A story from Digiday has been flying all over the Internet since yesterday, because it basically suggests the long-awaited Grand Theft Auto VI will be more like Grand Theft Metaverse:
Rockstar Games has been in discussions with top Roblox and Fortnite creators, as well as dedicated “GTA” content creators, about the potential to create custom experiences inside the upcoming game, according to three industry insiders with knowledge of these meetings, who requested anonymity in order to protect business relationships. These experiences would allow creators to modify the game’s environment and assets to bring their own intellectual property — and potentially their brand sponsors — into “GTA’s” virtual sandbox.
Representatives of Rockstar Games did not respond to requests for comment prior to the publication of this article.
I've reached out to multiple Roblox and Fortnite creative studios to try and confirm this report myself, and will let you know what I learn (if anything). Meantime, I have to make a small victory lap, since this was more or less one of the future forecasts of metaverse evolution from my book in late 2023:
Grand Theft Auto Online: Already a highly active virtual world platform in miniature, with millions of monthly active users who roleplay as gangsters, molls, and the occasional popo, the scabrously popular franchise could easily evolve into a full-fledged metaverse platform: A geographically accurate recreation of modern California (albeit drenched in scumbag perfume), it’s the most commercially accessible virtual world, replete with functional stores, nightclubs, even banks.
There’s already a massive market for a more open-ended version of GTA Online. FiveM, an astoundingly popular, highly customizable modification of the game created by community developers, is attracting more players than the official GTA Online on Steam.
Google CEO advisor Cory Ondrejka roughly concurs with my sentiment here, and points out other candidates beyond GTA:
“You watch the big FPSes, so whether we're talking about Call of Duty or Apex Legends... I think those games will eventually notice that Fortnite Creative is a big deal. And you'll see more creative modes start sneaking their way into some of these games.
“Then you've got a whole other layer, which is the online versions and sort of effectively MMOs of games you wouldn't necessarily expect to have MMO modes. So whether it's Grand Theft Auto, whether it's Red Dead Redemption, Skyrim Online, Fallout, you have all these different games really stretching around different aspects of what is a virtual world, what is the Metaverse.”
Cory is very right on that last part. Whether or not the early reports about GTA VI are confirmed, we should expect more AAA titles to incorporate UGC and other metaverse principles -- especially now, as game industry layoffs continue, and it becomes increasingly difficult for most companies to pay large salaries to 3D/immersive content creators. Better to let the users have more agency and authorship in the online worlds they love -- and in the process, become part of a flywheel that spins out new game content.
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Mmm, interesting perspective - hope those are not just rumors. Large and populated virtual world from top brand - this can make a dent!
Posted by: Lex4art | Thursday, February 20, 2025 at 09:34 AM