Summary
Grand Theft Auto Onlinehas been popular for over a decade, and if a new hint in the game’s script is anything to go by, developer Rockstar Games might be prepping the service for enduring relevance in a smart way. As the distinct multiplayer component ofGTA 5,GTA Onlinehas received a steady stream of updates ever since its launch, continuing to expand with content additions despite thelack of major DLC for the single-playerexperience. As an ongoing financial success, it’s no surprise that Rockstar keeps investing in the service, but that isn’t likely to last forever.
The inevitable shift in Rockstar’s development priorities is heralded by theupcoming release ofGTA 6, which is currently set for a nebulous 2025 release window. Once that arrives, making it the new primary platform forGTA’s near future seems inevitable, andthe regular schedule ofGTA Onlinereleases will likely start to dry up in the favor ofGTA 6content. Although it’s not yet clear what a new online component might look like, there’s no way around the fact thatGTA Onlineis getting a bit long in the tooth.
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GTA Online Might Be Getting A Mission Creator
A Newly Added Script File Seems Revealing
The most recent content update forGTA Online,Bottom Dollar Bounties, released on June 25, and it brought an interesting hidden addition with it. As noted in a tweet fromTez2,a new script resource called “public_mission_creator.ysc” is now included in the game files. It’s currently empty, but the name certainly seems telling of a direction that Rockstar might be exploring for thefuture ofGTA Online.
AllowingGTA Onlineusers to design some of their own material isn’t a new concept, with a beta version of a Content Creator first appearing only a few months after the game’s launch in 2013. It’s a useful tool for creating maps, with support to lay out maps for different game modes like Deathmatch and Races. At the end of the day, its utility doesn’t extend beyond creating maps and publishing them as basic Job activities, so although there’s a lot of fun to be had, it isn’t a robust replacement for the full spectrum of officialGTA Onlinecontent.
GTA Onlinedoesn’t allow mods, so any attempts to play modded content online require a third-party online solution and privately hosted servers.
A mission creator, on the other hand, would significantly open up the possibilities of what the community can easily create. Contact Missions provide comparatively structured content that more directly resembles the tasks a player might take on in single-playerGTA. The promise of monetary rewards is a big part of the appeal in Contact Missions, but even without that lure, they can be a fun activity when the sheer chaos of generalGTA Onlineshenanigans isn’t fully hitting the spot.
A Mission Creator Could Keep GTA Online Fresh
Community Content Can Last A Long Time
If a mission creator is in fact coming toGTA Online, it’s the perfect way to extend the lifespan of the service even once development shifts to a newer platform. Games likeMario MakerandDreamshave already proven that community content is enough to provide a reasonably complete experience on its own, and the ability to mod new quests and activities is a lot of what’s kepteasilymoddable games likeSkyrimpopular for so many years. Online services losing support can be especially devastating, so transferring that creation ability to the community would be a great move.
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Community Contact Missions obviously wouldn’t meet the same standards of consistency as official Rockstar material, and it also seems likely that Rockstar would restrict how payouts work to ensure that a mission creator wouldn’t just be a glorified infinite money glitch. There’s always room for incredible community content, however, and good filtration and sorting system could easily make finding great missions simple.
One empty script file isn’t enough to guarantee such a significant change in the future ofGTA Online, but it definitely implies that Rockstar’s at least working on the concept. For now, there are always plenty of modded private servers and more to enjoy, but getting proper support for custom Contact Missions would open upGrand Theft Auto Onlinein a way that it never has been before.
