Z was a cancelled survival horror game developed by Rockstar North circa 2002.[1]
Description
The game was being developed for less than two months by the original Rockstar North team who developed Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Manhunt. According to former Rockstar North technical director Obbe Vermeij, the game was cancelled due to lack of interest by the developers (including the people who conceived the idea in the first place) in very early development, as "the idea seemed depressing and quickly ran out of steam."
The game was set on an windswept foggy island located in Scotland, homeland of Rockstar North. The player would find themselves being constantly under attack from zombies, while being forced to look out for fuel. Acquiring fuel for vehicles would be a big part of the gameplay, according to Vermeij.
Unlike Manhunt, Z had no relation with the Grand Theft Auto series apart from certain parts of code recycled from Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, presumably vehicle handling:
I can't quite remember how long we worked on Z. Maybe a month or so.
The idea seemed depressing and quickly ran out of steam. Even the people who originally coined the idea lost faith. We dropped the idea and got on with San Andreas.”