Grand Theft Auto VI is due to be released in the second half of 2025. It is already being talked about as the video game of the decade and was formally revealed in December 2023. While all GTA fans plus PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S owners will be thrilled with the news of a new GTA game, what does it mean for the online version of GTA?
Grand Theft Auto Online
GTA online was released back in October 2013, meaning it has been available for over a decade. The online version of GTA started on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and has since transferred to the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. The game is the online version of Grand Theft Auto V and includes cooperative missions and events, with the Heists feature of the game being one of the most popular. The Heists update released in March 2015, with the Diamond Casino Heist proving to be one of the best. The Diamond Casino & Resort was a fully immersive casino, and players could use a new casino chips currency in the casino. The currency acted like a payment method and online casinos offering quick payout options are always welcome, both in GTA and real world online gambling. Many of the setup missions can be completed as a single player but the casino heist itself requires at least two players and adds a cooperative element to the gameplay.
How Many People are Playing GTA Online?
Thanks to Steam Charts, we can look at the most recent statistics to see how many people have been playing GTA Online. In August 2024, there were 116,181.3 average daily players of GTA Online with a peak number of players in the month standing at 184,785. August saw an increase of over 20,000 average daily players when compared to May 2024. There was also a significant increase in the number of average daily players in December 2023, which was, 145,070.4, up by over 50,000 from the previous month. The December increase can be attributed to the announcement of GTA VI, but the numbers listed here are for PC based players online and do not include those playing on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X and S, PlayStation 5, and the Epic Games Store. So, it is safe to assume the number of average daily players of GTA Online is much higher.
What Will Happen to GTA Online Players?
With so many people still playing GTA Online, that leaves us with the question about what is going to happen to the players. Many players will have spent a lot of time and money on the game and will not want to see it completely disappear when GTA VI is released. If the numbers of GTA Online players were dwindling and there were only a couple of hundred or thousand remaining, the decision would be easier. However, when there are still over 100,000 average daily players, Rockstar have a big challenge on their hands.
It is unlikely Rockstar are going to ask the full GTA Online player base to move over to the new town to continue playing as if nothing has really happened. Other game developers have tried asking players to transition from a previous game to a new game in the past and it has ended in failure. Doing this often leaves companies battling to get the online players from their previous game to make the switch to their current game. We must only look at what happened with Rockstar’s Red Dead Online in 2018, which ended up in direct competition with GTA Online, to see the problem.
Will Rockstar slowly bring an end to GTA Online and offer players the opportunity to transition to GTA VI, along with all their cash and vehicles? This could be the best way to approach the problem as there will be many players who will stay on the original online game if it remains available. Rockstar must also consider the revenue generated from GTA Online, with the microtransactions bringing in significant digital revenue for the company.
The GTA Online player base face a nervous wait as Rockstar looks ahead to the release of GTA VI. It seems unlikely Rockstar are going to maintain GTA Online and the latest version of the game simultaneously. So, the outcome could be the offer of a seamless transition to the new game for GTA Online players before the original is closed.
Hi! I’m Bryan, and I’m a passionate & expert writer with more than five years of experience. I have written about various topics such as product descriptions, travel, cryptocurrencies, and online gaming in my writing journey.
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In a perfect world we would be able to take a flight from the airport in San Andres to the new map. And also be able to go back. But the logistics of this are crazy and most likely never to happen. One can dream though..
It truly is the best game out there, I’m 46 and have been playing this game since the very beginning. It’s the only game I play and am happy to say it’s th absolute best game ever to be put out. Thank you rockstar and the team who made this game and sis all the hard work. We all need specialty the team that kept it going. I’ll be a GTA5 fan forever and would love to get GTA6 And have the PS5 but I have had medical problem’s and have to have neck surgery plus I had 3 strokes and haven’t been able to work so I can’t afford to get a new console, but I’ll try. Rockstar and playstation has literally saved my life by having games luk GTA plus others and kept me away from going the street route and helping.stay straight. So a great big thank you to the team at rockstar and PlayStation for such a wonderful game for me q million’s to play it is a great, but wils ride but I’ve loved every single second of it and all the hard work that all you guys and girls on the team that made such a great game. So on behalf of everyone who plays, thank you so very much and can’t wait to play the next one on PS5 for the game GTA 6.i hope I’ll be able to afford the console and GTA 6to play when it comes out, because I believe it will be the best game ever. Just only if I can afford to get it. But play on GTA gamers I’ll be login in in about thirty minutes to play and show y’all what’s up. Peace out peeps, have for m and play on. But watch out for me, lol and if you want to earn some legal cash, come on over and play with me, thanks. And game on!!!!!!!!
Awesome sauce and read my book I wrote on this bage, thanks rockstar and PlayStation