Despite the latest leaked information surrounding GTA 6 pointing to it not coming out any time soon, and also that it is rumored to once more be set in the fictional location of Vice City, there is one detail that has really got me enthused for the new game.
That detail was introduced by gaming tipster Tom Henderson in his recent video where he claims he has heard "rumblings" that with GTA 6 "it's going to be an evolving map that could change every time a new DLC is released".
Henderson goes into more detail on this point, too, and likens the changes to the GTA 6 map to the evolving map of free-to-play Battle Royale shooter Fortnite.
"There will be additions made to the map including new areas and even expanding the map in some kind of capacity," Henderson notes. "But also the map that is default so to speak will also change every time a new DLC is released and this was compared a little bit to the Fortnite seasons where maybe there's a comet that crashes into the map and changes the map."
And, to me at least, this is really, really exciting. GTA V's online community has remained incredibly strong over the many years since the game was originally released, but while there's been plenty of new content produced for the game, as well as loads of great mods, the game world itself has remained largely exactly the same.
There's also not been a noticeable sense of time passing or a coherent seasonal arc, like there is in Fortnite. But if GTA 6 can deliver an evolving map that is constantly in flux and introducing new areas, events, and content (with some even tied to real world seasons, like the winter holiday period or summer holidays), then that's going to really help build and maintain immersion and engagement.
Fortnite is an interesting comparison here, as it is probably the most popular and well-executed play in this "season-a-fication" of game worlds, with each new season bringing with it changes to the in-game world but also plenty of new opportunities to sell DLC to the community.
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The Assassin's Creed games have got better at this recently, too, after going through a period of infamy for how badly they handled DLC roll-out, with zero concern for how they built the extra content into the game world naturally. Now, if you look at Assassin's Creed Valhalla, for example, that has a regular trickle of new content (both paid and free) that are tied roughly to the times of year and, where at all possible, tied into the in-game world and its story/characters/setting closely.
This evolving seasonal format would be perfect for GTA 6 in my mind, and would be something that would be genuinely new for the long-running open-world series, which at this point for me is the most important thing I'm looking for. Don't get me wrong, I like an open-world sandbox in which I can live out power fantasies, but when you've played the same core game four or more times already, anything genuinely new is really appreciated.
And, in the PS5 and Xbox Series X, GTA 6 will have more than enough graphical power to expand and alter the in-game map and world as much as Rockstar desires. It's potentially really exciting as the scope of the re-booted Vice City and its environs could be orders of magnitude greater than anything we've ever seen before.
Here's hoping then that this rumored information proves to be accurate, as an evolving, seasonal in-game GTA 6 world is something that I think every gamer can very much get behind.
Rob has been writing about computing, gaming, mobile, home entertainment technology, toys (specifically Lego and board games), smart home and more for over 15 years. As the editor of PC Gamer, and former Deputy Editor for T3.com, you can find Rob's work in magazines, bookazines and online, as well as on podcasts and videos, too. Outside of his work Rob is passionate about motorbikes, skiing/snowboarding and team sports, with football and cricket his two favourites.
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