As much fun as players have had with Grand Theft Auto Online over the years, it’s still unfortunate that Rockstar Games never released any GTA 5 story DLC. However, it turns out that the studio was working on single-player content at one point, and Online’s success played a role in its cancellation.

Why didn’t Rockstar make GTA 5 story DLC?

Former Rockstar developer Joe Robino recently spoke with YouTuber StanInPlay about the canceled single-player add-on. As he explained, the studio was working on GTA Online, Red Dead Redemption 2, and the canceled GTA 5 story DLC simultaneously. According to Robino, the DLC project was about halfway done when Rockstar paused development to focus on Online. The multiplayer mode’s success eventually made it difficult to justify continuing to spend resources on new single-player content.

“It was really, really good,” Robino said about the canceled GTA 5 story DLC. “But when GTA Online came out it was so much of a cash cow, and people were loving it so much that it was hard to make an argument that a standalone DLC would outcompete that. I think, looking back now, you could probably do both. But that was a business decision they made. I was a little upset about that.”

“That actually was a lot of the reason for me being a little sour at that time,” he adds. “Because I was like, yo, WTF guys? This s—’s awesome. Let’s keep going. Let’s finish this s—.”

The silver lining is that Rockstar didn’t waste everything from the unfinished GTA 5 story DLC. Instead, Robino says that a lot of it eventually made its way into Online. However, it’s still interesting for fans to imagine what could have been.

The post GTA 5 Story DLC Was Scrapped in Favor of GTA Online appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

GTA publisher Take-Two Interactive has announced that it’ll be laying off 5% of its staff alongside canceling some games. This development comes weeks after CEO Strauss Zelnick said that the company has “no current plans” for redundancies.

GTA parent Take-Two set to lose around 600 employees

In a note submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Take-Two said that it anticipates losing nearly 600 of its employees as part of a “cost reduction program” that’ll also see the publisher cancel “several” game projects in the pipeline. Take-Two owns a number of studios including Rockstar Games and the recently-acquired Borderlands developer Gearbox. Rockstar’s last main release was 2013’s GTA V.

“The Company is rationalizing its pipeline and eliminating several projects in development and streamlining its organizational structure, which will eliminate headcount and reduce future hiring needs,” Take-Two says. “The Company estimates that it will incur approximately $160 million to $200 million in total charges in connection with the [cost-cutting] Plan.”

It’s currently unclear how many of Take-Two’s studios have been affected but we’re likely to find out in due course as employees often take to social media in search of new opportunities.

Take-Two is the latest in an ever-growing list of game companies, including PlayStation, that are laying off employees en masse.

The post GTA Publisher Take-Two Announces Game Cancellations and Layoffs appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Update:

Rockstar Games has confirmed that it’ll release a trailer for GTA 6 in December.

Original story:

Known journalist Jason Schreier reports that Rockstar Games plans to reveal Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6) as early as this week. This is the first credible report of a GTA 6 announcement following a series of rumors and an infamous hack that leaked the game’s content.

GTA 6 reveal trailer to follow next month, Bloomberg claims

Writing for Bloomberg, Schreier said that he received information from sources familiar with Rockstar’s plans that a GTA 6 trailer will be published in December to celebrate the developer’s 25th anniversary. It isn’t immediately clear what the announcement this week will entail, and Rockstar understandably did not respond to Schreier’s request for comment.

Earlier this year, publisher Take-Two Interactive ended up fueling speculations when it said that it expected a record fiscal year in 2025. FY2025 will start in April 2024 and end in March 2025. Take-Two said that it plans to launch “several groundbreaking titles” and if GTA 6 is among them, the game should be out before March 2025.

In light of Schreier’s report, this timeline does seem to make sense. Fans are now eagerly awaiting an announcement between today and Friday, and we’ll find out soon enough what Rockstar has in store.

The post GTA 6 Reveal Reportedly Coming This Week (Update) appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Rockstar Games has lost veteran writer Michael Unsworth, whose works include Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption games. Unsworth’s departure was revealed by a recent update to his LinkedIn profile.

