An ex-Rockstar Gamesemployee has shed some light on whyGrand Theft Auto 5’s cancelled single-player DLC never made it to release, but the exact reason probably won’t come as much of a revelation…spoiler alert, it’s because ofGTA Online.
There have been numerous reports, leaks,and data mines over the yearsthat indicated Rockstar Games was, at least at one point in time, working on multiple single-player DLCs for Grand Theft Auto 5. One of the most prominent potential DLCs to come out of the leakswas an ‘Agent Trevor’ DLC. It’s said that the expansion would see Trevor go undercover and work with the feds, according to the character’s actor, Steven Ogg.
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Ogg even said earlier this year that the DLC had already started shooting before it was cancelled. “We shot some stuff and then it just disappeared and [Rockstar] never did it, they never followed up on it,” Ogg said.
Now, an ex-Rockstar developer has revealed exactly why Trevor’s DLC was never completed. According to Joseph Rubino, who was a senior camera artist and visual cinematographer for Rockstar up until 2016, the DLC was scrapped because of the “cash cow” that is GTA Online.
In a new interview with YouTube channelSanInPlay, Rubino said he was once working on a standalone DLC. “That was kind of my thing,” the ex-Rockstar dev said. “We split our team into two. I stayed on GTA Online and then this DLC, which Steven Ogg was a very important part of.”
He went on to explain how he believes a lot of the developed assets for the DLC were eventually used for GTA Online, so nothing was wasted.
“When GTA Online came out, it was so much of a cash cow and people were loving it so much that it was hard to make an argument that a standalone DLC would out-compete that,” Rubino revealed. “I think, looking back now, you could probably do both. But that was a business decision that [Rockstar Games] made.”
Rockstar Games is currently gearing up to release Grand Theft Auto 6, which hasan official release window of Fall 2025. As we quickly approach 2025, there’s still no word from the developer on what will happen to GTA Online when the next instalment of Grand Theft Auto releases. Many speculated that the recently released Bottom Dollar Bounties DLC would be the last “major” content update for the live service title, but Rockstar has saidthere’s still plenty more to come.
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