Players will receive more single-player updates to GTA Online in the future, according to design director at Rockstar North, Scott Butchard.
Following the release of the Cayo Perico Heist Update on December 15, players can play alone or in groups with friends. According to Butchard in an interview with GQ, this had been “something that’s been on our minds for quite some time, and the community has been vocal about it.” Butchard added that it’s “something we’re keen to carry forward,”
On the subject of co-op and solo play, Butchard said there were “perks to both.” As for the future of GTA Online, Butchard says that “going forward we’re going to inject more of that single-player element in there,”
Developing the Cayo Perico Heist update was apparently no easy task, as Rockstar Edinburgh’s team had to relocate to work from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As director of design production at Rockstar North, Tarek Hamad explains that “at the beginning, when working from home properly kicked off, there were lots of challenges to overcome,”
Hamad describes how they “hit the ground running very fast with our support network and infrastructure globally. We found ourselves really moving as one very very quickly.”
Hamad also made a point about the crunch culture within the gaming industry. “I think that at the forefront of everybody’s minds, more so this year than ever before, is that everyone’s quality of life is really protected,” He further stressed that “everyone working from home understands that now that we’ve blurred the boundaries between home and the workplace, their home life comes first, that their quality of life comes first.”
Meanwhile, Rockstar recently outlined all backward compatible titles for next-gen platforms. PlayStation 2 titles available on the PlayStation 4 will be next-gen playable, including San Andreas and Vice City from the GTA franchise, as well as Max Payne.
