Set in the near future in a dystopian metropolitan Detroit, the plot centers on RoboCop (Burke) as he vows to avenge the death of his partner Anne Lewis (Allen) and save Detroit from falling into chaos, while evil conglomerate OCP, run by its CEO (Torn), advances its program to demolish the city and build a new "Delta City" over the former homes of the residents.

Most of the set and background buildings were slated for demolition to make way for facilities in the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Due to passive resistance by the DPD toward mass eviction, OCP creates a heavily armed private security force called the Urban Rehabilitators, nicknamed "Rehabs", under the command of Paul McDaggett, to forcibly relocate the evicted citizens such as the residents of the now condemned Cadillac Heights.

Nikko Halloran, a young resident of Cadillac Heights skilled with computers, loses her parents in the relocation process.

Unable to fight back because of his "Fourth Directive" programming, RoboCop is saved by members of a resistance movement composed of Nikko and residents from Cadillac Heights and he joins them.

Because he was severely damaged during the shoot-out, RoboCop's systems efficiency plummets and he asks the resistance to summon Dr. Lazarus, one of the scientists who created him.

Kanemitsu has developed his own ninja androids called "Otomo" and sends one to assist McDaggett against the resistance.

When RoboCop returns to the rebel base to find it abandoned, an Otomo unit arrives and attacks him.

As Old Detroit is being cleaned up, Kanemitsu arrives and finally comes face to face with RoboCop and his allies, while his translator tells the OCP CEO on Kanemitsu's behalf that he is fired as the corporation shuts down OCP for good and plans to leave Detroit.

Comic author Frank Miller, who co-wrote RoboCop 2, returned to write the screenplay for the film.

[13] The news of Weller's retirement from the role in September 1990 led to rumors that the film would be cancelled, which producer Patrick Crowley quickly denied.

[14] Recognizing that RoboCop's fan base consisted primarily of children, Orion Pictures cut down on the graphic violence that was seen as the defining characteristic of the first two films.

[10] Initially scheduled for release in mid 1992, RoboCop 3 languished until the following year, as Orion Pictures went through bankruptcy and was bought out.

Since Columbia TriStar Entertainment owned the international distribution rights to film, a completed workprint was theatrically released in Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines during that time.

After this delay, pirated copies of the film started getting illegally sold on VHS in New York City in mid 1993.

"[22] Chicago Sun Times critic Roger Ebert gave the film one and a half stars, disputing the characters' longevity.

"[24] Other points of criticism in this movie include curtailing the graphic violence of the first two films (deliberately done in order to be more family-friendly), less dark humor and the absence of Peter Weller in the title role.