Something that often happens with specific video game titles is the notion of certain content being “locked” behind a “wall of requirements.” As in, you have to complete certain tasks before going forth with the new content. The easiest example of this is certain difficulty modes in certain titles, or things like “New Game+.” In the case of the upcoming GTA 6, many expect Rockstar Games to have everything available to players, outside of perks within things like GTA+, right from the start. However, some wonder if the inevitable online mode could be an exception. Over on Reddit, a debate started over whether Rockstar Games would “lock” the online portions behind the game’s campaign to ensure people played it before going online for the rest of their time:
“Personally, I agree with this take. The point of Story Mode is that you get to experience the entire map for the first time since that is what Rockstar gave us first. It allows you to immerse with everything around you before getting familiar with it. Besides, every mission in GTA VI will probably have a specific setting for players to explore and familiarize. Skipping Story Mode and into Online would defeat the purpose of experiencing the map for the first time, as well as the characters from Story Mode that could potentially become important for Online.”
On a certain level, you can see the logic they have. We know from the most recent online content that Rockstar Games provided for their title that linking things to the past is something they love to do. So, jumping right into the “bigger game” without knowing all that’s within or who the “key players” are that you’ll work with or for could be a detriment.
However, others on Reddit didn’t see it this way, and many feel it would be foolish to even think this will happen for a basic reason: money.
“Rockstar aren’t going to prevent people from playing the cash cow (or cash whale, really) that is going to be GTA 6 Online simply because they didn’t play 18 hours of single player first, from which they make no additional money.”
Yeah, that’s pretty fair. Rockstar may not have meant for the original online title to be so lucrative, but it became that way pretty quickly. So, given the hype for the 6th title and its online extension, and how much money the team has already sunk into the game, they’ll want to make as much money as possible right up front. Thus, “locking it” behind something would hinder them mightily right out the gate.
