From the beginning, the recipe for GTA V was vastly different to what we experienced in GTA IV. Back in 2008, we received a game and a promise of expansion, and within the following two years we received DLC that didn’t rival Niko’s story, but complimented it. Tacked onto this was a multiplayer mode that was easy to get into, fun to play and simple to navigate. Fast forward to 2013 and before us was a beautiful map, rich with detail and life, and for the first time three controllable protagonists in a single story. Rockstar had outdone themselves; were they going to release DLC for each of these guys like they did for GTA IV? The excitement for this at the time was spine-tingling. A month later, however, we flew into Los Santos not as a character, but as ourselves. GTA Online was born and it was time to make our own story.
Since that time, we’ve had a version for old generation consoles, an enhanced version for new generation consoles, and a release for PC. On top of this we’ve had 27 game-play changing and themed DLC for GTA Online that have been absolutely free. That’s a feat unrivalled by most other game companies, and for that we should be thankful. The sore point here however is that none of this content has ever made it into GTA V singleplayer, and so the cake didn’t turn out as expected like it did for GTA IV; an ingredient was missing, GTA Online didn’t just accompany GTA V, it took it’s place.
It’s easy to accept now that the ship has probably sailed on singleplayer DLC, and the aforementioned free DLC that has come to GTA Online has held the interest of many players, new and old. From a fan point of view, GTA Online has also been the source of many friendships, the forger of many communities, and a place to showcase your creativity, but it’s not without it’s resentment and woe. The nature of the game has instilled an unsatiable desire in many regular players; a thirst for new content that will never be quenched. Are we in self-denial, since every game has a shelf-life? Or was GTA just not this type of game in the first place?
It might therefore pain some folks to hear that rumours are starting to echo around the community that updates for GTA Online have started to simmer down in preparation for the upcoming Red Dead Redemption 2 release at the end of this year.
@Yan2295, Rockstar Games enthusiast, has fuelled this conversation with an update on his website today discussing that work continues on other games like Red Dead Redemption 2 and the next GTA (that comes without question, really), and that the team dedicated to GTA Online updates has significantly reduced in numbers because of this. It’s suggested that the Import/Export DLC was to be the last of the game’s major updates, with things stopping at a low ebb in time for autumn when RDR2 drops.
So what of the most requested updates originating on GTAForums? There’s many DLC ideas that players are still pushing for, including cops and robbers, night club management, tuners, car dealerships and even a map expansion. There’s also a multitude of vehicles requests, weapon requests and gameplay elements like more clothes and mansions. Is it time to start considering that we shouldn’t be making wishlists for GTA Online, but instead for “GTA 6” or “GTA Online 2.0”? Perhaps it’s wise to start accepting the inevitable now rather than later, even though GTA Online is still very much a constant for many players.
You might think that it would be hard, even stupid, for any business to walk away from the continuing profits and chart success GTA V and GTA Online has enjoyed, however Rockstar are not a one-game developer. Fans will continue to enjoy the games for years to come, if the 3D era is anything to go by. Similarly, it’s important for them, and for us as their fans, to see what else they can do and celebrate the fact they have other franchises to show us in the future.
So, we’re not actually saying that anything @Yan2295 says is true or anything but speculation, because we promised to only post official news here, but the conversation is still an interesting one to have and we’d like those that have a good head on their shoulders to come forward and say their piece. As Rockstar fans, we don’t only like to play their games, but we like to analyse and discuss them; it might be complete guesswork but that’s what GTAForums is built on!
If you’d like to contribute to this conversation or voice your opinion, feel free to post here or head on over to any of the links below:
Red Dead Online will be put in place of GTA Online in 2017?
Will you continue playing GTA:O when Red Dead Redemption 2 is released?