Will Rockstar focus on GTA 6 online instead of campaign?

Paul Cot

Despite zero announcements or even credible rumors so far, Grand Theft Auto 6 is still one of the most talked about upcoming releases. With an absence of information, we look at the possibility of Rockstar prioritizing online over the campaign.

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GTA 6 online

Games have increasingly been geared towards their online element over the years. With the popularity of playing online, in comparison to single-player campaigns, it isn’t a stretch to suggest Rockstar will focus more efforts on their online offering.

Therefore, Rockstar will at the very least put more effort into GTA 6 online than they did GTA 5. After all, GTA 5 was released without the online component which released two weeks after. Furthermore, GTA 5 online back then offered a fraction of what it does today.

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Rumors are circulating that GTA 6 could be a PS5 exclusive…

While GTA fans are understandably excited about the prospect of a fresh Grand Theft Auto campaign, especially utilizing a new generation of hardware, it will be online that will receive the most hype and have GTA players spending more time on.

Money talks in Grand Theft Auto

When playing GTA 5 online you’ll realize money is king – the same applies to Rockstar in real life.

GTA 5 has made a ludicrous amount of revenue since its release in October of 2013. As of April 2018, GTA 5 has made an estimated $6 billion in revenue. That’s an astounding amount of money.

GTA 5 is one of the most popular and profitable games in history…
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Within that $6 billion number, it is also estimated 90 million copies of GTA 5 have been sold. If we assume an average price tag of $45, which is reasonable when including discounts and the most recent of sales, then just over $4 billion have come directly from sales of GTA 5.

This means, based on this estimation, that approximately $2 billion in revenue has been made from GTA 5 online alone. Even if this $45 per copy is off the mark, and it’s $50, then that is still far more than $1 billion in revenue for GTA online.

Meanwhile, Rockstar continue to update the online offering of GTA V.

Rockstar want profit

Consequently, we expect to see the focus shifted firmly towards GTA 6 online.

In a worst-case scenario, and even without an announcement, sales for GTA 6 are already likely to do very well. On the flip side, they might even surpass its predecessor GTA 5. Simply put, GTA 6 is going to sell well.

This means the additional revenue is going to come from GTA 6 online. Rockstar are unlikely to make the story mode campaign anything less than brilliant but ultimately they will put their efforts and attention where the money is. 

That is unquestionably GTA 6 online.