Rockstar Games Reportedly Talking To ‘Fortnite’ And ‘Roblox’ User Content Creators For ‘Grand Theft Auto VI’
Insiders claim that Rockstar Games are interested in user-generated content for Grand Theft Auto VI. Specifically, they’ve been talking to creators in not just Grand Theft Auto V, but also those who work in Fortnite and Roblox. If true, the move certainly spells out what Rockstar’s plan is.
Alexander Lee of DigiDay claims that Rockstar is aiming for Grand Theft Auto VI to facilitate user-created content (or metaverse to some when portrayed as a virtual world), and are talking to those who have produced content for the most popular games.
“Rockstar Games has been in discussions with top Roblox and Fortnite creators, as well as dedicated GTA content creators, about the potential to create custom experiences inside the upcoming game, according to three industry insiders with knowledge of these meetings, who requested anonymity in order to protect business relationships,” Lee reports.
Lee further notes user-created content would allow them to “bring their own intellectual property — and potentially their brand sponsors — into GTA‘s virtual sandbox.”
The conversations have been “relatively open-ended,” and have yet to show how content creators would benefit directly, as Fortnite and Roblox allow users to make money via item sales and revenue share. Forbes‘ Ian Shepherd reports that Epic Games paid out $352 million to Fortnite content creators, and that content made 36.5% of gamers’ playtime (a 5% increase in overall playing time).
There’s also the Grand Theft Auto V mod FireM, which offers massive multiplayer virtual worlds and a subscription for perks.
That mod was initially unofficial, but then bought by Rockstar in 2013 along with their Red Dead Redemption 2 mod RedM. FireM took off during lockdown, and helped popularize roleplaying within Grand Theft Auto V. Lee highlights earlier in the report, “Fourteen years after its release, the fifth iteration of ‘GTA’ remains the most-watched game on Twitch, thanks in large part to the tremendous amount of activity taking place inside FireM.”
Lee spoke to Pete Basgen, Wavemaker’s global gaming and esports lead, who felt this was part of a grand strategy for Rockstar. “It is my firm belief that the reason that they purchased FiveM is exactly that — to spin up a metaversal universe of custom-built experiences, and potentially UGC (user generated content) items, with an attached UGC creator economy.”
“It will essentially occupy that adult-enumerated space at the top of the ecosystem; there’s a very natural place there for people that graduate from Roblox and Minecraft,” Basgen proposed.
Lee explained, “Representatives of Rockstar Games did not respond to requests for comment prior to the publication of this article.”
It’s not a surprise that they are playing their cards close to their chest, as Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier reported in December last year that “anticipation is so high that some competing game publishers are waiting as long as possible to commit to their release dates for the fall, according to people familiar with their deliberations.”
At this time of writing, Grand Theft Auto VI is set to launch in Q3 to Q4 2025. If it has user-generated content, we may also see it stay relevant for many years after that.
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