Summary
Through the years,GTA Onlinehas grown into its own massive experience apart fromGTA 5. Although both games are intrinsically tied together,GTA Onlinequickly became its own thing, and it still manages to keep players engaged 11 years later. Despite this success, rampant cheating has often caused havoc for many players, and the latest update toGTA Onlinefinally addresses this issue.
After years of players requesting the feature,GTA Onlinefinally added an anti-cheat systemwith the BattlEye software. The system aims to give PC players a much better experience inGTA Online, as hackers can sometimes plague lobbies, ruining the experience for others. Now that an anti-cheat is finally inGTA Online, PC players will hopefully have a much better time, but this now needs to be the standard going forward forGTA 6.
GTA 6’s Online Counterpart Needs to Feature Anti-Cheat From the Start
Including an Important Quality of Life Feature at Launch
After 11 years, it seems incredible that Rockstar took so long to add a solid anti-cheat system. The developer most likely listened to player complaints and needed time to make a good version of its system, and it doesn’t seem far-fetched to think this system is being tested as a way to prepare for the launch ofGTA 6’s online counterpart. AlthoughGTA Online’s roll-out of BattlEyehasn’t gone as smoothly as hoped for, this is the prime time for Rockstar to see just how well the system works for the game and its players.
As of now, it’s unknown ifGTA 6will introduce a new online game or not. There are many hoping that anew and improved version ofGTA Onlineis on the horizon, but Rockstar has yet to confirm anything. Getting to explore Vice City in an online environment with friends would be a blast, but it likely wouldn’t take long for hackers to arrive. For an onlineGTA 6mode to be as successful as possible, anti-cheat needs to be established right out of the gate.
BattlEye forGTA Onlineis unfortunately not supported by Steam Deck, which has caused problems for many players who prefer to use the device.
ForGTA Online, it can take a tedious amount of time to find lobbies that don’t have cheaters taking over. Cheats that involve increasing one’s money or spawning random vehicles can generally be harmless. However, ifGTA 6’s online versionis immediately flooded by hackers who turn lobbies into killing sprees and make completing missions impossible for other players, it will likely cause an uproar.
Rockstar Potentially Prepping For GTA 6’s Anti-Cheat
The timing of Rockstar adding an anti-cheat system toGTA Onlineis suspicious. Currently, the expected release date ofGTA 6is sometime in the fall of next year. Two possibilities seem to be the valid reasons for adding BattlEye a year ahead of a new game. Rockstar may be going to forego an online version ofGTA 6at first and continue to regularly supportGTA OnlineorGTA Onlinemay be undergoing tests for the new title. WithGTA Onlineshowing its age, the latter is hopefully the explanation for such a late-stage BattlEye implementation.
Only time will tell if this is the case, but there will hopefully be more insight given intoGTA 6’s possible online mode in the coming months.It’s been a long time since a majorGTA 6update arrived, and it would be exciting if the next bit of news could confirm whether there will be an online counterpart or not. Even if an onlineGTA 6isn’t on the horizon, there is at least the comfort in knowing thatGTA Online’s PC experience will be much more balanced for players going forward. However, this will also hopefully inspire Rockstar to make BattlEye the launch standard for any of its future online games.
