After over a decade of waiting, the release ofGrand Theft Auto 6is bound to have a massive impact on both Rockstar and the gaming industry as a whole, but it’s not without its drawbacks. The unparalleled popularity and long lifespan of Grand Theft Auto 5 Online have encouraged more than a few controversial decisions for the studio, with GTA 6 possibly cementing its fate even further.
One of the biggest complaints aboutGTA Onlineis how difficult it can be to accumulate enough in-game currency to access even a small portion of the available content, which often encourages the use of purchasing Shark Cards with real money.Rockstar also abandoned their expansive story DLCs, likeanotherUndead Nightmare,in favor of multiplayer content, which still pales in comparison to the absence of Rockstar’s other legendary titles.
Rockstar Is More Than The GTA Studio
A Diverse Skillset That Feels Limited By The Standard GTA Formula
While there’s no doubt we’ll get more gaming experiences from theGrand Theft AutoandRed Dead Redemptionworlds, there’s not as much room for experimentation for Rockstar’s smaller entries. Even if they weren’t as commercially successful,games likeL.A. Noire, Max Payne, andBullywere incredibly creative entries that helped establish the studio’s unique skill sets.
Thankfully, the release of the massively popularRed Dead Redemption 2shows the studio still has room for amazing games that aren’t just moreGTAtitles. Still, it sets a gameplay precedent that is unlikely to be broken anytime soon. With both games relying on live service elements and an expansive world that can be ported over into multiplayer,there is little room for the smaller experiences of Rockstar’s past, outsideits two biggest franchises.
GTA 6 Will Be Great, But It Comes At A Cost
It’s Unlikely Rockstar Will Experiment With Creative Spinoffs Anytime Soon
Thelengthy development anddelays ofGTA 6have been the source of endless jokes and criticisms over the years, but its biggest drawback is how much of a limiting factor it has been for the studio as a whole. Even ifGTA 6lives up to the genre-defining expectations of the studio, its success could mean another five years of sparse multiplayer updates before its next big release.
Especially ifGTA 6’s multiplayer ends up achieving thesame success as its predecessor, it could very well be the final nail in the coffin for the more outside-the-box gameplay experiences that the studio used to be known for. Even if it’s unlikely for Rockstar Games to create surprising spinoffs, whileRDRandGrand Theft Auto 6remain its biggest money-making titles,there’s hopefully still room for experimentation with unique gameplay mechanics or minigames that shine in their previous titles.
