GTA 4 Was Destined for a Darker Ending, but Rockstar Didn’t Have the Nerve to Kill Niko Bellic

In a recent podcast with Lex Fridman, Dan Houser, the former co-founder of Rockstar, revealed that Niko Bellic’s story in GTA 4 was supposed to end with his death. However, the creative team and the developers didn’t have the nerve to pull the strings on this one. While many consider this a mature move, given that the players had a genuine connection with Niko, some still consider this a missed opportunity.

The GTA 4 Ending We Never Got: A Bloody End to the Protagonist

From the start, Niko’s journey through Liberty City was painted in the shades of guilt and revenge. Every mission, every betrayal, and every lesson in GTA 4 pushed him closer to an inevitable downfall.

In the final mission, the players face two choices – Deal or Revenge – and while both choices lead to devastating consequences, Niko somehow survives. Either his cousin or girlfriend may die, but Niko keeps breathing, broken yet alive.

It has been over fifteen years, and the fans are over the ending, but due to Dan Houser’s recent remarks on Niko’s alternate fate, it’s gaining traction on the internet again. Rockstar’s original plans to close the book on Niko would have concluded the story in a truly dark fashion.

If Niko Bellic had died in the end, it would have given a sense of moral exhaustion, and the game’s refusal to offer redemption to the character despite all the struggles. Had Rockstar gone through with it, GTA 4 might have stood as the most uncompromising story in the series.

Why Rockstar Couldn’t Bring Itself to Kill Niko Bellic

A still from GTA 4 | Credits: Rockstar Games

During the Lex Fridman podcast, Dan Houser himself revealed that killing Niko Bellic was a risky move. At that time (2008), Rockstar couldn’t afford to take down the protagonist at the end, as it was difficult to predict the players’ reaction. In fact, the first time they had the protagonist die was in Red Dead Redemption in 2010. Houser says:

“Well, I would’ve liked to have at the end of GTA 4 kill Niko. But you couldn’t do it. You know, the game doesn’t work like that. So there was this thing, we hadn’t done it, thought about doing it, hadn’t done it, and then going, let’s try it, and it worked.”

Instead of killing the protagonist in 2008’s GTA 4, Rockstar decided to add a bloody end to John Marston’s story in Red Dead Redemption. To everyone’s surprise, it worked! Well, mostly because of the story design and game flow. GTA 4 dared to show the human cost of crime but fell short of the ultimate consequence in the climax.

What GTA 4 ending do you prefer the most? Let us know your pick in the comments below.

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