With GTA 6 On The Horizon, It’s A Good Time To Look Back On Its Predecessor

It’s no surprise that Grand Theft Auto 6 is, without a whiff of doubt, the most highly anticipated game of 2025 and, likely, even the whole decade. The series has been such a staple in gaming that people who haven’t touched a controller in years know about it and what it’s achieved.

Still, with all the hype, excitement, and wait, culminating into the eventual release, perhaps it’s time to look back at why Rockstar’s upcoming project is so eagerly looked forward to — GTA 5. One way or another, a large part of the community contributed to this title, whether they exclusively played the single-player mode, indulged in the online scene, or even bought GTA V modded accounts.

Grand Theft Auto 5 Was The Prime Beacon Of What Gaming Could Achieve

Grand Theft Auto was already a massive name in the industry before GTA 5 graced the stage. Titles like Vice City and San Andreas were household names that redefined the open-world and RPG genre. They brought us unforgettable characters, character arcs, cities, lifestyles, and an overall experience packaged with love and care.

Still, while these games garnered a fair bit of success, it almost felt trivial to the juggernaut that Grand Theft Auto 5 was. If you were to ask anyone what happened on the day it released, you’d probably hear something absurd like a worldwide electricity outage, empty streets, and more. Some people even jokingly say that GTA 5, ironically, brought crime rates down because everyone was so busy playing it.

Rockstar’s commendable marketing tactics aside, GTA 5 stood on its merit to justify the sales it got. It had a realistic setting with a vibe you could connect with, a radio and playlist you could listen to for hours, and visual fidelity that, for the first time, actually blurred the line between pixelated universes and reality. There was so much content and replayability that a kid from 2013 would be blown away by.

Things To Do In GTA5
byu/Jumajuce inGrandTheftAutoV

GTA 5 was the epitome of an “escape from reality”, and no other game at the time was even close to truly capturing that phrase. From the gameplay to the world and characters, Grand Theft Auto 5 was a complete package, and it felt like a title that not only attained the gaming landscape’s zenith but was a glimpse at what this media could achieve. In a way, you might attribute GTA 5 to the monumental growth of the industry.

The Community Kept It Alive, And Rockstar Supported That Fact

Despite the fun and adventure packed into Grand Theft Auto’s campaign, it is, ultimately, a single-player experience, so you’re definitely limited in what you can do and where you can go. Fortunately, Rockstar realized this constraint, and brought GTA online into the mix, bringing the community an aftermath package they could get into.

The online component simply expanded upon the base game’s formula, and since that formula was already a proven success, it’s no wonder that GTA Online thrived for years to come. New content, missions, lore, and progression are what kept it going, and it’s the sole reason why the Grand Theft Auto series kept its momentum and stayed relevant for years. 

Even now, GTA 5 remains at the top of Steam’s sales and concurrent player count charts, and you can still jump into the multiplayer and find an active community. If you want even more things to do and experiences to relish, the modding community is alive and well. For instance, you can go on FiveM and play on custom-made servers, where you can find bespoke vehicles, weapons, and even entire maps. 

Rockstar, although an incredibly litigious organization, knows how these community creations benefit GTA’s lifespan and well-being. As such, they’ve done something you’ll rarely find massive organizations do — support the independent community creators. Not only did they not interfere with the modded creations, but they even with a step further to hire the modders as a gesture of good faith.

It’s small yet impactful acts like these that build confidence and a good reputation with the community. They’ve always stayed a step ahead with the online scene, ensuring players have a reason to boot up Grand Theft Auto on a Sunday afternoon. Without GTA Online, I find it hard to believe that GTA 5 and even GTA 6 would be anywhere near as relevant.

Takeaway

If the recent earnings call by Take-Two is anything to go by, it seems extremely likely that dedicated Rockstar fans will get to experience Grand Theft Auto 6 near the end of 2025. Once that happens, you’ll see the GTA 5 community slowly diminish away from its reinforced state to the point it may become almost unrecognizable from what it is today.

With the cycle of gaming, this isn’t anything new, but the fact we’ve had the pleasure of witnessing and playing the most seismic launch of media is truly special. A critically acclaimed title that saw tons of praise, criticism, and rereleases with new hardware finally comes to an end. When the years, you and I will likely put Grand Theft Auto 5 in the same tier and book as its predecessors, which are still among the greatest games of their time.