Grand Theft Auto 5 Online is booming. Six years after the release, developer Rockstar states that the game has set a new record for player numbers in July 2019. Never before has GTA 5 had more players. However, the developers do not reveal exactly how many people are playing GTA 5 Online.
This is what Rockstar says: Rockstar revealed to the page Hollywood Reporter that the last week has brought two player number records for GTA 5 Online:
- the largest single day of all time
- and the largest week with the most players since the launch in October 2013
Official player counts are not disclosed by Rockstar, but it is assumed that they must be significant: After all, GTA 5, the base game, has sold 110 million units worldwide. A count in 2014 showed that GTA 5 Online had over 33 million active players.
Rockstar says: Casino rocks
Where does the boom come from now? Rockstar seems to attribute the current boom to the opening of the Diamond Casino on July 23. This brought a new story into the game, revolving around the gangster Tao Cheng, but most importantly, the update brought a penthouse, luxury items, cars, and plenty of opportunities to gamble their hard-earned money at the casino.
The casino is something special because the “entry barrier” is relatively low. The casino is an update for everyone – not just for the richest players of GTA 5 Online.
The casino has apparently electrified the GTA 5 Online community. Stories are circulating online about how players gamble their money and enjoy it.
GTA 5 Online benefits from a weak market
What is behind the boom? Rockstar naturally emphasizes its own advantages, highlighting what they do with the game and how much they care for it.
However, GTA 5 Online likely benefits from the weakness of the market. Very few competitors have emerged in 2019, and players are turning to the “old games.”
Especially in the realm of “Online Open World,” as offered by GTA 5, hardly any competition has appeared in the last 6 years. GTA 5 largely dominates the market.
What competition there was tended to be in more instanced games – most games have moved away from a large, shared online world,since MMORPGs are in crisis. Even Rockstar’s own “successor game”, Red Dead Online, has yet to convince, while the world of GTA 5 continues to expand and offers more features.
This is why bored streamers turn to GTA 5 Online to engage in role-playing.
