As the release of Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6) looms closer with its fall 2025 release date, GTA Online players are buzzing with speculation about what the future holds for their beloved live service. GTA Online, Rockstar's lucrative online platform, has maintained its popularity and profitability well over a decade since its inception. This enduring success has led Rockstar to focus on the live service rather than story DLC for Grand Theft Auto 5, a decision that has left some fans wanting more narrative content. Yet, the bigger question on everyone's mind is what will happen to GTA Online once GTA 6 launches.
It's widely anticipated that GTA 6 will introduce a new iteration of GTA Online, potentially dubbed GTA Online 2, or perhaps simply retaining the original name. This prospect raises concerns among current players about whether their investments of time, effort, and money in the existing GTA Online will be rendered obsolete with the launch of a new version later in 2025. This uncertainty prompts a critical question: should players continue to invest in GTA Online in early 2025, knowing that a new version might be just months away?
In a recent interview with IGN ahead of Take-Two's third-quarter financial report, Strauss Zelnick, the head of Take-Two, addressed this very question. While he refrained from commenting specifically on GTA Online due to the lack of an official announcement, Zelnick provided insights into Take-Two's approach with another of their franchises, NBA 2K Online. Launched in 2012, and followed by NBA 2K Online 2 in 2017, both games continue to be supported and played, illustrating Take-Two's commitment to maintaining multiple versions of a game when there's a sustained player interest.
Zelnick stated, "I'm going to speak theoretically only because I'm not going to talk about a particular project when an announcement hasn't been made. But generally speaking, we support our properties when the consumers are involved with those titles. As an example, we launched NBA 2K Online in China, I think originally in 2012 if I'm not mistaken. And then we launched NBA 2K Online 2 in China in 2017. If I'm not mistaken. We did not sunset Online 1. They both are still in the market and they serve consumers and they're alive and we have this massive audience."
This comment hints at a promising future for the current GTA Online. Zelnick's words suggest that if the community remains engaged with the original GTA Online, Rockstar may continue to support it even after the release of a new version. This would mean that players wouldn't have to abandon their current progress and assets.
While much about GTA 6 remains under wraps, with only Trailer 1 and a release window announced so far, Rockstar will need to provide more information as the launch approaches, especially given the recent announcement of Borderlands 4's release in September 2025. In the meantime, players and fans can ponder Zelnick's comments on the potential of skipping a PC launch for GTA 6.
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