Rockstar Games just did something that no one understands, and it is making the gamers go wild. A GTA+ ad appeared on the official PlayStation Store page of Grand Theft Auto VI, and it was a confusing situation because GTA+ is only for GTA Online and the product has not come out yet. This small change in the page has the whole community talking about the future of the online side of GTA VI, along with pre-orders and updates.
The screenshot from the original tweet by videotechuk_ shows the GTA VI page with a promo ad for GTA+. The tweet implies that the promo is insignificant but Rockstar has never done anything that was really meaningless. Thus, players commenced a relic analysis to see what they could extract from it. A tweet from SynthPotato kind of made sense when it said it was “super weird but makes sense on an advertising level especially when pre-orders start which must be very soon”.
What really raises suspicion is timing. As Doog_919 stated, “But why today? Six months after the page went live? That’s the strange part.” He also speculates that Sony and Rockstar are already expecting a big number of customers viewing the store page this week.” And they are right actually – it was not something automatic. FriendlyAaron1 commented that even the GTA Trilogy does not have any GTA+ ads on its page, so this was definitely a deliberate outreach by someone connected with either Rockstar or Sony.
Let us explain first what GTA+ refers to before we go any further. It’s a deluxe subscription service offered by Rockstar for their Online of GTA users where they get various bonuses monthly, cash, and even unique vehicles just like most other live services. But placing that ad on a page of a game that will not even be out until 2025? That is either brilliant marketing or a major tease. AquaSmilez jokingly mentioned that “they are cashing in on the fact that people will be constantly checking the GTA 6 store page. Their GTA + revenues at the GTA 6 storefront soon will be more than the ones at the GTA 5 store which is sad but true 😭” which is a very humorous and perhaps true statement.
The community’s reactions are still diverse as they always are. Some are already convinced that this is the signal for the pre-orders to be dropped at any moment, like NoOne200602 declaring “This means EVERYTHING, probably, has something to do with the pre-orders that are coming today.” Others take it critically, like Eumesmoxofc who called it “just noise in the background, and you should relax and stop over-analyzing it.” However, if you take it together with the recent changes that Rockstar made on their website last week, it is quite difficult not to feel a little excited.
GTA VI’s online mode will be the most fun part of the game. LeonidaGTA6 gave a good reason: “It is very obvious that they will sooner or later unveil the future of GTA ONLINE, possibly even before the launch. They will be able to reap the benefits much more from that perspective. GTA VI online will be their last version of GTA online expansion for at least a decade.” This is the ‘World of Warcraft Model meets GTA Online’ comparison. It is hard to argue against how sensible this is when you think about it – instead of simply producing another game, Rockstar is developing a platform that could potentially last over 10 years.
There is also a debate regarding the possibility of gaining access before the release date. Doog_919 expressed it like this: “Online might be the only access allowed. I don’t see any single-player early access. Just like what happened with Red Dead Online where those who bought the ultimate edition got early access to the online mode.” This really is a smart strategy aimed at pushing people towards the higher-priced versions.
It almost seems like Rockstar is trying to test the public’s reaction before they go full-blown with the new marketing campaign. Do you remember how they kept quiet until the first teaser came out? Then, suddenly – BAM – a new record in terms of views. This GTA+ announcement feels like one of those soft hints that a bigger thing is on the way. It might not be today, it might not be tomorrow, but it will be soon™.
Some of the replies are just too funny. One of the comments from LaserShark69 was just “👁️👄👁️” and it literally sums up the whole situation perfectly. WlSE_TREE spoke about “having to release this image again for the 50th time in the past months” with what I think is the “it’s happening” GIF that gets shared every time Rockstar just coughs.
Whether or not this results in immediate news, it is a sign that Rockstar is certainly keeping an eye on the traffic on the GTA VI page. They are so conscious of the fact that millions are looking at that page every day, and Xbox fans are eagerly awaiting news too.
