Even GTA 6 won’t be able to beat GTA 5

Grand theft auto 6 is the most anticipated video game in years, but Even he might not be able to beat his predecessor. More than a decade after the launch of Grand Theft Auto 5, Rockstar has only released a single trailer for the newest entry in the iconic series. Aside from the limited information the teaser revealed about the setting and main characters, all fans know is that the game is expected to be released in 2025.

What is clear in preparation for Grand theft auto 6 and that Grand theft auto 5 is as popular and lively as ever. Despite being released before Hamilton came to Broadway or Guardians of the Galaxy arrived in cinemas, GTA 5 is still played regularly by tens of thousands of players. GTA 6 will have a hard time replacing a game that players have invested over a decade of time and money into, especially since hardware requirements will limit new players.

The average number of GTA 5 players shows no signs of slowing down

Years and years with hundreds of thousands of players

Grand theft auto 5 launched on Steam on April 14, 2015 and reached its peak of 360,761 players immediately, according to Steam Graphicswhich still stands as the all-time record. After that initial great start, the game plummeted in the following months, with the lowest peak of 46,917 players in September 2015. After that giant leap and short lull, the giant game continued to consistently attract a large number of players each year . month for almost a decade. In truth, since April 2019, GTA 5 reached a peak of at least 100,000+ players every month.

In October 2024, GTA 5 peaked at 162,388 players on Steam alone. This number does not count console players, meaning that the actual number of GTA 5 players could be significantly taller. According to Steam, GTA 5 is currently the eighth most played gamesurpassing more recent titles like Baldur’s Gate 3 and Apex Legends.

GTA 6 has a difficult challenge ahead

Hardware, mods and memory requirements

GTA 5 is one of the most popular video games of all time, according to all metrics of success. Has already been sold 205 million units across all available platformsplacing it second only to minecraft in the best-selling video games of all time. This success hasn’t faded in the more than ten years since its release, as players still flock to San Andreas to run, shoot, and explore countless custom minigames.

While GTA 6 could break any number of sales records after launch in 2025, it will still have a difficult task to overcome GTA 5 in number of players. GTA 5 he finished a decade of content and memories stored within it, as well as countless mods and custom game modes. RPG alone, a huge category on Twitch, represents a huge number of players who play in their own communities, from police officers and petty criminals to taxi drivers and small business owners.

The biggest challenge for GTA 6 will be How can it surpass the success of its predecessor. Obviously, GTA 6 won’t be able to immediately overshadow a game that’s had a decade of success, but GTA 5 may prove harder to replace in popularity than expected. It will not be surprising if, after an initial wave of large numbers, both GTA 5 and GTA 6 remain among the most played games on Steam.

Fans will always play GTA 5

Online sunsetting might be the only way GTA 5 can slow down

If Grand theft auto 5The company’s success over the last ten years has proven everything: it is here to stay. The players proved extraordinarily loyal to the open world game, and they are unlikely to abandon their hundreds, or even thousands, of hours of gameplay to GTA 6 right now. Consistent releases of new content, missions, vehicles, and weapons have encouraged players to invest heavily in their online experience. Your purchases of special edition cars and weapons will likely not carry over to GTA 6so they might as well not, at least until necessary.

The biggest factor in the continued success of GTA 5, even after release GTA 6That’s what Rockstar will do with GTA Online. It seems unlikely that the publisher will disable the service anytime soonbut it will inevitably happen as a second GTA Online accompanies GTA 6. Until then, GTA 5 I was able to see consistent player numbers despite the brand new competition. Even if Rockstar decides to slowly relax GTA 5 following Grand theft auto 6, many players will remain loyal as long as they can keep their own servers running.

Source: Steam Graphics