Grand Theft Auto 5, along with its immensely successful multiplayer component Grand Theft Auto Online, has rewritten the rules in terms of video game lifespan and consistency. Individual releases of the game have now been made for three generations of consoles, demonstrating the game's unrivalled popularity.

With the recent release of Grand Theft Auto Online as a separate game for current-generation consoles, along with Grand Theft Auto 5, several upgrades in the form of fidelity enhancements and new in-game material were made. However, it's tough to interpret the lack of a crossplay option in Grand Theft Auto Online's recent version as anything other than a major oversight.

Crossplay's Success in Modern Gaming

The recent trend of incorporating crossplay compatibility into larger online games is a technological wonder that has proven to be quite profitable. What was previously thought to be a pipe dream is gradually becoming an industry norm, much to the delight of fans across several platforms. The potential for players to band together and play with, or against, one another across a range of popular platforms expands the possibilities, and more significantly, the demographics, for games in unprecedented ways.

What Grand Theft Auto Online Might Get From Crossplay

The notion of tribalism and (usually) pleasant banter between PlayStation and Xbox players is still a component worth considering when evaluating crossplay, despite the concept of "console wars" being a now quite ancient concept. Putting these two sets of players in the anarchic environment that Grand Theft Auto Online is known for would have only served to boost the game's hype and organic growth. Players simply need to go back to Grand Theft Auto Online's iconic alien war to see that they don't need a pretext to join sides against one another.

Outside of the openness and flexibility of the game's overworld, Grand Theft Auto Online's missions and linear game modes would have been an ideal place to incorporate crossplay. PlayStation vs Xbox missions, in which two separate teams from each system fight against one other in racing and even deathmatch scenarios, might have been implemented as part of the crossplay capability.

The Success of Grand Theft Auto Online 

Grand Theft Auto 5 revolutionised what fans might anticipate from the GTA franchise when it was released in September 2013 for the PS3 and Xbox 360. Grand Theft Auto 5's exquisite intricacy and revolutionary size helped it become the best-selling game of all time in 2017, albeit it has since been surpassed by the equally defining Minecraft.

Rockstar's recent release of a standalone version of Grand Theft Auto Online for the current generation of consoles is clearly influenced by its success. Given the game's popularity on both PlayStation and Xbox, as well as PC, a solo re-release would have been the ideal time to incorporate crossplay for Grand Theft Auto Online.

Grand Theft Auto Online PC Crossplay is a possibility.

Grand Theft Auto Online's hypotheticals should not be confined to consoles. Grand Theft Auto Online's PC port has seen a rapid increase in popularity in recent months, owing to the massive online popularity of role-playing servers like NoPixel within the game. Although logistically challenging, the release of Grand Theft Auto Online on the current generation of more powerful consoles may have resulted in crossplay between console and PC.

The accessibility of Grand Theft Auto Online modifications, as well as the introduction of the famous role-playing system to console gamers, will only add to the game's lifespan. Given how long Grand Theft Auto 5 and its multiplayer have been at the forefront of gaming, crossplay may be included at some point in the future.

Grand Theft Auto Online is now available on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox One X/S