Fans are looking forward to the release of Red Dead Redemption 2, which looks set to be another massive success for Rockstar Games.
But if it does repeat the popularity of GTA 5 and GTA Online, does that mean a massive delay for the GTA 6 release date?
The usual five-year cycle between Grand Theft Auto games has been broken, with Rockstar launching RDR2 in 2018. It certainly seems like the overwhelming success of GTA Online came even as a bit of a surprise to the studio.
Red Dead Redemption 2 was announced in October 2016 and has taken an extra two years to hit shelves.
Rockstar said at the time that the game required further polish, but some analysts believe it also has something to do with the game’s online mode.
Red Dead Online looks set to play a major in the new game’s success and will arrive in beta form in November 2018.
But if it proves to be anything like as successful as GTA Online, could fans wanting GTA 6 be left waiting a longer period of time?
There’s no doubt that GTA Online continues to prove a massive success, with the base game still selling well.
There seems no reason for Rockstar to pull the plug on such a lucrative product, even with a rival product entering the market.
It’s likely that RDR Online will cannibalise GTA Online, making for a smooth transition for Rockstar Games.
GTA Online has remained popular for years, which begs the question of whether the same will happen with RDR Online.
Take-Two’s CEO, Strauss Zelnick believes the multiplayer experience could really be a massive hit, telling an earnings report: “When we first released Grand Theft Auto V, and we had Grand Theft Auto Online on its heels, we had never done anything like that.
“We, Take-Two, we Rockstar Games, had never done anything like that. We didn’t know what to expect. And the cadence of its ongoing extraordinary success to is new to us.
“Does it inform how we look at titles that come after? Well, naturally, it does. But the nature of our approach collectively, specifically, the nature of Rockstar Games approach, is never to be derivative and always to shatter expectations.
“And I believe that Red Dead Redemption 2 will shatter expectations and that the online experience also will be extraordinary, but unexpected. And my view is that all great hits are, by their very nature, unexpected.
“So that’s the goal. There is an expectation around the table, here, of course, there’s an expectation at Rockstar Games, and there is an expectation on the part of consumers.”
There won’t be the same level of cosmetic offerings when it comes to GTA Online, there’s only so many different kinds of horses you could add.
But it looks like Rockstar Games have big plans for RDR Online that will build on the success of GTA 5’s multiplayer mode.
So if we can believe that Red Dead Online will be a success and left to run with free content support for several years, it would make sense that the next game from Rockstar wouldn’t arrive until at least 2020.
But if we can believe that Red Dead Redemption 2 could be upgraded for the next PS4 and Xbox Two consoles, like what with GTA 5, this could stretch the lift of Red Dead Redemption 2 further.
So based on what has happened between GTA 5 and RDR 2, is 2021 a safe bet for the next Grand Theft Auto to land?
A new set of consoles to work with means a much better GTA Online experience will be open to Rockstar to build.
At the moment this all remains speculation but an eight-year wait for the next GTA experience sounds more and more likely as we get closer to the launch of Red Dead Redemption 2.