Rockstar Insider Suggests Discord Integration Could Come to GTA V Enhanced

The launch of Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced has gone relatively well. It's one of the most-played games on Steam at the moment and effectively breathed new life into Grand Theft Auto V. Many of the issues with the free upgrade aren't necessarily with the release itself but with Rockstar Games' lack of updates surrounding Grand Theft Auto 6. It does have a few problems though, and the most glaring of which is the absence of in-game text chat.

This feature, long considered a staple for communication in Grand Theft Auto Online lobbies, has left many fans frustrated. When the issue first came to light, Rockstar Support acknowledged that text chat was not supported at launch, leaving the door open for its potential addition in future updates. This response gave players hope that their concerns would be addressed in due time.

Later on, eagle-eyed players discovered a telling comment in the game's pause menu file. A Rockstar developer had left a note stating, "text chat option not yet added to Gen9. Coming soon." This discovery seemed to confirm that the feature was indeed in the pipeline, further raising expectations.

However, as weeks have passed since the game's release, Rockstar has pushed out several patches without addressing the text chat issue. Players are beginning to question whether the feature will ever make a comeback, especially given the company's focus on other aspects of the game. The most recent patch, in particular, fixed an issue that prevented players from binding the T and Y keys on their keyboards.

For those familiar with the previous version of GTA V, the T key was traditionally used to access text chat. This fix has left players wondering: if text chat isn't coming back, why bother with this particular key binding issue? Perhaps being unable to bind to it was a remnant of the chat feature - and now being able to use it means the chat is gone for good.

Rockstar insider Tez2 proposed a theory that could explain what's taking the re-implementation of this feature so long. The theory suggests that Rockstar might be planning to integrate Discord's newly announced SDK into the game. This integration would potentially eliminate the need for a separate in-game text chat system, as Discord's platform could handle all communication needs.

This theory gains credibility when considering Rockstar's recent collaborations with Discord. The company has launched its own Discord server and introduced "looking for heists" channels to encourage player cooperation. However, it's important to note that if this integration does occur, it likely wouldn't apply to entire lobbies. Instead, it would focus on communication between friends and linking to specific channels within Discord.

As for Discord itself, the platform's approach with the with the Social SDK release is not to compete directly with platforms like Steam or the Epic Games Store, but rather to complement existing ecosystems. By making it easier for players to discover and engage with new games through their social connections, Discord aims to "lift all boats."

The success of the Social SDK will likely depend on its adoption rate among developers and the reception from players, especially if it can get someone like Rockstar on board. For now, players of GTA V Enhanced will have to make do with alternative communication methods as they wreak havoc in Los Santos.

Speaking of Los Santos, did you know that fans have found Trevor Philips' house in real-life? Also, for those with PCs capable of running GTA V to its limit, you might just have enjoyed a glimpse of what GTA 6 could look like when it comes out on consoles later this year.