Highlights

  • GTA 6 is highly anticipated, with GTA Online setting the stage for innovative features and mechanics in the next installment.
  • Trading mechanics could revolutionize GTA 6 Online, creating a player-driven economy and enhancing role-playing experiences.
  • Rockstar's acquisition of roleplaying server developers suggests that GTA 6 may offer immersive multiplayer features for more dynamic gameplay.

Grand Theft Auto 6 is set to be Rockstar’s latest game in the tent pole GTA series. With a trailer that has already broken the record for most views on YouTube in 24 hours, it’s clear that there is immeasurable hype around the latest installment, and the community is eager to see what strides the next game will make. It’s been over 10 years since GTA 5 was released, and, with the years of support GTA Online has gotten, GTA 6Online now has a decent range of mechanics, features, and stories to expand on and draw inspiration from.

GTA Online has been Rockstar’s main focus since GTA 5 came out in 2013 and has raked in millions of dollars for the franchise each year. Creative weapons and vehicles that have made their first appearance in this game mode, like the Oppressor Mk. 2, have changed the preconceived notions about how wild and wacky a GTA game can get, and when paired up with rudimentary forms of sharing and transfer of certain items, GTA Online became all the more interesting. Grand Theft Auto 6 could take this a step ahead, expand on the trading mechanics with peer-to-peer and centralized trading progressions like other multiplayer games, and it will take the GTAOnline scene to new heights, especially in role-playing servers.

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How GTA 6 Could Benefit From Trading Mechanics

Based on the success of titles like GTA Online and Red Dead Online, GTA 6 will likely also have an online component. Players and their characters will likely have access to several vehicles, weapons, and properties that they can purchase, including some that are level-gated. Being able to trade these items with other players could revolutionize the landscape of the next iteration of GTA Online, assuming that it’s in-depth enough and carries the same trajectory it’s currently on.

A primary feature of GTA's role-playing servers is the ability to be fully immersed in a particular role. For instance, this includes being able to sell expensive weapons and cars if players choose to roleplay as a black market dealer. If Rockstar developed this feature in-house and decided to expand on it, it could grow to encompass multiple more elements, like having formal jobs, and getting access to high-tier gear and vehicles (through trading) at a lower level, even if a player hasn't yet completed a certain challenge.

Enhanced Player Economy

By allowing players to buy, sell, and trade items like cars, weapons, clothing, and even properties, GTA 6Online could develop a more dynamic player-driven economy. This economy would give players more control over their resources and create a market where items have real value influenced by in-game supply and demand. In GTA 5 Online, however, direct player-to-player sales and trades are limited. Players cannot officially sell or trade most items directly to each other. Instead, transactions for vehicles, weapons, and other goods are generally conducted through in-game businesses and NPC (non-player characters in GTA) controlled stores — not to mention, that most items have fixed prices set by the game itself.

Introduce More Depth in Role-Play Servers

Tradables are a natural fit for role-playing multiplayer games and they provide players with the means to assume specific roles like merchants, smugglers, business owners, or corporate magnates within the game's universe. Currently, GTA 5 Online, with its limited economic interactions with fixed pricing and predefined transactions, comes with constraints that limit the depth and realism of this role-play.

However, introducing a robust trading system in GTA 6 Online could significantly enhance these dynamics and enable players to negotiate prices and trade goods in real time. It will not only deepen the role-play by allowing players to realistically simulate careers as art dealers, auto showroom owners, or underground arms traffickers but also add a layer of strategic economic gameplay that could lead to new forms of alliances and rivalries within the online GTA community.

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Rockstar May Already be Integrating Roleplaying Servers

Back in August of 2023, Rockstar announced its acquisition of Cfx.re — the developer behind two of the most popular GTA Online roleplaying servers, FiveM and RedM. These developers have proven their expertise in using existing GTA assets and mechanics to create a fully realized roleplaying world with a ton of depth. Now that they’re working with Rockstar Games in-house, GTA 6 could have its own version of roleplaying servers complete with native features to increase immersion, including a multiplayer trading system.

How GTA 6 Could Utilize More Multiplayer Features to Get the Most Out of Trading

GTA 6 has an important role to fill as it needs to follow in the footsteps of the gargantuan GTA 5 and GTA Online, which had enough content to keep fans satiated for over a decade. One of the core mechanics found in GTA Online is the ability to create custom maps and game modes using a level editor that contains a ton of assets. The upcoming sequel could focus more on this aspect, filling its online component with more varied assets and level-building features, the ability to custom build and create mission arenas, among other things.

On the other hand, the aiming mechanics of the GTA series from its genesis up until today have been similar, too. The player barely needs to hold a button to automatically lock on to enemies to shoot them. More recent games like Fortnite have shown that it’s possible to create a rewarding and responsive shooting and aiming system in a third-person shooter. If Grand Theft Auto 6 focuses on improving its aiming mechanics, it could translate to a richer and more realistic experience — not just in the main story but also in the currently thriving RP scene that could hold center stage for years to come.