Grand Theft Auto is one of the most successful game franchises of all time, with Grand Theft Auto V’s expansion into GTA Online making it the most profitable title in the medium’s history-rich with its characters. From the 1997 release of Grand Theft Auto on the PlayStation through to 2013’s Grand Theft Auto V that’s now on the PS3, PS4, PS5, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, Rockstar North’s gem has earned its place at the top.
However, as consoles have become stronger and expectations have increased, the time to develop each GTA and its characters has been increased. The releases of GTA 2 to GTA: San Andreas – four-game launches – took place over a span of around five years, with GTA 2 coming out two years after the first game. GTA IV then took four years to release after San Andreas, with GTA V then coming five years later.
In between GTA IV and GTA V, Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption took the formula to the American frontier, and, in 2018, Red Dead Redemption 2 was released – followed by the expansion to Red Dead Online in 2019. We’re nearly eight years removed from the launch of GTA V, perhaps showcasing the tremendous leap in power from the seventh generation of consoles to the ninth.
Almost since the long-awaited launch of GTA Online, rumors and supposed leaks have swirled around the elusive GTA VI with its characters, some even alluding to a fantastical cross-nation map. Here, we’re having a close look at what we can more realistically expect from the game that would, in some instances, still mark an evolution in the franchise.
GTA Online’s biggest attraction will almost certainly come to GTA VI
Of all of the updates that have come to GTA Online over the years, none have been as highly-anticipated and well-received as the opening of the Diamond Casino. It wasn’t just the gambling complex, though; it was the unique form of heists that came with it, helping to deliver both the desired casino gaming and the GTA action all in one superb package.
Surprisingly, functional casinos aren’t that commonplace in the adult gaming series of GTA. San Andreas provided the breakthrough, with Caligula’s Palace, Four Dragons Casino, and Casino Floor offering interactive gambling games. Still, The Diamond Casino & Resort was the largest and most successful foray into in-game gambling games in GTA, even drawing in the most players since launch when it opened.
Its popularity in GTA Online is one thing, but so too is the changing state of play in the US – that game’s setting and biggest market. Now, in five states, people can go online to play blackjack, craps, roulette, slots, baccarat, and video poker. There are even live dealer table games to play at the verified and legal real-money casinos, in which the player is live-streamed to a croupier to play in real-time. Although commonly associated with the US, casino gaming is becoming a pop-culture phenomenon again, fuelling the appeal of an extensive Grand Theft Auto VI venue.
Building your own organizations
Another superb addition to the GTA universe under the banner of GTA Online was the motorcycle clubs. You get to start your own club, comprise its members of your friends, select the cuts, and try out a load of new motorcycles. The additional functionality of using melee attacks while astride a motorcycle was a subtle but crucial part of the update, too.
Expanding on this idea of building an MC should be encouraged for Grand Theft Auto VI, going even further in single-player mode with more customization options for cuts, bikes, and who gets into the club. It’d be great to see the grittiness of the GTA IV The Lost and Damned story infused with the increased freedom granted in the Bikers update. Still, it doesn’t have to be a motorcycle club – any customizable outlaw organization would mark an intriguing evolution within the franchise’s core game.
Complete character customization
Grand Theft Auto has always put you in the shoes of the development team’s created protagonist. They create the stories, the scripts, and the cinematics around each of their characters to drive you through the game’s events. In GTA V, the team took a leap to offer you three main characters, three storylines that eventually converge, and a bunch of alternate endings.
While fans wouldn’t like to see Rockstar do away with its superb storylines for the sake of character customization, if it could blend the suite offered for the multiplayer mode with the core game, it would certainly mark another step forward. In other games, like Skyrim and Cyberpunk 2077, the character has a given name, but that may end up in GTA needing to scrap the three-character approach. Perhaps at the very least, the game’s first female protagonist being added would be enough.
GTA V was such an impressive game, and GTA Online has successfully introduced many immersive new features over the years. So, we can only hope that these popular ideas are built upon in the inevitably upcoming Grand Theft Auto VI.