Michael Unsworth worked on GTA IV and V and both Red Dead Redemption games

In a career spanning more than 16 years, Unsworth worked as a creative lead on a number of projects. Other than the GTA and Red Dead Redemption series, he worked on Max Payne 3 and L.A. Noire. His most recent role at Rockstar was vice president of writing.

According to Unsworth’s LinkedIn page, he left sometime this year. It’s unclear if he worked on GTA VI or not since his profile makes no mention of the game. It’s possible that he purposely skipped any mention of GTA VI to avoid speculations and unwanted attention.

Unfortunately for Unsworth, the update to his LinkedIn profile was enough to spark speculations. Fans have expressed concerns over the timing of his departure, especially considering his seniority at Rockstar.

While GTA VI is confirmed to be in development, there’s no word of its release or even a reveal. Rumors continue to swirl about the game’s launch window, but so far, we’ve seen nothing concrete.

The post GTA, Red Dead Redemption Writer Leaves Rockstar After 16+ Years appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

It looks like the latest GTA 6 leak (if you can call it that) has come from 50 Cent. Last night, the rapper posted a Vice City image on his Instagram profile out of the blue, with a peculiar caption.

Why fans think 50 Cent’s post is a GTA 6 leak

50 Cent’s Instagram post, which is still up at the time of this writing, can be viewed below:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by 50 Cent (@50cent)

For those who aren’t familiar with 50 Cent’s work, Power is a show that he produced and starred in. Reddit users have pointed out that GreenLightGang, Branson, and Le Chemin du Roi are brands 50 Cent is associated with.

The GTA 6 connection here is Vice City, which the upcoming game is reportedly set in.

Some fans have theorized that 50 Cent will have a Vice City show of sorts. Others have said that he may be teasing upcoming GTA Online content like Dr. Dre did at one point.

Nevertheless, fans are of the view that it’s unlikely that 50 Cent is breaking any non-disclosure agreements here. If true, either Rockstar Games is gearing up to announce something or fans hoping for a GTA 6 reveal soon are up for yet another disappointment.

The post GTA 6 Might Star Rapper 50 Cent, Tease Suggests appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Rockstar Games parent company Take-Two Interactive has hinted in no uncertain terms that it has no plans to put games like GTA 6 on PS Plus or Game Pass. At least not day one. During a recent earnings call, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said that subscription services are still a small business and there are other ways to support it.

GTA 6 PS Plus or Game Pass launch wouldn’t make financial sense

In response to an investor who quizzed him about the impact of services like Game Pass, Zelnick downplayed the idea and said that even with 25 million subscribers, Game Pass is too small a business for Take-Two to launch games on it. However, the company doesn’t mind supporting PS Plus and Game Pass by offering other catalog titles on them.

“We don’t make our frontline titles available day and date,” Zelnick said (transcribed by SeekingAlpa). “We’re thrilled to be in business with subscription services for our catalog titles at the appropriate time. We think that’s the right way to support subscription, and subscription is still a relatively small business.”

Zelnick went on to say that he’s not concerned about subscription services “cannibalizing” the traditional business of selling games at full price. If some recent AAA launches are any indication, this is certainly true at present.

The post Don’t Expect GTA 6 on PS Plus or Game Pass Day One, Take-Two Hints appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Microsoft expects GTA 6 release date to be set sometime in 2024. The company made this statement as part of its arguments in favor of the Activision Blizzard deal, which UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) released yesterday. It’s unlikely that Microsoft is privy to Rockstar Games’ release plans, but it’s an interesting speculation nonetheless.

GTA 6 release date in context of Activision Blizzard deal

Microsoft argues that if Sony loses access to Call of Duty, it has plenty of other options when it comes to marketing and investment. One such option is Grand Theft Auto. “Sony could also easily increase its marketing investments in FIFA, Grand Theft Auto, another shooter franchise like Battlefield or Destiny (developed by Bungie, which Sony has recently acquired), or any other popular title to attract further subscribers to PlayStation Plus,” Microsoft wrote. The company then went on to list a number of “viable options” should Activision and Call of Duty become off-limits to Sony. That’s where Microsoft shifted its focus to GTA.

“The highly anticipated GTA 6 is expected to be released in 2024,” Microsoft continued. “Call of Duty does not have the kind of market power that needs to be present for leveraging to be even a remote possibility – as Call of Duty gamers are not special compared to other popular franchises.”

