After welcoming in a new year, gamers have a lot to look forward to in terms of releases. Perhaps one of the most anticipated video game sequels of all time, Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto VI is set for a late 2025 release.
Rockstar Owner Take-Two has stated their eagerness to relive the success of Grand Theft Auto 5, which became the second best-selling game of all time after Minecraft, recording over 200 million units sold. Asked about GTA 6, CEO Strauss Zelnick stated: “I would say I think it’ll be extraordinary and worth waiting for.” The game’s predecessor, GTA 5 and its online game mode, GTA Online, has continued to release content and gameplay updates well over a decade since its initial release.
Zelnick has also revealed that Take-Two never expected the game to sell this much or that its Online mode would be able to retain its popularity. The game wasn’t even going to have a virtual currency in the original plans. Despite that, GTA V quickly led the “Top 10 Video Games Of The Last Decade” list, generating more than $6 billion. Today, the game is considered a cultural phenomenon. Based on data from SteamCharts, GTA Online still gets well over 100,000 average daily players — a significant feat for a 12-year-old game.
With so much in-game content to enjoy — from thrilling heists to fast cars and the glamorous Diamond Casino — it’s no wonder GTA V and its Online counterpart has remained popular and beloved by casual and serious gamers. This raises the question of whether or not GTA 6 will continue to carry the torch of its predecessor’s loyal and thriving online community. In this post, we’ll look at whether GTA 6 will bring back the luxurious Diamond Casino and its poker tables from GTA V:
The setting for GTA 6
It’s important to consider the significant setting change between GTA 6 and GTA V. While GTA V’s map was an uncanny, fictionalized take on Los Angeles, California called Los Santos, GTA 6 is set to take the franchise back to Vice City, heavily based on Miami, Florida.
Over the years, Vice City has remained a fan-favorite setting for GTA fans. So much so that a fan-made GTA: Vice City mod was recently announced, bringing the Miami-set GTA title to the GTA 4 engine. The mod is a complete transfer of all missions from the original Vice City game, allowing players to complete missions and explore the city.
While Los Santos had the Diamond Casino, there’s no telling whether the fictional luxury casino chain will be making a return in GTA 6. More importantly, the original Vice City game notably didn’t have a casino, although that may be due to the game being released prior to having dedicated online servers.
In this age of online multiplayer lobbies and microtransactions, however, a casino would make sense — even if it won’t be the Diamond Casino players have gambled, lived in, and planned heists on. In fact, even if the Diamond Casino doesn’t make a return in GTA 6, players can certainly expect some other fictional casino chain to be a prominent establishment in the long-awaited sequel.
GTA 6 and cryptocurrency
Aside from the Diamond Hotel being an iconic establishment in GTA V, another reason players may be looking forward to a casino — Diamond or not — in the next game is the rumors floating about the potential use of cryptocurrency in GTA 6.
While we’re yet to see official confirmation from Rockstar Games on the use of crypto for the upcoming game, fans have speculated that it may be used for in-game purchases, or so players can earn an in-game cryptocurrency to use on in-game cars, weapons, upgrades, and more.
If anything, the game may pattern its potential crypto use after leading poker platforms around the world. ACR Poker uses cryptocurrency as an acceptable banking method and even offers a streamlined search tool for users to identify the best crypto exchanges that fit player needs. The platform’s Responsible Gambling program currently accepts Bitcoin alongside reputable payment methods Visa and Mastercard and it’s something Rockstar will have kept an eye on.
Seeing how online casino platforms like ACR operate, it wouldn’t be surprising if a similar model is deployed in a game as big as GTA 6. For Grand Theft Auto 5, gamers could purchase Shark Cards or Cash Cards, a form of microtransaction granting in-game money (GTA$) to be used in GTA Online. The use of Shark Cards is also advertised through in-game radio channels. Likewise, if GTA 6 were to introduce cryptocurrency, it would likely be used for in-game currency or even a casino-exclusive currency like crypto-chips, so the digital currency remains optional.
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