Legacy of Grand Theft Auto V
GameUtha April 25, 2022
Never Ending Dominance of GTA V
Grand Theft Auto V was released in 2013 to widespread critical and commercial success. It went on to gross $800 million dollars within 24 hours of its release by selling more than 11 million copies on PS3 and Xbox 360. By the end of it’s third day it had earned $1 billion in revenue. To date the game has been re-released 3 times; on PC, PS4/Xbox One and on PS5/Xbox Series X|S. Despite being rereleased nearly a decade ago the game still continues to sell incredibly well, often times reentering the top 10 games sold month after month. In its most recent earnings call Rockstar shared that Grand Theft Auto 5 had sold a whopping 160 million copies becoming one of the best-selling games of all time.
So why exactly has GTA 5 continued to dominate the sales chart while also remaining extremely relevant despite being initially released two console generations ago? Why has the game refused to die despite Rockstar having released Red Dead Redemption 2 complete with an online component and numerous other games coming out in the process.
GTA Online
One of the biggest and most obvious reasons is GTA Online. GTA 5’s online component remains one of the most played online/multiplayer games to this day. On Twitch, GTA Online averages over 200,000 live views per day. The open world online sand box experience is unlike anything that’s available today. Continued content updates including the addition of new cars, weapons, playable areas and more has kept the player base intact for many years and has also pulled new players along the way.
GTA Online – so much to do!
There are perhaps no games on the market that let you live out your criminal enterprise fantasy like GTA. Being able to own properties, casinos, nightclubs, flying cars, jets, helicopters and so much more really is what’s attractive about GTA online. Being able to do so much in just one game means there is pretty much something for everyone to do. Like cars? GTA Online has car meets where you can meet other players who like to spruce up their rides. How about traditional GTA style missions? Take part in heists with other players to be able to win big bucks and XP. What about races? GTA online features some of the most entertaining races in any game out there right now with intricate tracks and courses. Additionally, the game also features randomized events like reaching top speed with vehicles, free fall challenges, sabotaging other players missions.
The sense of progression from starting out as a lowly character who can work their way up to the top while also having a plethora of activities to do has kept GTA Online, and by extension GTA 5 online over the years.
The Story Mode
GTA 5’s story mode is just as good, if not better than its online counterpart. Trevor, Michael and Franklin’s story has remained some of the best in gaming. The satirical take on American pop culture combined with amazingly written characters and relationships has stood the test of time. the game scored a very impressive 97% on Metacritic on PS4. Like the online component the single player version also features heists you can pull off. The player can choose how to pull of certain heists (stealthy vs guns blazing approach) additionally, the game also features 3 endings, these features make the campaign very repayable and hall pulled in players back time and time again.
Rereleases
GTA 5 has been rereleased three times, currently the game is available on PS3, PS4, PS5, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and the PC platform. These releases have allowed the game to stay in the limelight generations over and retain its popularity. Being available across a multitude of platforms combined with its popularity has allowed the game to continue to sell copies and in turn have people play and replay it.
No GTA 6 – Until Now
GTA 5 will celebrate it’s 10th anniversary in 2023. With no sign of GTA 6 releasing anytime soon, fans of the series – and there are a lot of them, have continued to replay GTA 5 and play GTA online as they wait for the next entry in the series to come out. 10 years between sequels is a long time and as such it has allowed GTA 5 to remain popular over the years, there are very few games that capture the attention and hearts of players as the GTA series does and most people have committed to the franchise instead of moving on to something else.
The future
Rockstar formally announced Grand Theft Auto VI through a tweet on February 4th 2022. It marked the first time the game had been mentioned by the company despite rumors and speculations of its existence and development existing long before that. There is currently no release for GTA 6 but most analysts predict it will drop sometime between 2023 and 2025. When GTA 6 does launch it will cause GTA 5’s popularity to drop. But will it ever die? Given its timeless campaign and players who’ve put in years and years into GTA Online it’s hard to say many players will migrate over GTA 6’s version of GTA Online but I don’t think GTA 5 will ever truly really die out.
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