AsGrand Theft Auto 6looms on the horizon, it will be interesting to see how Rockstar takes the franchise forward. This will be the first true entry in the series in over a decade, and a legion ofimprovements over previousGTAgamesis expected, but there may still be some awkward obstacles for Rockstar to overcome with this new chapter.
For better or worse,Grand Theft Autohas lived on since 2013 in the form ofGTA Online, which can now be purchased separately from the base game and has essentially taken on a life of its own. The online component is replete with all manner of live-service staples, from regular content expansions and collaborations to massive multiplayer experiences and microtransactions, which has made it a rabidly profitable project for Rockstar. Although the company didn’t manage to find anywhere near the same level of success withRed Dead Onlinein 2018 and beyond, there’s a solid chance thatGrand Theft Auto 6will arrive with a new online world, as this omission could be seen as leaving money on the table.
Grand Theft Auto 6 Online Would Be Entering a More Hostile Market
Live-Service Games Aren’t What They Were in the Early Days of GTA Online
Back when it first released in 2013,GTA Onlinewas a far more exciting prospect. The way thatRockstar wove the mode into the mainlineGTAstory,while still leaving room for less grounded competitive and cooperative gameplay, was tantalizing for players looking for a more enduring gameplay experience. The open-world MMO sandbox was a massive leap forward from those ofGTA 4’sandRed Dead Redemption’s respective online modes as well, and dreams of a massive multiplayer game within the world ofGTAseemed within reach.
As the years went by andmore content was added toGTA Online, the mode’s appeal continued to grow, turning into something that one could easily sink hundreds of hours (and potentially dollars) into. Beyond the traditional MMO scene, there was really nothing like it, and the promise of long-term support made it an ever-developing project worth paying attention to.
Things are a bit different today, though. In the wake oflive-service disasters likeConcord, confidence in games-as-a-service endeavors is at an all-time low. Flops likeMarvel’s AvengersandSuicide Squad: Kill the JusticeLeagueprove that massively popular IP won’t guarantee live-service success, and while all of these failures have flaws beyond just being live-service, it seems like the model itself is going out of vogue. Assuming that a newGTA Onlineadopts such live-service elements as regular updates and in-game purchases, it may not have the same shine as its 2013 predecessor did.
This is to say nothing ofRed Dead Online, whose disappointing performance indicates that Rockstar may not be able to capture live-service lightning in a bottle twice.
How a New GTA Online Could Work
The most obviousway for a newGTA Onlineto succeedwould be to make it a truly compelling product that’s respectful of players' time and money, but this is no easy task in the world of live service, which revolves around keeping players hooked for extended periods of time—one of the many reasons players have become disillusioned with the formula. Since even solid live-service games struggle to succeed, maybe it would be best for Rockstar to simply stick to the originalGTA Online, rather than make a new one.
Instead of anall-newGTA OnlineforGTA 6, perhaps Rockstar should simply launch a substantial update for the originalGTA Onlinenext year, sprucing up the visuals a bit and adding elements from the new game. This would probably demand fewer resources, both from a development and marketing standpoint, keeping the winning horse in front rather than trying to replace it. Put simply, live services are far from the guaranteed home run that many once thought they were, so Rockstar would be better off playing it safe.
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.
