Rockstar Games have enjoyed massive success with the release of GTA V on the PC and consoles. With the PC version arriving late to the party, it seems like Rockstar’s plans were bent over time with them ending up focusing on GTA Online.
GameInformer’s Editor, Matt Bertz decided to ask Rockstar’s Director of Design, Imran Sarwar. Matt Bretz posed an excellent and viable question to Imran Sarwar about how Imran’s team designed the game’s storyline and how they ended up supporting GTA Online for the most of the part. Despite the massive success, Imran Sarwar explained how they gradually shifted with their ideas over time. He said:
“No, it was not really a conscious decision, it’s just what happened. With GTA V, the single-player game was absolutely massive and very, very complete. It was three games in one. The next-gen versions took a year of everyone’s time to get right, then the online component had a lot of potential but to come close to realizing that potential, also sucked up a lot of resources. And then there are other games – in particular Red Dead Redemption II. The combination of these three factors means for this game, we did not feel single-player expansions were either possible or necessary.” – Imran Sarwar, Director Of Design, Rockstar
A lot of the points brought up by the Director, Imran Sarwar were viable. In a time where GTA V was stuck between two generations of consoles and the overhead to get a stable PC release a while later, Rockstar’s focus of single-player campaigns just seemed to fade away. Rockstar’s massive success with their DLCs and continuous support from the fans meant that they had to garner an audience where everyone was in line. Afterall, the PC version of the game did not arrive until early 2015, that’s one point worth considering.
GTA V’s continuous support and active player base are still keeping GTA V in the top 10 active games despite being released more than two years ago. The audience Rockstar has garnered are enjoying the title and are always looking forward into what Rockstar is developing in the future. However, Imran Sarwar also made it clear that they aren’t over with creating excellent single-player content at the moment.
I just wish GTA VI arrives soon, but in GTA V’s current state, my hopes seem to be otherwise. As a finishing note, how about creep up that nostalgia by reminding you guys about Midnight Club, wink wink Rockstar!
