One report in particular, from former Kotaku news editor Jason Schreier, stated that the changes in Rockstar’s work culture has shifted its development approach in response to crunch concerns. The next Grand Theft Auto game may have a drastically different release plan compared to its predecessors, but this is not an entirely new approach for the series. This could be more of an evolution to the franchise as a whole, not just for the developer but the game itself.
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GTA 6: Iterating on Massive Success
By report, the working culture at Rockstar Games has evolved substantially after the criticisms of its “culture of crunch.” Along with all the beneficial company-wide changes, the report dove into the specific example of Rockstar’s “next game, a new entry in the Grand Theft Auto series” as well. According to Schreier, game development on Grand Theft Auto 6 has taken on a more segmented approach. The game will start out with a “moderately sized release” in the beginning, but over time evolve with updates and potential DLC expansions. While these efforts are likely in place to “mitigate stress and crunch” for the developers, this could also be circumstantially beneficial for the game itself.
Part of the reason why Grand Theft Auto Online soared in popularity over time was because of the regular events, content updates, in-game sales, and new missions/quests that were consistently added to the game. Born from initial criticisms that Grand Theft Auto Online was barren content-wise, the game eventually added tons of new content like apartments and the long-awaited Heists update in 2015 and soared from there. Eventually players could start their own business, purchase offices and nightclubs, and flaunt their wealth in millions of ways. Player counts steadily and substantially rose as Grand theft Auto Online transformed into an engrossing new experience.
While many figured support would end with the inclusion of Heists, the game received unprecedented support from Rockstar for years after the game’s initial 2013 release.
A New Approach, A New Rockstar, A New GTA 6
What makes this new report interesting specifically for Grand Theft Auto 6 is that the game could be built off the innovations made by Rockstar with Grand Theft Auto Online. Initially releasing a “moderately sized” game (or whatever is moderately sized for Rockstar’s standards) with consistent updates may be exactly what the whole game needs, not just multiplayer. Despite the huge success of Grand Theft Auto Online, one of the greatest criticisms of the game was the lack of single-player DLC/expansions. Even though there likely was a planned single-player expansion for Grand Theft Auto 5, such an expansion was likely scrapped due to the burgeoning success of Grand Theft Auto Online in 2016.
Releasing a paired down or condensed version of the game initially, then continually expanding the game afterwards could potentially propel Grand Theft Auto 6 into an even more massive success than its predecessor. The game world could sequentially evolve as the story progresses for both single-player and multiplayer, similar to the structure of an MMO or RPG. Grand Theft Auto Online’s many expansions made the world of Grand Theft Auto 5 much grander than the single player ever could’ve managed on its own. Assuming single player is still a core part of the Grand Theft Auto 6 experience, the game world could add different regions, items, or activities in both modes to craft a unique experience for the story as well as online multiplayer.
Of course this new development plan, while conceptually impressive, could still be very controversial. There will be fans out there who would likely criticism Rockstar for releasing an “unfinished” game and monetizing the multiplayer. Assuming Rockstar’s development team sticks to free expansions with microtransactions, fans could push back if these updates don’t do enough to appease players who aren’t playing online or aren’t satisfied with the base game’s content. Regardless of this, Rockstar has recognized that Grand Theft Auto Online was the money maker to Grand Theft Auto 5, despite the game’s huge initial sales numbers. Eschewing any development of the single player beyond the base release would be a shame, yet who could blame them from a business standpoint.
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An Ever-Evolving Grand Theft Auto Game
Assuming the game receives continued updates throughout its lifespan like Grand Theft Auto 5, the game’s scope could be massive. Adding updates that apply to single player and multiplayer could potentially make this next game the biggest Grand Theft Auto entry in the whole franchise. Players would have a reason to return for both single player and multiplayer content drops, as long as they’re substantial enough and fans are invested. Extending a lot of the love put into Grand Theft Auto Online translated into single0player content would help satisfy fans looking for the profound, outrageous social commentary Grand Theft Auto’s story is known for. Updates could be as substantial as an additional area of the world map with new missions, or as small as some new guns/cars/etc.
As long as there’s parity between single player and multiplayer, this could be the most ambitious Grand Theft Auto title thus far. It’s possible the world will hear more from Rockstar in the coming months, according to some announcement/reveal rumors. For now, fans should be excited to jump back into Vice City, or any other new setting once the game gets its official reveal.
Grand Theft Auto 6 is reportedly in development.
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