Rockstar Games hasn't announced Grand Theft Auto 6, but a new game in the hugely successful series is highly likely. When, not if, Rockstar releases GTA 6, it will probably have a huge number of multiplayer game modes. However, a take on GTA 5's GTA Online with more modes and prettier graphics won't do, and there's one major change that the developer could make.
That change is a change to GTA Online's grind. With each new update to the online multiplayer mode, players complain that the new content is too expensive and is just unattainable for those who don't have the money to spend on Shark Cards or the time to complete so many activities. These complaints came up again with the Krieger car which was called "absurdly" expensive by some, and an attempt at nickle and diming players by others.
A search for "grind" on the GTA Online subreddit shows a huge number of posts joking and lamenting the work it takes to unlock much of the mode's content. The subreddit's Mega Guide is also all about the ways that players can efficiently become a millionaire, something which is much harder without friends or a group that can offer as much time to grinding as they can. The GTA Online grind is so famous that the online multiplayer gameplay has become synonymous with greed and heavy microtransactions and before Red Dead Redemption 2 was released, many fans were worried that Red Dead Online would be more of the same.
Rockstar has sold more than 100 million copies of GTA 5 and it has made hundreds of millions of dollars by making GTA Online's content so expensive as many players just choose to spend money and not put in the hours. However, this isn't sustainable and those players who have put in all of those hours are unlikely to feel like putting in the same amount of time in GTA 6's multiplayer, not when they've been playing GTA 5 since 2013 and before.
Rockstar is also unlikely to let GTA 6 players transfer over their progress. That wouldn't make money and, as there are rumors that GTA 6 will take place in 1970s South America, much of the content in GTA 5 wouldn't be available in the new game.
A GTA Online grind in GTA 6 may also be eclipsed by the many other live service games that also demand major time commitments from players. It's now unusual for a game to be released without there being plans for post launch content. As well as games like Cyberpunk 2077 which will have post launch DLC, many games also hold events with more rewards and these all ask players to put in hours, be part of the community and in many cases, use spreadsheets just to try and organize when everyone is available to play.
That's what GTA 6 would be competing with. While a new game from Rockstar would likely take priority over these other titles for many, it does mean that GTA 6 could have less longevity. That goes against what Rockstar is trying to do with its game mode and so it should try making things a little more accessible for everyone.