Not too long ago yet another DLC was announced for GTA 5 — yet another DLC that isn't a singleplayer expansion, but instead an update for Online. While the concept behind Import/Export is a great one that returns to the fundamentals of Grand Theft Auto, and might actually be exactly what the multiplayer mode needs right now, some fans are pissed that the solo campaign is being passed over once again. Many fans.
But how many exactly? It's a well-known fact that internet communities have the uncanny tendency to become the echo-chambers for vocal minorities that give off the impression that the opinions of the few are actually the opinions of the many. The call for singleplayer DLC can often be found in internet communities focused on GTA 5, so it is possible that the larger audience isn't actually interested.
But — and it's a really big but — we cannot ignore the fact that the discussion has popped up on pretty much all GTA 5 related communities. And on news sites. I mean, freaking Forbes posted about the absence of singleplayer DLC. So what is this really — is it just the amplified voice of an echo-chamber, or is the game's audience truly universally starved out for some quality single player content?
Well, we're here to find out just that in our second poll. Some time ago we ran a survey about what the fans hope Rockstar's next project is. We gave the most likely options, meaning voters could pick from GTA 6, Red Dead Redemption 2 and GTA 5 story DLC. Interestingly enough, story DLC for the developer's most recent game rolled in ahead of a new Red Dead game. You can check out the results of that survey.
So, the time has come. Let the voice of the people be heard. Throw your vote regarding your interest in a story expansion for GTA 5 into the poll below.
Story DLC, or the idea of it, has had a tough history since release. Not too long after the game went live, Rockstar posted on the Newswire about upcoming content that would continue the stories of Franklin, Trevor, and Michael.
The messaging was less clear by May 2015. Asked about story DLC in an earnings call, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said, "we haven't discussed any story-based downloadable content." When the analyst pointed back to the earlier announcement, Zelnick said they had "differing recollections."
After this, social-media photos kept the story DLC rumour mill turning. A photo of Franklin's voice actor, Shawn Fonteno, in motion-capture gear was read as a possible tease. Later, Young Maylay, C.J.'s voice actor from GTA: San Andreas, shared a collage featuring himself and Fonteno.
Those posts fuelled speculation, but they weren't announcements of a story expansion. However, the empty void left behind by the lack of a GTA 5 story expansion remained.
While GTA Online today is barely even comparable to Online when it launched, the game's solo component remained more or less unchanged. The weapons and vehicles of some of the earlier updates were added to single player, however, this practice ceased quickly, and the campaign has remained untouched since.
The success of Online offers one possible explanation for the focus on multiplayer updates. We ourselves have covered this topic extensively (time to break out that one-and-a-half-year-old featured image. Yeah!).
Online's success could give Rockstar a financial incentive to keep adding multiplayer content. Its Shark Cards let players buy in-game money with real cash. Leslie Benzies claimed in his lawsuit earlier this year that GTA Online had generated at least $500 million in revenue. That's a lot of cash.
Shark Cards let players obtain in-game items without earning all the money through missions. Adding more things to buy can give those players new reasons to spend.
Thing is, Shark Cards are an Online only system. A paid singleplayer expansion would earn money in a different way. So, for the sake of comparison, imagine a $10 story DLC.
Online updates offer players more activities and things to buy, whereas a story expansion would need to give them a reason to return to the campaign. That makes the two different propositions for players, even before considering how much each one would cost to develop.
Both kinds of content take development work. Online updates can build on the multiplayer systems already in place, while a story expansion could require new missions, more dialogue and a well-crafted storyline.
A story expansion might also include more complex missions, additional voice acting or even a new playable area. How much of that Rockstar chose to make would affect its budget. That is different from knowing either project's production costs or profit margin.
The hard part is knowing how many people would pay for it. Enthusiasm for free Online updates does not tell us how many players would buy a separate story expansion.
Last year's reported figure was 8 million weekly players, and we have reported continued growth. That still doesn't tell us what share of players buy Shark Cards or how many cards they purchase each month.
Suppose one million players bought a $10 GTA 5 story expansion. That would bring in $10 million in sales before costs. Each purchase would happen once, while Shark Cards can be bought repeatedly. That is a reason Online could be attractive to a publisher, but it doesn't tell us what a story expansion would cost or how well it would sell.
If you were Rockstar, which would you choose?
In any case, with Bikers now out, we can still hope Rockstar will listen to what the community wants next. Who knows, if the crowd that wants story DLC to be a reality win this poll, we might actually get it!
Which option did you choose in the poll?
