Few franchises have carved out a significant cultural and commercial impact like Grand Theft Auto. Fans worldwide are eagerly waiting for every bit of information about the next entry in the series, Grand Theft Auto 6. Now, an intriguing piece of information from a well-regarded insider has given us a clue about what Rockstar Games is planning for GTA 6 and its multiplayer component.
Tez2, a trusted source within the GTA community, shares that the development team will be sticking to the non-dedicated server model for the online portion of GTA 6.
Rockstar's parent company, Take-Two Interactive, made the strategic decision not to invest in dedicated servers for GTA Online, presumably due to cost considerations, many years ago. Such a decision exemplifies Take-Two's careful and calculated approach to guaranteeing the long-term viability of each GTA installment.
Unfortunately, this rumored decision in respect of the next version of GTA Online isn't currying GTA 6 any favors from fans. A problem this might create in GTA 6 is the continued presence of in-game issues in GTA Online, which continue to persist in today's version. But, Rockstar has been actively and consistently working on resolving these issues, demonstrating its commitment to their player base.
It's worth noting that while dedicated servers are common in gaming, they're not a perfect solution. The added financial burden is an issue, especially since such servers still don't 100% guarantee server uptime. Besides, GTA Online and others, like Destiny 2, have flourished without dedicated servers. Bungie, the makers of Destiny, for example, relies on using complex networking systems, much to the satisfaction of their communities.
Rockstar might feel confident that it can develop a similar solution if it hasn't already. If this is the case, then the lack of dedicated servers might not have any impact on the overall player experience in GTA 6 Online at all.
One way of looking at the decision not to implement dedicated servers is an innovative if brave strategy. It proves that Take-Two and Rockstar are confident that they can deliver an engaging and reliable online experience without resorting to the norm. After all, if GTA 5 sold over 180 million copies since 2013 without dedicated servers, why won't GTA 6 have the same amount of success?
Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick's recent statements suggest that GTA 6 could be released anytime between mid-2024 and late 2025. This timeline gives Rockstar enough time to perfect the server situation for GTA 6 and/or explore better networking solutions.
@8bitavenger,
DUDE I forgot about that!! I know someone that got banned too because he was doing it and he never got his account back. I think it was fair to suspend people for a month or so but to outright ban them was insane.
@Genius,
I sure hope so. I remember all the issues when GTA 5 online launched. The loading screen timing out and glitching, people getting sent to dead servers by themselves, the list goes on and on. I still remember that glitch with the car garage players were exploiting for fast and easy cash. Instead of fixing it right away, they banned players that were doing it. My friend was one. He never played the game again.
@kingOf0,
He is right, you know. lol I can hear his voice anytime I see the picture.
I have noticed that people aren't really talking about it much already so it likely was just complainers complaining and moving on.
@8bitavenger,
They know a lot is riding on this title so they will make sure they don't fudge things up. I am sure it will have some of the common issues at the beginning, most games seem to have issues these days but the launch should be better than the last.
Even if this will cause them issues, they have time to figure it our and plan ahead. I am not going to worry about it right now. They pay attention to community complaints, even if they don't appear to half the time. They know people have concerns.
@Genius,
Both have upsides and downsides but whatever they choose shouldn't impact the game. They want this to be the biggest deal in gaming history so they won't do anything that jeopardises that.
Even if it is just a rumor and regardless of it being an issue or not, this is not a good look for them. I am seeing all sorts of people complain online about it. I am sure it will be forgotten in a week though. People move on fast.
As long as it is set up right, there is no issue. I think people are just looking for things to complain about already. We see this with every new AAA title game release announcement. Soon as they mention it is in the works and rumors start, people lose their minds.
I always say, "leave this up to the nerds" lol
In that they know what they are doing and how servers and host sharing works. I seldom see a game that has issues when it doesn't use dedicated servers. I have heard of some negatives in fact when it comes to using them.
Personally, I've never really encountered issues with connection stability or performance in GTA Online. Well, apart from the extremely long times to load in, but everyone is aware of that, and I don't think it was caused by the P2P networking nature?