GTA Online is bringing back singleplayer star Franklin, and Dr. Dre
With exclusive new Dr. Dre music too
Ever since Grand Theft Auto V launched eight years ago, fans have pleaded for Rockstar to release a singleplayer expansion, and received only multiplayer additions. Well, they still haven't announced more singleplayer GTAV, but today they did announce one of the singleplayer stars will return in multiplayer. The next GTA Online update, named The Contract, will focus on campaign co-star Franklin, now running a 'fixer' agency and needs our help dealing with a big client, Dr. Dre. Yup, it's the D-R-E, and he's bringing unreleased new music with him.
While GTA Online started out technically as a prequel to GTAV's campaign, it continued in real time, and is now set after. Rockstar's announcement explains that Franklin Clinton has teamed up with his old pal Lamar to run a "celebrity solutions agency", solving problems for the rich and famous. Yeah, but it'll doubltess be us doing the actual work, won't it? His first big client is Dr. Dre, who briefly appeared in a cutscene for the Cayo Perico heist. Dre lost his phone with a load of unreleased music on it, and it turns out we'll be finding it.
"Get ready for a wild and hilarious ride through Los Santos," Rockstar say, "from the mean streets of Franklin's old neighborhood to the hottest parties in the city, from debaucherous mansions to the offices of the FIB and everywhere in between as you join Franklin, expert hacker Imani, Chop the Dog, and crew to secure Dr. Dre's precious tracks and return them to their rightful owner."
Along with the new missions, expect new cars, new weapons a new radio stations, and new songs on old radio stations, including "new and unreleased exclusive tracks from Dr. Dre". Plus presumably expensive new things to sink all your virtuacash into. Rockstar haven't explained quite how the agency will work, but it'd be typical for us to need to invest millions to do everything.
The Contract hits GTA Online next Wednesday, the 15th of December.
I know GTA Online isn't to everyone's taste (I dig it, mind) but hell, it's better than the recent GTA3 trilogy remasters.
Disclosure: As a near-inevitable side effect of living in Edinburgh, I have pals who work at Rockstar.