Grand Theft Auto 6is still slated for a 2025 release—something that seems slightly surprising, given how little has been shown of it. Nevertheless, gaming audiences are holding their breath for future reveals about the highly anticipated title,waiting for Rockstar to draw back the curtainon its gameplay and narrative elements.
Something that is a bit less discussed, though undoubtedly top-of-mind for Rockstar, is howGTA 6will tie into the money-making machine that isGTA Online. Introduced inGTA 5,GTA Onlinehas ballooned into one of gaming’s preeminent live-service success stories, maintaining a healthy and committed playerbase since its release in 2013. Consistent updates and expansions have allowedGTA Onlineto stay profitable, as it not only attracts new buyers (GTA Onlineis not free-to-play, unlike many of its contemporaries), but it also encourages existing players to purchase in-game currency.GTA Online’s reliance on these microtransactions has made it rather controversial, especially as many Rockstar fans view it as siphoning time and resources that could be spent on new projects. Needless to say, this quasi-MMO is something of a complicated subject, so it will be interesting to see howGTA 6influences it.
GTA 6 Will Probably Herald a New GTA Online
Sequels to Live-Service Games Like GTA Online Are Tricky to Manage
A pillar of any live-service game is its continued development: these games are never quite finished, as they are designed to constantly evolve over the course of many years. Looking atgames likeGTA OnlineandFortnite, it’s plain to see that they have come a long way since their launch, to the point where they are arguably different games entirely. This begs the question: what is the point of releasing a traditional sequel at all?
Indeed, most long-running live-service games seem to have no plans for a full-fledged sequel anytime soon, as this strategy would mean diverting a lot of resources and disrupting the ecosystem that has been carefully cultivated over several years. This phenomenon has led many to speculate thatGTA Onlinewill follow the same route, perhaps getting a major update onceGTA 6releases, but not much more. This would echo Rockstar’s treatment of Red Dead Online, which was apparently neglected in favor of more updatesfor GTA Online. But there’s one big reason why this might not be the case.
GTA Online’s Vice City Offers Multiplayer Opportunities That Shouldn’t Go To Waste
GTA Onlineis starting to feel a little dated, especially in the wake ofRed Dead Redemption 2, which represents a massive leap forward in terms of Rockstar’s visual fidelity and attention to detail. One would assume thatGTA 6would take these strengths even further, so going back toGTA 5’s more dated graphics, animations, et cetera, could be tough to swallow after experiencingGTA 6’s single-player campaign.
Moreover,GTA 6’s modernized rendition of Vice Citywill no doubt be highly impressive, just likeGTA 5’s Los Santos was back in 2013. Rockstar would likely not want to “waste” this new map, as it were, by leaving it behind in favor of sprucing up the much older, and likely smaller,GTA 5map. Even ifGTA 5’sGTA Onlinewere to get massive updates related toGTA 6, playing it would likely still feel like a step backward.
Thus, a sequel toGTA Onlineis likely to launch alongsideGTA 6. It makes a lot of sense, for the aforementioned reasons, but that doesn’t mean that it will be a surefire victory. Circling back toRockstar’s shortcomings withRed Dead Online, meaningful, engaging content will only be essential for this newGTA Online, but this will only be the foundation. Adapting to the changing landscape of live-service and multiplayer gaming is another hurdleGTA 6will have to contend with.
Grand Theft Auto 6
WHERE TO PLAY
Grand Theft Auto VI heads to the state of Leonida, home to the neon-soaked streets of Vice City and beyond in the biggest, most immersive evolution of the Grand Theft Auto series yet.Jason and Lucia have always known the deck is stacked against them. But when an easy score goes wrong, they find themselves on the darkest side of the sunniest place in America, in the middle of a criminal conspiracy stretching across the state of Leonida — forced to rely on each other more than ever if they want to make it out alive.
