Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two has discussed the fate of GTA Online for the first time, as the long-awaited arrival of GTA 6 – currently set for this autumn – draws ever closer.
On the one hand, GTA Online has been an absolute cash cow over the past decade, earning billions for developer Rockstar and publisher Take-Two. Switching off overnight seems unthinkable. On the other, it seems unlikely Take-Two will want fans continuing to play the current version of GTA Online indefinitely, if doing so meant not buying GTA 6.
Speaking to IGN, Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick addressed the issue hesitantly, but suggested there was a future for GTA Online still.
“I’m going to speak theoretically only because I’m not going to talk about a particular project when an announcement hasn’t been made,” Zelnick said. “But generally speaking, we support our properties when the consumers are involved with those titles.”
And it is fair to say consumers are still involved with GTA Online – it is GTA 5’s online portion that has continued to be regularly updated with new content, and that is still driving sales of the game after 13 years.