The debate continues…

The post GTA 6 Is Expected to Release in 2024, According to Microsoft appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

A new report claims that Rockstar Games previously rejected a proposal for a Grand Theft Auto movie starring Eminem. Back in 2013, Rockstar co-founder Dan House revealed that the studio had received multiple offers for a GTA movie over the years but nothing appealed to him. According to games industry veteran Kirk Ewing, who happens to be friends with the Houser brothers, Top Gun director Tony Scott was involved in one of the rejected proposals.

Rockstar co-founder “not interested” in Grand Theft Auto movie

Speaking on the BBC podcast Bugzy Malone’s Grandest Game, Ewing revealed that the conversation about a GTA movie took place around the same time Eminem had wrapped up filming 8 Mile (2002). The rapper was already enjoying massive success following the release of The Marshall Mathers LP two years prior. Ewing recalled received a phone call from an LA producer who asked, “‘Kirk we’ve got Eminem to star, and it’s a Tony Scott film – $5m on the nose. Are you interested?'”

Ewing called up Sam Houser to tell him about Eminem and Tony Scott’s involvement. His response? A firm “no.” Ewing believes that the Houser brothers “realized that the media franchise that they had was bigger than any movie that was going on at the time.”

The post Report: Grand Theft Auto Movie Starring Eminem Was Rejected by Rockstar appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick has hinted that GTA 6 release date news and reveal are taking time because the company prefers delays over flops. In a recent earnings call, an investor raised the issue of a lack of major releases in recent years (beyond Take-Two’s sports franchises), in response to which Zelnick assuaged concerns by saying that Take-Two’s development studios aren’t facing any productivity issues but have experienced some unforeseen delays.

GTA 6 release date not impacted by recent Rockstar Games hack

Zelnick didn’t divulge any details about the aforementioned delays but has previously said that the recent Rockstar Games hack did not impact GTA 6‘s development. “We definitely have very high quality expectations,” Zelnick told investors (via SeekingAlpha). “This company is a hit factory – we haven’t had a disappointing release in as long as I can remember. I’d much rather have the situation we’re in, which is we’ve had some delays and we have had to revise down guidance – I’ll choose that any day over taking some flops.”

Reports suggest that GTA 6 is still a good number of years away from release. GTA 5 originally released nine years ago and has since been ported over to the PS4 and the PS5.

The post GTA 6 Release Is Taking Time Because Take-Two Prefers Delays Over Flops appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Rockstar Games may have plans for single-player GTA 6 DLC ahead of the game’s launch, according to reliable insider Tez2. Tez2, whose recent reports of Red Dead Redemption and GTA 4 remasters were corroborated by numerous publications, wrote on popular fan site GTA Forums that Rockstar Games will revert back to how it planned DLC and add-ons before GTA Online’s success changed things. Although the online portion of GTA 5 turned out to be a massive success, players have long expressed their displeasure over lack of single-player DLC, which was in the works at one point before being scrapped.

What we know about GTA 6 DLC plans

According to Tez2, Rockstar Games will be working on “new cities and missions” while GTA 6 is still in development. This way, the studio won’t be scrambling to allocate resources to DLC development post launch. Tez2 wrote:

Rockstar will go back to how they were planning future content before GTA Online success boomed. The first wave of ‘new cities and missions’ we will receive as DLC will definitely be planned out before VI releases. And Rockstar will be able to allocate resources towards whatever new title they will work on after VI release. As for the new cities, I think for the most part we will receive instanced new cities or islands. Like Cayo Perico or North Yankton style. That way, Rockstar can introduce a new heist for the next GTA Online mode with each new DLC. If we are lucky, we could receive a fully fledged new city from time to time.

Rockstar Games scrapped plans for GTA 5 single-player DLC back in 2015, much to fans’ disappointment. Later, the developer said that it decided to leave the game’s single-player alone because the campaign is “massive and very complete” as it is. Rockstar Games believes that GTA 5 is “three games in one.”

In other news, it looks like Beetlejuice and Wicked Witch of the West are set to join MultiVersus roster, and more evidence of PSN to PC account linking has been discovered.

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