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Times have changed. The gap between GTA 5 and GTA 6 is a whopping 12 years, whereas previously, Rockstar Games never let more than five years pass before they release a mainline GTA game. And while you thought it’s pretty obvious that GTA 7 would take a while, a new development for GTA 6 means that whatever gap you’re calculating, maybe double it, because GTA 6 is here to stay and take its lessons from Roblox and Fortnite.
Rockstar Games is not merely looking to add another GTA Online component to GTA 6. There’s reportedly also going to be user-generated content (UGC) where you and billions of other players can create your own content for GTA 6 Online for others to play, like in Roblox or Fortnite.
Players can practically become mock developers and with how many there are, that’s potentially unlimited content for GTA 6— unlimited locations, cars, missions– it’s a digital theme park. If the reports are anything to go by, then you might even be able to create a game-within-a-game, all inside GTA 6.
What’s not to like, right? Well, this approach for GTA 6 is easily a double-edged sword, similar to how GTA Online affected the franchise– permanently.
The Good
There are plenty of benefits to UGC in video games. Apart from the aforementioned unlimited content from players, this feature could also allow modders their own official platform in which to flex their dev skills and creativity. For all we know, GTA 6 Online‘s reported UGC could become a cradle for up-and-coming game devs or artists, depending on what kind of content Rockstar Games allows.
Moreover, UGC ought to allow Rockstar Games a breather, seeing as one of the biggest tasks they faced in maintaining GTA Online for GTA 5 was creating regular or seasonal content. Simply put, UGC could be a massive haven fostering player retention that would make any corporate executive salivate.
Because who doesn’t want unlimited content? Content drought is like the virtual equivalent of the energy crisis in live-service video games, and UGC is essentially unlimited energy. This unlimited energy has propelled games like Minecraft, Roblox, and Fortnite into steady relevance for decades, so much so, that they’ve become cultural institutions.
The Bad
Now, we’re assuming that the UGC is indeed true and that it achieves the same level of financial success and impact as Roblox or Fortnite. The question is if Rockstar Games is already earning so much, what incentivizes them to create GTA 7 and replace that prized cow with another one that might not even earn as much?
Rockstar Games is still a corporation, after all, owned by Take-Two Interactive, nonetheless. In fact, GTA 6 took 12 years to arrive because Rockstar Games’ resources, focus, and preference are on GTA 5‘s GTA Online. GTA Online managed to do that to the franchise and it didn’t even have UGC, what more if a better-looking sequel to GTA Online has potentially unlimited content?
We could be looking at another decade-long gap between GTA 6 and 7, if we’re being optimistic here. I fear that one of the glaring downsides to unlimited content will be another GTA Online complacency, but worse.
On the flip side, less pressure on the devs to create content could also free them up for GTA 7, but it’s hard to tell since it’s not clear just how much freedom GTA 6‘s UGC will give to players or how involved the devs will be. But it’s definite that Rockstar Games wants to achieve something big and never before seen on a large, official scale by adding UGC for GTA 6. GTA 6 and its UGC are basically Roblox or Fortnite for adults.
The Ugly
The funny thing about adults is, well, we tend to do adult stuff, right? Whatever those are. Rockstar Games knows this. The studio is aware that GTA has a reputation that millions of pearl-clutches and Karens are looking to drag further into negativity. The irony is that it’s nigh impossible to keep children out of GTA with all the fearmongering keeping the franchise a household name.
Hence, the big challenge with UGC for GTA 6 is how Rockstar Games will need to be Draconian with its censorship guidelines and policies, meticulously vetting every single UGC, so that lawsuits don’t come creeping.
For those who have forgotten, San Andreas got Rockstar in a bit of trouble due to the “Hot Coffee” mod scandal where a sexual intercourse mini-game was leaked to the public even though the devs disabled it from the final release build.
Poorly made UGC or cheaters become an afterthought in the face of inappropriate, radical, or even abusive content that some UGC creators could potentially come up with. Certain individuals could assume GTA is their haven for their transgressive ideas (putting it lightly), because well, GTA is inherently transgressive. The big difference is that Rockstar does have its limits and knows where to draw the line, presumably unlike most GTA players.
Moreover, if something like Roblox couldn’t keep predators and miscreants away, what makes Rockstar Games so confident that they could for GTA 6 now that they’re poised to allow their players’ thoughts to manifest digitally?
Rockstar certainly doesn’t want problems like that, seeing how they dealt with the San Andreas‘ “Hot Coffee” controversy. GTA 6‘s potential UGC feature could easily turn into several “Hot Coffee” controversies for Rockstar Games, and we can only hope that they’re prepared for something like that.
