In GTA 5, there has been a lot of frustration among players since a change in June 2023: Rockstar has removed almost 200 vehicles from the dealer’s offerings. Players say on reddit that they are fed up with Rockstar’s greed and would stop playing the game – but on Twitch, popularity has risen by 40%, and interest on Google is higher in July 2023 than before.
What kind of change is this?
- In June, the Summer Update 2023 “San Andreas Mercenaries,” title update 1.67, came to GTA 5. It brought 6 new missions to GTA 5 Online, among other things.
- But 189 vehicles were removed from the dealer’s offerings, which could previously be normally purchased from dealers, including some popular vehicles.
- Players said this made the update the “worst in the game.” It was said in the forums that Rockstar should actually be forced to reverse the change.
“Has anyone else stopped playing GTA 5 since the patch?”
Here’s the current mood: On reddit, there is currently a thread asking: Has anyone lost the desire to play GTA Online after the vehicles were removed.
The thread creator says Rockstar has often done “stupid and greedy” things, but this is the worst. Since the update, he hasn’t played at all, even though the new content looks exciting.
In the comments, several people agree with him and vent their frustration at Rockstar. They have no interest in the player base. One user says: He has already started to lose interest in GTA, and the patch was the “last nail in the coffin”
But others also respond, stating: The change doesn’t affect them at all. They already own every vehicle that was removed from the dealers. One user says: The gameplay has not changed; those who like GTA 5 will just keep playing. Another calls the uproar “overdramatic.”
GTA 5, according to Twitch and Google Trends, is significantly more relevant again since the patch
What do the numbers say? Interest in GTA 5 has significantly increased since the patch:
Compared to the previous month, GTA 5 currently has 45% more average viewers on Twitch and 45% more hours watched. A significant boost. After a rather weak June, GTA 5 is now as popular as in the previous months.
Surely, the new content in the patch contributes to this.
According to Google, global search interest shows that GTA 5 is even experiencing a significant resurgence since last month. The game is now almost as relevant as during Christmas 2022 – when it reached its peak interest over the last 12 months:
- Since a low point in May, interest in GTA 5 has been consistently rising.
- The most relevant countries for GTA 5 are rather exotic countries like Libya, Iraq, or Estonia.
- So many people seem not to be leaving GTA 5 due to the dealer patch.
10 years after release, GTA 5 is still so popular on Twitch because players actively create content for gameplay on roleplay servers:
Twitch streamer quits GTA 5 RP because the role-play job becomes real: “It’s brutal”
