Grand Theft Auto V, one of the most successful video games of all time, has left fans disappointed as it never received any story DLC like previous installments in the franchise. The absence of story DLC for GTA 5 has long been a topic of speculation and leaks, and now a former Rockstar developer has shed some light on the situation. Joe Rubino, a senior camera artist and virtual cinematographer at Rockstar from 2010 to 2016, revealed that the planned DLC for GTA 5 was in development at one point but was ultimately canceled due to the overwhelming success of GTA Online.
In an interview on the SanInPlay YouTube channel, Rubino mentioned that the DLC was shaping up to be something special, with Trevor’s actor Steven Ogg playing a crucial role in the storyline. Ogg himself confirmed earlier this year that he had worked on DLC content for GTA 5, which would have seen Trevor going undercover in a “James Bond” style adventure. Originally, Rockstar had plans for each of the three protagonists to have their own DLC after the base game’s release, but these plans were scrapped.
Rubino also hinted that some of the content he worked on for the canceled DLC eventually made its way into GTA Online in some form. This may explain the discovery of leaked content from last year, including references to scrapped DLC titled “Prologue DLC” and “LibertyV DLC.” While Rubino’s revelations confirm suspicions that GTA Online played a significant role in the demise of story DLC for GTA 5, there were other contributing factors as well.
In a 2017 interview with Game Informer, director of design Imran Sarwar explained that the focus on developing next-gen ports of GTA 5, the ongoing success of GTA Online, and the impending release of Red Dead Redemption 2 all played a role in the decision to forgo story DLC for GTA 5. Sarwar mentioned that the combination of these factors made it difficult to allocate resources towards creating single-player expansions for the game. However, he did express optimism about the possibility of story DLC for future projects, sparking hope among fans for potential GTA 6 story content.
While the cancellation of story DLC for GTA 5 may have disappointed many fans, the success of GTA Online and other external factors ultimately led to this decision. Despite this setback, the future remains bright for the Grand Theft Auto franchise, with the possibility of story DLC for future projects still on the table. Fans can only wait and see what Rockstar has in store for them in the coming years.
