While GTA 6 is set to finally release this calendar year, GTA Online players shouldn’t be holding their breath. It’s more than likely the multiplayer component won’t be available on day one.
There’s no denying it’s been an arduous wait for GTA 6, and although it finally looks to be coming to an end in 2025, GTA Online players would be wise not to hold their breath.
It’s been a staggering 12 years since GTA 5 hit store shelves and now finally, we find ourselves in the planned launch year of its sequel. While unforeseen delays can obviously interrupt Rockstar’s best-laid plans, its publisher Take-Two has remained “confident” the cultural phenomenon will indeed make it to market this year.
When it does, it will certainly be the biggest video game release in history, but for GTA Online players, there may be disappointment with what’s there at launch. For the Online fans, here’s why you shouldn’t expect to jump in on day one.
Will GTA Online be in GTA 6 at launch?
Rockstar hasn’t given many details on the launch of GTA 6. Currently, all we have to go off is the assurance of a holiday 2025 release, but no set date. Moreover, Rockstar hasn’t so much as mentioned the future of GTA Online once its new release goes live.
While there’s no doubt GTA Online will continue in an expanded capacity, given it’s a money-printing machine, fans shouldn’t expect this gargantuan multiplayer offering to be available out of the box.
Look no further than GTA 5. When the game released back in 2013, it did so with only the single-player story mode available. GTA Online formally released a fortnight later, though was plagued with all manner of server issues. The mode’s earliest players, myself included, know how tedious those first weeks were, losing progress, in some cases losing characters entirely, as lobbies failed and modes stopped working.
It really wasn’t until the very end of 2013, months later, that the online component was smooth enough to start building upon.
Then there’s Red Dead Redemption 2. The 2018 smash hit also launched with only its single-player offering. Here, however, it was an entire month later when Red Dead Online became available. Red Dead Online then spent half a year in Beta, fully releasing in May of 2019.
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Given the unprecedented scope of GTA 6, it’s entirely safe to expect a similar rollout with the next iteration of GTA Online. We could see the multiplayer side open up a month after launch again, but certainly not on day one alongside the story mode.
Why does Rockstar delay online in releases?
When GTA 5 launched, the landscape of gaming was completely different. Nowadays, in the era of the live service, making as many splashes as possible is the name of the game.
Look no further than Call of Duty. Each year, like clockwork, a new CoD releases, though it does so without all of its content. The first major seasonal update is reserved for a few weeks post-launch, to keep players engaged until then. Expect Rockstar to adopt a similar approach with GTA Online.
Spacing out the single-player and multiplayer components is the best case for everyone. It gives fans of both a few weeks to digest the sequel’s story unspoiled while letting GTA Online enjoy its own spotlight shortly after.
A staggered release also helps drive another wave of sales. Of course, GTA 6 is on track to be not only the biggest video game, but have the biggest launch of any entertainment property in history. But in the weeks or months following release, Rockstar can reignite sales momentum with the launch of the online experience.
There are millions of players that have fallen in love with GTA Online and GTA Online exclusively. The GTA role-playing era alone brought in countless new players, many of which haven’t really dipped their toes into the offline story mode.
Rockstar is no doubt aware of this and planning accordingly. So, if you’re hoping to jump into the new iteration of GTA Online the very day GTA 6 becomes available, you’re most likely setting yourself up for disappointment.
