellic.

(Image credit: Rockstar Games/XanaBax)

XanaBax's reasoning is based upon the fact that the main node in the folder hierarchy in which the model was found is called "player", alongside the fact that the folder itself is called 'Jimmy', the codename of Agent. In addition to this, the model is seen in some images from the portfolio of a former Rockstar environment artist who worked on Agent.

Digging a little deeper, Xanabax also discovered the XMD filename for the character model includes the phrase "NorthRig", implying that it was developed at Rockstar North, and is dated to June 2009, which puts it in the window between GTA 4 and Grand Theft Auto 5 when Agent was in active development. The model itself is also partly based upon the model for Grand Theft Auto 4's protagonist Niko Bellic, using "more or less" the same UV map for Niko's head, according to XanaBax.

Agent isn't the only unrealised Rockstar project we've discovered more about lately. Last September, Dan Houser also revealed that the studio's planned sequel to Bully didn't happen due to "bandwidth issues" within management, telling IGN that "if you've got a small lead creative team and a small senior leadership crew, you just can't do all the projects you want."

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Rick Lane
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Rick has been fascinated by PC gaming since he was seven years old, when he used to sneak into his dad's home office for covert sessions of Doom. He grew up on a diet of similarly unsuitable games, with favourites including Quake, Thief, Half-Life and Deus Ex. Between 2013 and 2022, Rick was games editor of Custom PC magazine and associated website bit-tech.net. But he's always kept one foot in freelance games journalism, writing for publications like Edge, Eurogamer, the Guardian and, naturally, PC Gamer. While he'll play anything that can be controlled with a keyboard and mouse, he has a particular passion for first-person shooters and immersive sims.

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