Four Years After Launch, Grand Theft Auto Online Just Had Its Best Quarter

Pure insanity.

I must have played GTA online for about an hour when I still had the game for my PS4 but without any kind of story it was one of the dullest gaming experiences I've had. I will temper that by saying that none of my friends played it, so I was just playing with strangers and had recently finished the main game which is pretty good but I never got into as much as Vice City or San Andreas. As for shark cards I can't believe any sane person would buy more than one of those, we did have one guy at work who had spent almost £1000 on the things and played almost nothing else for years and it showed because he was incredibly dull and useless at his job. If games just became about these type of online only experiences I think I'd sell my PS4 and find a new hobby, personally I can't think of anything worse than having the same experience over and over again for years.

It's not that I don't play some online games, I have Rocket League and Splatoon 2 which are some of the best games I've played in years but I like my stories and would hate to miss out on the Personas and Yakuzas of this world. Games like Overwatch would have been a day one purchase had it had some form of campaign and Destiny for all of its issues at launch is possibly the perfect example of how to marry a campaign to the online world and maybe is the blueprint for how these games could evolve

Never played and this wont change.

"perhaps those days of 30 hour solo stories are coming to an end"

I hope this day never comes. I am glad the game is doing well, but for me, without the single player story I certainly would not be buying. I just dont get enough enjoyment out of online only titles. I am all about the single player experience in my games and that will never change.

Still ain't played it, I've zero interest in GTA online, it's clearly a great playground but I'm only ever going to bother with the campaign.

I trust Rockstar to keep single player at the forefront of what they do. Perhaps online portions will be more MMO-like (I know GTA online is an MMO). I mean kept separate from the main game, updated like a service and subscription free supported with micro transactions.

@Shellcore Totally agree, and I definitely think this might be where they are heading. I definitely don't see them leaving single player behind any time soon. And there is no reason why single player and multiplayer could continue to coexist following that model

Sammy, do you have any proof in your claim that GTA Online is fuelled entirely by micro transactions?

I came late to GTA Online and have since amassed over 100 million and pretty much all the property and vehicles I want and need, via CEO missions. The gunrunning update has given me another way to make money now, alternating between CEO and gunrunning whilst having serious fun meeting and either working with or against other players. The creative freedom, and quality of gaming it offers, is still unparrelleled, so lots of you bemoaning Rockstar's success are actually criticising a title which is not only commercially an unbridled success, but critically as well.

And it does this with some serious aplomb. Cinematic, satirical, fantastic seamless gameplay from the driving to the FPS, or even drivebys, to the RPG element of rising through the online ranking. Even tennis as a downtime multiplayer is fun, or just finding other players in a session and helping them before taking on the session bully is incredible immersive and lays a blueprint for online gaming years ahead.

Why is there so much nonsense spouted about this game and the reasons for its success?

When GTA6 is finally released, let's see how many of you criticise it then, or for that matter, how Mr. Barker assesses the quality of the game upon release.

I've been a gamer since the C64 and the reason GTA5 sells so well is because the online component is absolutely incredible and is still spinning discs around the newer game releases who are not fit to lace Rockstars' boots, either from a technical or gameplay standpoint.

Sorry for the rant, but for the sake of all of us on these types of sites let's cut out the 'me too' rubbish and give credit where credit is due, and for the guy who thinks we prefer the Destiny model of DLC and Online business model - speak for yourself. Rockstar have given EVERY SINGLE DLC for 4 years completely free.

4 years.....

Destiny? Year one / two cumulative spend - £150 including base game and 2 DLC packs.

I've bought both games and whilst I'm in for Destiny 2, if we're all totally honest nobody wants the Activision model which has single-handedly seen Bungie ruin themselves from Microsofts clutches to an even more reprehensible publisher, at a cost to the completeness of their games.

Or we can prefer to spout the merits of Splatoon instead....crikey it's like Nintendo fanboys have infected the PlayStation crowd 😬🤔😂

I can't see Rockstar ever dropping their single player games for these online service (ugh) style of games. I love GTA Online but I'd play a single player game over it any day of the week. Like Galvatron says, the microtransaction shark cards aren't a necessity, they're there for players with limited time, the lazy gets with too much money or the new generation spinner kids who want everything instantly (most likely the ones putting millions into Rockstar and Take-Two's bank accounts). I'm not sure why Galvatron is having a pop at Samuel boy for it, though.

For the record, I'm a legit level 500, have most business' and vehicles, and have not once bought any shark card. Yeah, I've played this game a lot since the PS3.

This news is not surprising to those that like and play gtao regularly.

For better or worse the online play became the additional content that sp dlc would have provided. Gtao provides a new story and protaganist where the player's created character is the new protaganist and the online only content provides a new story, your story.

I have played off and on since November 2013 and still enjoy it. The best may have been early like up to the summer of 2014, but after a long break and now on PS4 i still enjoy it.

Some down sides of the online succe$$ beyond R* wildest dreams is no sp dlc, the possible delay in the release of RD2, and the ever increasing inflation in prices of dlc content which makes R* look overly greedy to everyone except those at R*. The dlc is free and in game money for purchases can be earned but as prices go up more time is needed to earn the money needed. Thus shark cards, already an option, now maintain or even increase in sales.

@Galvatron I think Sammy was referring to the financial viability of the MP from the developers point of view, not particularly the viability of playing without doling out real world cash on Shark cards.

I had GTA V and sold it a couple of years ago after putting many hours into the Online and single player. Really enjoyed it... But never understood why you spend actual money on Shark Cards when the whole point is to actually play the game and earn what you want and get more enjoyment out of it that way.

@get2sammyb
Not everyone is familiar with earnings reports or the SEC laws requiring truthful reporting to shareholders.

@get2sammyb Going by the charts, people are still buying the base game in order to play online. I'm sure thats a hefty percentage of their income too.

Strong new base game sales equals more online players, plus dlc released with expensive new stuff and high pay walls, along with all of the continuing and returning players , now add in that the exchange rate has not changed along with the ever higher prices, and the last quarter online sales record is not all that surprising.

@carlos82 spot on

@Galvatron I'm assuming you mean me regarding the Destiny comments, however I made no mention of its dlc model. I was referring to how it combined a campaign with its multiplayer component to create a seamless experience without sacrificing anything significant from either. Also what's wrong with Splatoon? I wouldn't call myself a Nintendo fanboy, I enjoy my games on both Switch and PS4, not to mention PSVR

@carlos82 - no offence intended so do swerve my bullet, just a disappointed Bungie fan who yearned the Halo experience on PlayStation which Destiny actually exceeded in gunplay terms, alas reverted backwards with AI and story. Which is down to the publishing model as much as the change of story etc. Agree re campaign alongside Online as best scenario and early gaming years dominated by Game Boy and SNES, N64 (or Game & Watch, for that matter), so no axe to grind with Nintendo, it's more the content GTA Online serves up seems progression for me as a gamer in terms of content, enjoyment and technical wizardry.

As ApostateMage knows for a level 500 in GTA Online, that's A LOT of bang for your buck 🤔