A new theory about Grand Theft Auto 6 suggests that Rockstar is purposefully tanking Grand Theft Auto Online‘s economy in order to prepare players for the next entry. Grand Theft Auto Online, the incredibly popular multiplayer mode for Grand Theft Auto V, has grown a lot since it was originally released in 2013, and despite a number of problems with exploits and glitches Grand Theft Auto Online continues to attract a eccentric and vocal community of players.
There have been many additions to the gameplay in Grand Theft Auto Online over the years, ranging from allowing users access to new player heist missions to Rockstar releasing a mission and level editor which lets players create pretty much anything they can imagine. Grand Theft Auto Online has also recently added a new gambling hub, the Diamond Casino & Resort, and, even more recently, was invaded by alien gangs. However, players have noticed the economy of Grand Theft Auto Online has steadily been getting worse, and some fans think they know why.
Click the button below to start this article in quick view.
According to a recent article on Inverse, prices for in-game items purchased with cash (which is either earned through gameplay or procured through real-life purchasable Rockstar Shark cards) have been getting steadily more expensive since 2018, emphasized with their example of Rockstar recently offering “the Sultan Classic car for $1.2 million” last January, “which is absolutely mind-boggling when you consider it’s the same Sultan that was worth $12,000 in 2013.” According to one Reddit theory by a user who goes by u/James_Torelli, this is something Rockstar is doing purposefully, “ruining the economy of GTA Online to get better sales of GTA 6 and it’s[sic] online mode.”
The theory goes on to say that “The Timeline of this collapse puts the announcement of GTA 6 sometime this year, and the release sometime within the next three years.” u/James_Torelli then lays out a theoretical timeline where both ends of Grand Theft Auto Online‘s economic ladder gain access to high-end, expensive items while Rockstar begins to decrease periodic updates, leading to a situation where the company eventually abandons Grand Theft Auto Online “to sway anyone playing or looking to play GTA Online to the new GTA6 Online.”
It’s highly unlikely that this is the case. Once Grand Theft Auto 6 does get announced, it is true that Grand Theft Auto Online may begin seeing fewer and fewer content updates as time goes on, but such is the case with any sequel to a game which currently has online functions. As Inverse noted, Grand Theft Auto 4‘s online support only stopped back in February of this year, and Grand Theft Auto Online is so incredibly popular that it’s almost a certainty Rockstar will continue to support it for as long as possible, whether Grand Theft Auto 6 is released or not.
Source: Inverse
