You could be forgiven for thinking that Rockstar Games has somewhat forgotten about single-player experiences. While Red Dead Redemption 2 was undeniably a fantastic solo experience through and through, the vast majority of post launch content has been aimed towards Red Dead Online. The exact same can be said for Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online. The former game hasn't seen any substantial single-player updates since launching in 2013, while the latter has enjoyed heaps of support.
It's not hard to see why. One look at the amount of money Rockstar and parent company Take-Two Interactive is making from these online modes is enough to make you wonder if the Grand Theft Auto studio will ever truly return to its single-player roots again. Fortunately, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has assured fans that it will continue to invest in Rockstar's penchant for single-player goodness.
"The folks at Rockstar Games intended to create a powerful single-player experience a story driven experience," he said during an earnings call. "And Rockstar has always been known for great stories and great single-player experiences and then developed in addition, a massive multiplayer opportunity over the past years."
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Zelnick also touched on the fact that GTA Online just had its most successful year since launching nearly ten years ago, a staggeringly impressive achievement for a game that continues to be a huge source of revenue for Rockstar and Take-Two.
"I think it's a reminder, not that we needed one, that Rockstar Games can do both of those things at the highest possible level of execution in our business," Zelnick said. "There was, I think, there was an argument just a couple years ago, not around here, not in this shop, but in some of our competitors' offices, that single-player is dead, that it's all about multiplayer," he said. "We didn't believe that I said specifically and publicly that we didn't believe that, our labels don't believe that.
"We deliver an array of experiences that range from hyper casual mobile, to the most complex, the most robust, single-player and multiplayer experiences. And we intend to continue doing that."
Rockstar Games said back in 2013 that it was looking into story DLC for GTA V, although this obviously never materialized. The good news is that the most recent GTA Online update offered the first content that could be played entirely in single-player, and Rockstar has said that we can expect more of this in future updates for the predominately multiplayer game.
Topics: Rockstar Games, News, Red Dead Redemption, Grand Theft Auto