GTA 4’s Niko is Grand Theft Auto’s best protagonist, says former Rockstar dev

Niko Bellic from GTA IV is the best Grand Theft Auto protagonist, and if you don’t believe me, take it from former Rockstar Games devs.

Despite GTA V being the superior game, my personal favourite will always be GTA IV; I don’t think even GTA VI could knock it off its pedestal.

That said, GTA VI looks like a bloody good time and that’s before it has another year to cook…

The game was delayed to May 2026 and while that sucks, there is hope for a new-ish Grand Theft Auto game this year, a re-release of GTA IV.

Rumour has it that Rockstar Games plans to bring back the fourth instalment in the series, which would be great timing considering we’re having to wait another year for the GTA VI.

The news is unconfirmed by Rockstar Games, but former developers believe it’s entirely possible, and should be done without question.

Obbe Vermeij, who worked as a technical director for Rockstar between 1995 and 2009, spoke to fans on X regarding the potential GTA IV re-release, saying, “It's a great game and there have been a number of successful remasters recently.”

He went on to add, “I would like to see it updated, Niko is still the best protagonist in any GTA game I think.”

Personally, I couldn’t agree more as Niko Bellic brought so much life to GTA IV as, at the end of the day, he was just a man chasing a dream, getting knocked back by life at almost every turn which is something I think a lot of people can relate to.

While he’s my favourite Grand Theft Auto protagonist as well, there's still tough competition as the trio from GTA V are excellent and who can forget CJ from GTA: San Andreas?

Only time will tell if Lucia and Jason can hold a candle to these legendary video game characters when GTA VI drops next year.