GTA 5 has been Rockstar's most successful game ever in the open-world action-RPG franchise. Despite the success, the in-game map has often drawn criticism as the accessible portion of the game world is too small.
Meanwhile, renowned YouTuber MrBossFTW (aka Ross) explains why 90% of the game map is still unused by Rockstar and players in GTA 5 or GTA Online, in his latest gameplay video. As Ross explains the action-RPG game has grown so big over the years that the in-game map seems to be getting smaller and smaller with every new DLC release.
To be precise, ever since the game's release GTA 5 has amassed over 26 DLCs or individual title updates till date. Consequently, with more and more players logging into the Rockstar Games servers, the vast stretch of Los Santos and Blaine County seems to be getting overcrowded with too little space left for privacy or uninhibited exploration.
As Ross points out, the major portion of the GTA Online DLCs are built around Los Santos, which constitutes barely 15% of the entire game map in GTA Online. In other words, Los Santos remains the hub of all activities in GTA Online including the CEO missions and free-mode events.
Except for the Biker selling missions which are scattered mostly around Sandy Shores and Paleto Bay, there is nothing much else happening outside the city of Los Santos. Furthermore, all the player properties such as apartments, 10-car garages, and business offices, are located well within the suburbs of Los Santos.
There seems to be no motivation or incentive to move out of the Los Santos as you can get all your stuff done in the city, while the game still hides away nearly 90% of the map unexplored.
The GTA community has recently been hit with a spate of rumours suggesting a map expansion for the game, comprising new cities like Liberty City and Las Venturas.
However, with the release of Red Dead Redemption 2, it seems like Rockstar has shifted its focus towards the development of the new game rather than adding more content to a four-year-old GTA game.
Ross suggests a few ways in which Rockstar could take advantage of the existing map in GTA Online:
- Firstly, the game maker could introduce a wide-range of missions or activities across the vast expanse of the ocean in the game. For instance, one could explore sunken ships, crashed UFOs and dead bodies or hunt for hidden treasure buried in the depths of the ocean.
- Although Rockstar is unlikely to rollout a second iteration of Beach Bum update, we could look forward to a sea-based DLC or title update in GTA Online. The game maker could make use of existing GTA 5 mods featuring underwater houses, bases, and other buildings associated with the criminal or underworld organisations.
- Rockstar could introduce sea-based stunt races or add new security systems to defend your criminal bases, besides a bunch of new water vehicles such as warships and nuclear submarines.
- We could also see the birth of new clothing store, tattoo shop and more in the suburbs of Sandy Shores and Paleto Bay, if Rockstar does decide to expand the map with new feature additions.
