Remember 2008 when Grand Theft Auto IV released? Everyone was so excited to play a new GTA game four years after the critically acclaimed San Andreas and Rockstar delivered it once again with GTA IV. The game had its flaws, but overall it was a great experience; and the following year, we even got two new DLC’s (Story DLC), such a normal thing back then.

What if in 2008 I told you that in the next 13 years (and counting), you’d only get one GTA game? What would have been your reaction?.. Well, guess what it’s 2021, and we only received one GTA and thousands of free DLC for GTA Online since then.

My main point here is not to rant like a seven-year-old; I know game development takes time, especially with Rockstar, as they tend to overwhelm their games with jaw-dropping little details like shrinking Horse balls (seriously). Rockstar just released RDR 2 in 2018, but we got one game from Rockstar every year or two back in the day.

So what is the problem? Who is to blame? Rockstar games? Well NO!. The main culprit is Take-Two, which just don’t let most Rockstar employees shift to another title as their primary focus is GTA: Online. I can talk for hours regarding GTA: Online, how I used to love it, thinking it was the best thing ever and I never wanted it to die, and oh boy, I regret my decision now. The main aim for every game for its company is to make a profit, and GTA V did precisely that as it became the most profitable entertainment product of all time by earning $6B in revenue. But in that success, the company forgot to take care of the die-hard fans who just wanted to enjoy the game’s single-player content.

Rockstar Games had plans to support GTA V with a single-player story DLC as it did before with previous entries, but it all got permanently shelved as GTA: Online became popular. A gameplay mode similar to RDR Undead Nightmare plus adding a whole new map expansion was once in GTA V’s DLC plan. Also, the online exclusive heist DLC was going to be used for GTA V single player.

Now it’s been seven years since GTA: V released, and it’s milked to death; the whole online is designed to force you to purchase microtransaction; all the free things that rockstar is giving for the past seven years requires millions of in-game currency to purchase, plus don’t forget the weird things that they had introduced in these free updates a lot of which are over the top (remember when Saints Row was accused of copying GTA, Oh boy! how the tables have turned).

There are many rumours that Rockstar is working on the next GTA but seeing what happened with GTA V and after the success of Online, it makes me more worried than excited for one of my favourite franchise. Which is sad as I don’t feel anything special about GTA when I think about its future.