Grand Theft Auto 5's online component, Grand Theft Auto Online, has taken on a life of its own after the game's original launch in 2013. Over the years, Grand Theft Auto Online has received numerous updates to add new vehicles, customization options, missions, and weapons for players to have fun with and spend their hard-earned cash on. The mode has been so successful for developer Rockstar Games that it will launch beside the PlayStation 5 version of Grand Theft Auto 5 as a standalone release this Fall.
Fans of Grand Theft Auto Online have speculated what changes this could lead to for the mode. Rockstar has not revealed any information on what it has planned for the mode's future, but there are many hopes that players hope to see improved, like the player housing options in Grand Theft Auto Online. While Rockstar's path of future updates is still unknown, the developers could find a successful peer in the popular free-to-play battle royale Call of Duty: Warzone.
Call of Duty: Warzone's Role in the Series
Call of Duty: Warzone launched as a battle royale component of 2019's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Since the game's launch, it has received seasonal updates to add new weapons and operators to keep things fresh for players. Call of Duty: Warzone's biggest secret to success, however, is how it integrated Modern Warfare's follow-up, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, into the game shortly after its release. It will do the same with this year's Call of Duty: Vanguard, although fans are hoping that the process will go a bit smoother than Black Ops Cold War's did, which is infamous for messing up the game's gun meta for months afterward.
Despite those initial issues, Call of Duty: Warzone has continued to expand with elements from the series' history and new entries, including developing its own contained storyline. This has allowed players to get much more invested in Warzone than they otherwise would have, and has led to it claiming a place near the top of the battle royale genre. Warzone's integration with previous titles has also allowed it to keep players invested in one hub for the series, rather than leaving each entry behind to play the newest Call of Duty release. Not only has this helped the series maintain its player numbers, but it also has given the game plenty to pull from for its updates and events.
Why Grand Theft Auto Online Should Follow Warzone's Lead
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This is the primary reason that Grand Theft Auto Online should follow the example set by Call of Duty: Warzone. Grand Theft Auto Online has helped Grand Theft Auto 5 routinely appear at the top of best-seller charts nearly a decade after its release. Of course, there are other games fans of Grand Theft Auto can play, but many stay put in Grand Theft Auto Online thanks to its immense scale and depth of content for players to unlock and play around with. With how much time and effort players have already invested in the online mode, Rockstar Games would have a much harder time trying to get players to move on to a similar mode in Grand Theft Auto 6 than if they just updated Grand Theft Auto Online with elements of the newer title.
Grand Theft Auto Online could also learn from Call of Duty: Warzone in how it supports itself with seasonal content and how it has used events to build hype for its future releases. Rumors have circulated before about Grand Theft Auto Online events being used to announce Grand Theft Auto 6, and that would be a great way for Rockstar to use the platform it has built for itself. Using in-game events to announce new entries in the series would also help Rockstar Games reach an audience that is already interested in the title while also helping reward the players who have invested in the series.
What This Could Look Like For Grand Theft Auto Online
Grand Theft Auto Online committing to an approach similar to Warzone's would open the game up to a lot of possibilities in tbe future. For the inevitable release of Grand Theft Auto 6, Grand Theft Auto Online could receive a massive graphical improvement on top of missions, items, and even a brand-new map for players who purchase the new game. The new game's release could also be used to expand on nearly every aspect of Grand Theft Auto Online. Players could take on new mission types that are more cinematic and involved than anything else in the game currently, could get loads of new, higher resolution customization options, and could get more impressive and varied pieces of equipment.
The true potential of this approach comes to mind when considering the leaked Grand Theft Auto Remastered Trilogy. The leaked title reportedly bundles three classic Grand Theft Auto titles together and is a prime opportunity for Rockstar Games to unify the series with Grand Theft Auto Online. Not only would this help keep fans of the series in one hub, but it also could be a massive expansion for the online mode. Introducing the three unique cities from the remastered trilogy to the online mode could make it evolve to the dream of every Grand Theft Auto fan: an entire world map made of different sprawling cities that players can fly between.
This approach could help make Grand Theft Auto Online an even more unique property while also drastically expanding the game for its massive fanbase. These additions would also help support the large roleplaying community that has been built around the game and has managed to dominate platforms like Twitch. It seems likely that Rockstar Games will at least consider an approach like this if it hasn't already, as the lack of a Grand Theft Auto 6 so many years after its predecessor seems to show that the company is hesitant to move away from its sprawling online mode. Hopefully, Rockstar will expand it in this way, which could firmly seat Grand Theft Auto Online at the top of the series' tier list.
Grand Theft Auto Online is available on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. A PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S version is in development.