Grand Theft Auto 6 Won’t Be Able To Make Up For The Franchise’s Biggest Mistake

Grand Theft Auto 6 is no doubt one of the most anticipated games of all time, but the only reason it has become such a massive franchise in the first place was thanks to Rockstar Games’ creative development style. Even with how ambitious Rockstar’s release of GTA 6 is already shaping up to be, there’s one disappointing fact about the series’ direction that we’ll have to come to grips with sooner rather than later.

Although both Red Dead Redemption 2 and GTA 5 were absolutely massive games, especially when compared to their predecessors, the one thing that was noticeably missing was any story expansions through paid DLC. While the online modes have received a plethora of post-launch support through multiplayer-exclusive content updates, they still don’t take advantage of the intricate world design of their respective campaigns.

GTA 5’s Canceled DLC Was A Missed Opportunity

We Could Have Had A Whole New Game To Play

While the fact that GTA 5 was originally planned to receive a scrapped story DLC that acted as a sequel to its campaign hasn’t exactly been a secret since it was revealed years ago, the more information we’ve gotten over the years has made the lost concept even more disappointing.

Originally planned to be a three-part release, the first DLC was going to be a James Bond-inspired adventure starring Trevow Phillips working as a secret agent for the FIB. While the concept already sounds like an incredible opportunity for some comedic adventures with the crass Canadian, the ending was going to be out of this world by taking Trevor into space for a mission inspired by Bond’s Moonraker.

On top of Trevor’s cut story, the other two DLCs were also going to be an Undead Nightmare-themed zombie apocalypse followed by an alien invasion DLC, which both would have drastically changed about 80% of the map while introducing new gameplay mechanics.

While it’s not hard to see why the massive-scale DLCs might have been left on the cutting room floor given how ambitious they were, the fact they were cut in favor of dedicating Rockstar’s resources towards more content for the cash cow that Grand Theft Auto Online turned out to be is more than a little depressing.

Even if the concept will never see the light of day, there has still been plenty of speculation that Trevor will make an appearance in GTA 6, especially given that the fan-favorite protagonist has been confirmed to be alive in the true ending of the games’ story.

Rockstar Used To Make Fantastic Story Expansions

A History Of Iconic Gaming DLC’s Still Loved To This Day

While the lack of paid DLC for both GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 wouldn’t be nearly as bad if it was a first for either series, Rockstar has already proven several times how much potential their franchises have when it comes to post-launch story content.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is especially painful given the sheer amount of detail and next-gen visuals the game was able to achieve, with a DLC offering another reason to explore its open world outside the more limited multiplayer experience, which the recent improvements haven’t made up for years without any major updates.

Compared to the massive overhaul that the original Red Dead Redemption‘s Undead Nightmare provided as its sole DLC, GTA 4‘s episodic story expansions of The Lost and the Damned and Ballad of Gay Tony are fantastic additions to the story, with tBoGT especially being beloved for its new gameplay mechanics, fan-favorite characters, and creative mission designs.

Even going back further to games like L.A. Noire, Rockstar has a proven track record at making more than a few excellent DLC experiences, which could have been taken to even greater heights given the ambitious nature of GTA 5‘s canceled expansions, and how well crafted its next-generational game worlds have been.

It’s Hard To Believe GTA 6 Will Get Any Single-Player DLC

Microtransactions Are A Hard Revenue Method To Beat

Given the fact that Rockstar supposedly never started development on any single-player DLC for Red Dead Redemption 2 after it released, there’s little reason to believe that the upcoming release of GTA 6 will be any different, especially given how absurdly profitable Grand Theft Auto Online has been since its release.

Supposedly pulling in well over half a billion dollars, the lucrative nature of Grand Theft Auto Online, and its microtransaction-based shark card system will more than likely make a return in Grand Theft Auto 6, which some fans have expressed concern that it will be even more aggressive than its predecessor.

Combined with the fact that the best ways to reliably make money in Grand Theft Auto Online come in the form of heists and passive business income, which were only added well after the initial release of GTA 5, it will likely be some time before you can start gaining a horde of wealth big enough to afford all the post-launch multiplayer content in GTA 6.

It isn’t all doom and gloom at least, as the later years of Grand Theft Auto Online have seen several expansions that border on the quality of a paid DLC, even if it doesn’t have the same level of polish as the main story campaign.

With Grand Theft Auto 6 having the perfect change to improve upon the mechanics of its predecessor, offering an online mode that jumps right out of the gate with the content fans had to wait years for in the original game.