In 2021, Meta announced that Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas would be coming to its Quest 2 VR platform. At the time, Meta said, “Experience one of the most iconic open worlds in gaming (again, or for the first time) with a new perspective on Los Santos, San Fierro, and Las Venturas.” This is a project we've been working on for years and we can't wait to show you guys more.”

Unfortunately, Meta showed nothing more after this announcement and refused to say anything about the game's development status: for example, when UploadVR asked about it in 2023, Meta simply refused to comment. Now, finally, they have revealed what is happening to the game. [MetaQuestVR's official account responded to a query posted on YouTube, “GTA: San Andreas has been suspended indefinitely while the two of us focus on other projects. We look forward to working with our rock star friends in the future.” Meta later confirmed this statement to IGN.

“Indefinite hold” is not the same as cancellation, but it's not a good place to be. For example, the KOTOR remake, which we have yet to get our hands on, was “indefinitely postponed” to 2022, and Life By You suffered the same fate just two weeks before its scheduled early access release, and was soon after cancelled entirely. In the case of San Andreas VR, Meta is statement that it looks forward to working with Rockstar “in the future” - but not necessarily on this game - but this does not inspire further confidence.

The “not dead but sleeping” status of “San Andreas VR” may reflect the broader state of VR gaming. Adoption remains stubbornly low (according to the latest Steam hardware and software survey, less than 2% of Steam users use VR headsets, a figure that has not seen meaningful movement in years), killer games for the VR platform have yet to appear, and of course there is also the problem of upchuck, which has yet to be overcome.

Despite these challenges, however, VR development does not appear to be slowing down overall; IO Interactive announced “Hitman 3 Reloaded VR” earlier this year, and a new “Batman: Arkham VR” is in the works. There are plenty of others at the recent VR Games Showcase, including “Flatout,” “Trombone Champ,” and “Wrath: Aeon of Ruin.”

But things are not looking good, especially on the Meta front. The company's Reality Labs VR division is running out of money at an alarming rate, and there is no realistic hope of a quick turnaround. Earlier this month, Meta closed its Lone Echo studio Ready at Dawn as part of an effort to achieve new budget cuts.

Take-Two may have also lost interest in the project. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick had previously expressed doubts about the VR market, and those particular comments predate the announcement of San Andreas VR, but nothing much has changed since then. Whatever the reason for the indefinite hold, it is possible that “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” will be released on VR platforms. We have reached out to Take-Two for comment and will update if we hear back.