GTA 6 Multiplayer: What Do We Actually Want From GTA Online 2.0?
With GTA 6's multiplayer mode still shrouded in mystery, PC Gamer breaks down what players should realistically hope for from the next online era.
Almost nothing is confirmed about GTA 6's multiplayer component, and that vacuum has fans and writers alike filling in the blanks. PC Gamer has waded into the debate, asking a question a lot of us are quietly wrestling with: what does a next-generation GTA Online actually look like, and what should it look like?
GTA Online launched alongside Grand Theft Auto V back in 2013 and has since grown into one of the most profitable live-service games ever made. That's a tough act to follow — and an equally tough template to simply copy. The original mode was notorious for a rough launch and a grind-heavy economy, but it evolved into something sprawling and lucrative. Whatever Rockstar builds for GTA 6, it'll be working in the long shadow of that legacy.
According to PC Gamer, the specifics of how multiplayer will function in GTA 6 remain largely unknown. That's not surprising — Rockstar has said almost nothing beyond confirming the game exists and is targeting a 2025 release on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. Multiplayer details, traditionally, come much later in the marketing cycle.
But the speculation is worth having now. Players have had over a decade of GTA Online to form opinions: better matchmaking, a less punishing economy, smoother onboarding for new players, and a world that reacts more dynamically to what's happening around you. The move to a new map — Vice City and the surrounding Leonida state, based on what the trailer showed — also opens up fresh possibilities for how the online world could be structured.
Rockstar hasn't tipped its hand yet, but given how central GTA Online became to the company's revenue stream, expect multiplayer to be a cornerstone of GTA 6 from day one. The real question is whether they iterate on a proven formula or take the kind of creative risks the new setting deserves.