Grand Theft Auto 5 is the most profitable entertainment product of all time, having managed to outsell films like Star Wars and even Avengers: Endgame, and this is partially due to the extensive support that Grand Theft Auto Online has received. That’s not to say everyone is happy with the decision to focus on Grand Theft Auto Online, though, as fans have been left on the hook waiting for GTA 5 DLC for the longest time, and it seems that the latest Diamond Casino and Resort update was derived from abandoned story DLC.
Back in 2017, Rockstar put the idea of story DLC to rest, though DLC rumors, for both the story and the online mode, had been floating around for quite some time. These rumors came via data mines of the single-player campaign, and they suggested that GTA 5 story DLC might include a zombie apocalypse, a Trevor-focused story, and an Ocean’s Eleven-style heist of the casino. According to Tez and Yan2295, two influential figures within the GTA community, most of that data mined story DLC was re-purposed for Grand Theft Auto Online.
Using the Doomsday Heist update as an example, Tez states that “most or some of the online updates that we received in 2017 and 2018 were based on the planned single-player DLC.” This makes sense, as the Grand Theft Auto Online Doomsday Heist update utilized components found in the aforementioned Trevor DLC, such as the IAA, and this phenomenon can be seen in the casino update as well.
Yan explains that “the casino was supposed to come to GTA 5 as single-player DLC as well as to GTA Online, but as many already know, the single-player DLCs got canceled thanks to the success of GTA Online.” This resulted in only one iteration of the casino coming to fruition.
From a business perspective, this shift away from single-player DLC to DLC for the game’s online component has clearly worked incredibly well. However, for some players, making the casino exclusive to the online mode further limits access to content. This is because the GTA Online Diamond Casino update has been blocked in over 50 countries, meaning a portion of the fan base can’t even check out the new content.
It seems the next time players will get to play new single-player content in the world of GTA will be with the long-awaited sequel, Grand Theft Auto 6. If that is the case, fans may be waiting quite some time for this content. Indeed, one analyst believes that the Grand Theft Auto 6 release date will fall sometime after the Fiscal Year 2022, which is certainly a long way off.
Grand Theft Auto Online is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One as part of Grand Theft Auto 5.
Source: Eurogamer
