Why Vice City makes a new online mode for GTA 6 seem inevitable

Grand Theft Auto 6 is still scheduled for a 2025 release – which seems a bit surprising considering how little of it has been shown. Nonetheless, the gaming audience is eagerly awaiting future reveals of the highly anticipated title, waiting for Rockstar to pull back the curtain on its gameplay and narrative elements.

Something that is a little less discussed, but is undoubtedly the most important thing for Rockstar, is the how GTA 6 will be integrated into the money machine GTA Online. Introduced in GTA 5, GTA Online has become one of gaming's preeminent live service success stories, maintaining a healthy and engaged player base since its release in 2013. Continuous updates and expansions have made this possible GTA Online to remain profitable as it not only attracts new buyers (GTA Online is not free to play, unlike many of its contemporaries, but also encourages existing players to purchase in-game currency. GTA OnlineThe use of microtransactions has caused quite a bit of controversy, especially since many Rockstar fans see it as a waste of time and resources that could be spent on new projects. Needless to say, this quasi-MMO is a pretty complicated subject, so it will be interesting to see how GTA 6 influences it.

A social media app in GTA 6 could lead to a hilarious take on a franchise classic

Grand Theft Auto 6 appears to have an emphasis on social media, which should lead to unique gameplay opportunities in keeping with the series' story.

GTA 6 will probably usher in a new GTA Online

Sequels to live service games like GTA Online are difficult to manage

A cornerstone of any live service game is its continuous development: these games are never quite finished, as they are designed to continually evolve over many years. I watch games like GTA Online And Fortniteit's clear to see that they've come a long way since their release, to the point where they're arguably completely different games. This begs the question: What's the point of releasing a traditional sequel anyway?

In fact, most long-running live service games seem to have no plans for a full-fledged sequel any time 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 this way GTA Online I'll take the same route and maybe get a major update sometime GTA 6 Publications, but not much else. This would reflect Rockstar's treatment of Red Dead Online, which appears to have been neglected in favor of further updates for GTA Online. But there is an important reason why this may not be the case.

GTA Online's Vice City offers multiplayer opportunities that shouldn't be missed

GTA Online Is starting to feel a little dated, especially in retrospect Red Dead Redemption 2which represents a massive leap forward in Rockstar's visual fidelity and attention to detail. One would assume so GTA 6 would expand these strengths even further, so back to GTA 5The more dated graphics, animations, etc. might be hard to digest after experiencing it GTA 6is the single player campaign.

Over and beyond, GTA 6The modernized version of Vice City will undoubtedly be very impressive, just like GTA 5's Los Santos was in 2013. Rockstar probably wouldn't want to “waste” this new map, so to speak, by leaving it behind and instead revamping the much older and probably smaller map. GTA 5 Map. Even if GTA 5'S GTA Online should receive extensive updates related to GTA 6playing it would probably still feel like a step backwards.

So a sequel to GTA Online will probably start in parallel GTA 6. It makes perfect sense for the reasons above, but that doesn't mean it will be a surefire win. Let's go back to Rockstar's shortcomings Red Dead Onlinemeaningful, engaging content will only be essential for this new one GTA Onlinebut that will only be the basis. Another hurdle is adapting to the changing landscape of live service and multiplayer gaming GTA 6 will have to struggle with this.