It is funny how quickly the mood around Grand Theft Auto 6 shifted after getting delayed into 2026 with a single trailer. No doubt this was a strategic play by Rockstar, and the result shows just how ferocious gamers’ appetite for the upcoming game has become. As a trailer, this felt like Rockstar finally turning the key on the marketing engine for what is shaping up to be the most important launch of the decade, but there’s been one major component missing from all the trailers and marketing material that will need to be addressed sooner or later.
GTA Online 2 — or whatever name it goes by in GTA 6 — is the real product most people are buying in for, but Rockstar hasn’t made its plans clear on how it will roll it out. If history is to be repeated, then we should expect Online to arrive a month or two post-initial release. This, as well as the delay in a PC release, is sure to ruffle more than a few feathers. While I won’t argue in favor of staggering the PC release beyond giving Rockstar the benefit of the doubt in needing more time for the port, I do feel there’s a strong case for why making us wait for GTA Online is a benefit.
Stealing its own thunder
We’ve had a ton of different reports and rumors on how much time and money have gone into GTA 6, but it feels safe to say this is going to be one of the most expensive games ever developed. As many copies as the game is sure to sell at launch, it’s no secret that Online is the real moneymaker. This is going to be what lives on for a decade or more with updates, cosmetics, modes, guns, cars, story content, and perhaps even entirely new regions.
It’s also the first thing most people will want to do. As we’ve seen, people are willing to spend years racing, shooting, role playing, and just hanging out in Rockstar’s worlds. But rather than lean into stoking the excitement for Online, there’s a clear push here on that single player experience that is indicative of how much pride Rockstar has in its narrative. The second trailer was entirely focused on building up the relationship between our two leads, introducing some of the supporting cast, and hinting at some of the set piece moments we will be experiencing. While we will need to wait to pass final judgment on the campaign, Rockstar has proven time and time again that its writers are masters of thoughtful storytelling and fully realizing strong and dynamic personalities. This isn’t just an afterthought to Online.
Just look at Rockstar’s two previous releases: Grand Theft Auto 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2. Both titles opted, whether by choice or technical necessity, to delay their online launches until a month or so after release. In the case of GTA 5, that might be the sole reason the internet fell in love with Lamar and made memes out of Trevor’s demented antics. RDR2‘s online never caught on like GTA Online, but it is a testament to the writing and acting that it was able to be such a touching and engaging narrative despite being a prequel and the outcome already known to us. I have to wonder how many people would’ve skipped most, if not all, of GTA 5‘s campaign with the siren call of Online luring them away from the start.
Every game is a labor of love. As an effort, GTA 6 is the culmination of millions of hours of writing, coding, modeling, testing, acting, and so much more. No one is obligated to buy or play a game just because teams worked hard on it, but those teams shouldn’t give players an excuse to miss it. That’s what launching GTA Online would feel like — giving us our dinner and dessert at the same time and expecting us to not go right for the cake.
Should the two modes launch together, some may come back around to the single player, but many may never bother when there’s always levels to grind, money to earn, missions to run, and friends to pull off heists with. GTA 6 Online is going to be built with even more hooks than GTA 5, so even those who would want to split their time between the two modes would have that FOMO lingering in their minds as their friends burn through all that content without them. If GTA 5 is anything to go by, then we can also expect a constant feed of new content injected into Online to keep players perpetually engaged. Giving GTA 6‘s story its own time in the spotlight will ensure that it isn’t caught in the shadow of its own online mode.
We’ve heard the depressing statistics around how few people actually finish any given game for 15 years or more at this point. And back then there were far fewer distractions. Games launching today have to compete with so many sources of quick dopamine hits from every angle. GTA 6 is the current boogyman for the industry no other game wants to compete with, but it should fear just as much for its single player as much as any other game would.
This choice would be disappointing for those who are buying the game just for Online, but out of respect for the years of work that countless people have put into it, it just feels wrong to let it all sit in GTA Online’s shadow at launch. It is akin to launching two products at once; no matter what, people are going to have to make a choice. I would rather Rockstar allow players the freedom to enjoy as much or as little of the single player with no distractions. I don’t want to feel rushed or like I’m missing out on fun with my friends while going through this story. GTA games are so much more than just power fantasy sandboxes, and have never been mere “murder simulators” as some pass them off as. The proof will be in the pudding, but if Rockstar can give us something on the level of RDR2 here, it would be a disservice to the ones who poured their heart, souls, and lives into it, only to encourage people to rush or outright skip it.
We live in a world with endless distractions and products fighting for our attention. The new GTA Online will be engineered to be the most powerful attention magnet possible to compete not just with other games, but also with our phones and every other media out there. At the very least, I hope Rockstar keeps its own single player out of that blast radius.