A new rumor appears, indicating that Rockstar Games has opted to greatly expand Grand Theft Auto Online, discontinuing plans to create story DLC for GTA 5 in the process.

Despite Rockstar's dedication to bringing regular content to Grand Theft Auto Online, the main story mode of Grand Theft Auto V has been largely neglected since its release. A new rumor indicates that Grand Theft Auto V's story DLC may have been scrapped entirely in order to bring new content to GTA Online.

The rumor claims that GTA Online will be receiving a multitude of new updates, potentially up to or beyond 2020. While this includes new modes similar to GTA Online's Executives and Other Criminals update, it also claims that entirely new maps will come to game, including new updated versions of San Fiero, Las Venturas, Liberty City, and Vice City, the GTA equivalents of San Francisco, Las Vegas, New York City, and Miami, respectively. The source of this rumor, SOFTSECRETS, claims that these updates have been in production since the game's original development, but had to be put off due to the limitations of the PS3 and Xbox 360. If the rumor is true, gamers could see a release of North Yankton and Liberty City as early as 2017.

While SOFTSECRETS didn't provide any specific information on where they got these details or show any real proof, some gamers feel that the leak may be legitimate, as it was originally posted back in August, and accurately predicted the release of the Biker DLC prior to its announcement.

Gamers will have to wait and see if this rumor turns out to be true, but chances are the fan base will be divided on the matter. While GTA Online's outrageous popularity means that many players will most likely be thrilled to have new locales to explore, fans of the base game will probably be disappointed to hear that the story won't be receiving a continuance. Several posters on the forum have also expressed concern that based on the online component's popularity, Rockstar may follow suit with the recently announced Red Dead Redemption 2, and may decide to put its post-release focus purely on online content rather than the story mode.

Until official confirmation comes from Rockstar itself, gamers will have to wait and see if this rumor turns out to be true. Rumors have previously circulated that at least Liberty City is coming to GTA Online, so it's possible that this could turn out to be true.

GTA fans, would you like to see more maps and content come to GTA Online, or would you prefer the focus to be on GTA V? Let us know in the comments below.

Grand Theft Auto V is out now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

Source: GTA Forums (via NeoGAF)