GTA Online content updates will continue into the next console generation
No word on GTA 6 though
Sony opening their big E3 pressblast last night with the news that Grand Theft Auto V is coming to PlayStation 5 was perhaps a damp squib for them but good news for us on PC. With the game now confirmed for next-gen consoles, Rockstar have committed to continuing content updates for them - and PC. They're also making a standalone version of GTA Online, though it's not yet confirmed for PC. As for the new crimes we might get up to in future updates, ah, Rockstar aren't saying yet.
Rockstar said in yesterday's announcement that "the journey through the ever-evolving, shared world of GTA Online will continue on to the new generation with more new updates including additional GTA Online content exclusive to the new consoles and PC." Which I guess means Xbox One and PS4 are getting cut off but we're still in. Hey, maybe the fancied-up next-gen versions will have the graphical bells and whistles we've had on PC for years.
The standalone version of GTAO is a bit hazier clear. Coming in the second half of 2021, it "will be available for free exclusively for PlayStation 5 players during the first three months." So is the freeness exclusive to PS5 folks, or is the whole thing exclusive to PS5 for three months, or... mysteries. But hell, who needs a standalone version of GTA Online when Rockstar gave GTA V away free on the Epic Games Store in May. So many people grabbed it that the servers burst.
For the benefit of consolefolk: Rockstar have technically only confirmed GTA V for PS5 but they way they say things like "a new generation of consoles, including PlayStation 5" clearly implies it'll be on Xbox xXSeriesXx too.
Though my interest in GTA Online waxes and wanes, I'm well up for more. Beneath the tiresome grind for money, it has some of GTA's best crimes ever. The last big update added a casino heist with a pleasing range of potential approaches, and a few updates prior we were saving the world with jetpacks and submarine cars. And it's still just a lovely place to potter and pootle around. Even if I do have a problem with collecting garbage novelty cars.
What would I want from a whole extra generation of GTA Online updates? It's a weird one but: top of my list would be skateboards and bike tricks. I already enjoy cycling around and seeing what's going on, doing the few tricks we can with basic bikejumps, and more would be grand. Because big content updates apparently always have to be moneysinks with new properties to purchase, hey, have us buy and customise skate parks. That's my dream, anyway.
If you don't care about GTA Online and want more singleplayer GTA (fair enough, seeing as V is one of the best action games), you're likely in for a wait. Reports earlier this year said that GTA 6 (or whatever it's named) "is still early in development."
Disclosure: As an Edinburgh resident, I cannot help but have some pals at Rockstar. They're just everywhere.
Whatever you call it, hit our E3 2020 tag for more from this summer's blast of gaming announcements, trailers, and miscellaneous marketing. Check out the PC games at the PlayStation 5 show, everything at the PC Gaming Show, and all the trailers from the Xbox showcase, for starters.