The gaming public still cling on to the hope that GTA VI will appear one day… Rockstar have been dropping hints forever now, and we only got ONE Grand Theft Auto Game in the whole of the 2010’s. You have to admit, that’s pretty incredible considering GTA is possibly the hottest gaming franchise on the planet.
If that’s true, why have Rockstar left their hottest product sitting on the shelve for more than a decade? It all comes down to the online version of the game, which was crafted with such perfection (updates not withstanding – they got there in the end) that it brings in roughly a billion dollars per year.
A little napkin math reveals that to be roughly $30 every SECOND. Or about $1,700 per minute. Or over $100,000 per hour. Ah I guess we may as well… that’s $2.5 million PER DAY. For a game released just shy of ten years ago – September 2013 – it’s perhaps easy to understand why Rockstar feels comfortable just sitting pretty and letting their existing game do its thing.
The Next Generation
The problem is, whilst GTA V has already been released for multiple console generations and runs perfectly fine on the latest PlayStation 5 hardware, owners of those consoles are disappointed that there hasn’t been a full Next-Gen specific re-release of Rockstar’s greatest treasure and achievement.
Rockstar got lucky in terms of timing when they first released the game – PlayStation 4 were right around the corner, so it didn’t take long for them to come up with a next-gen specific version of the game that time around. In fact, the next-gen versions came just one year after the original release of GTA V.
The new consoles have already been out a year now, and whilst we have seen a few smaller patches here and there adding the odd graphical improvement to some aspects of Vice City, I think it’s fair to say the community has been underwhelmed… at best.
Key GTA V Online Updates
It only seems like yesterday when Rockstar added the controversial Diamond Casino to the game, but – brace yourself – it was way back in 2019! The Diamond Casino was a fun addition, and the debate surrounding its inclusion was justified, bringing up a number of issues that really need to be discussed in the gaming community.
Nevertheless, I am looking forward to the day when the Diamond Casino adds Live Dealer Roulette to their portfolio of games – imagine walking into that casino, VR headset on, and finding the high limit room filled with real dealers – who could resist grabbing an ice cold drink and enjoying a few hands of Blackjack or spins of Roulette dealt by an attractive dealer in super hi-res virtual reality?
The Big One: GTA Online 2022
Rumors will continue swirling for at least another year or two about GTA6 – those who are reporting on that game must be careful too, as Rockstar are known to be working on a remaster of the first three Grand Theft Auto games, which may even include the long-awaited trailer for GTA6, if rumors are to be believed.
Staying on topic though, the Next-Gen consoles were supposed to receive their long-awaited update on November 11th, 2021 – that’s just three days away at the time of writing. Something tells me Rockstar might miss that deadline…
Rockstar are promising that it will be worth the wait, however – with a new proposed date of “sometime around March 2022”, PlayStation 5 owners will be treated to an “expanded and enhanced” version of GTA 5, featuring countless technical improvements, visual upgrades, performance enhancements, and even easter eggs… there’s no denying the improved game looks beyond amazing – Cyberpunk 2077 eat your heart out. Want to form your own opinion? Check out the trailer below, courtesy of Rockstar and Sony:
Are you excited for the updated version of GTA V? Or do you just wish Rockstar would hurry up and get GTA 6 out of the door? At present, we’ve heard the latest sequel isn’t due for release until 2025 – yes, that’s a long time away, but creating something just as revolutionary as the previous GTA games is going to be incredibly difficult for the developers. It’s a challenge they will relish though, I’m sure! From DMA to GTA … this is one studio that doesn’t do bad games.