Introduction
If there’s any game that gets the whacky and zany rumors into full swing, then it’s Rockstar’s seminal Grand Theft Auto franchise. Taking a look at social media, gaming influencers have gone hysterical at the mere idea of what the re-emergence of Vice City could look like, set nearly 40 years since the original in the iconic fictional city, which is, of course, heavily based on Miami.
Vice City was the first GTA game that introduced the concept of gambling, where players could bet on street races. Although GTA 3 had a casino, gamers couldn’t go into it and play casino games. The most significant changes came in GTA: San Andreas – a game that many consider one of the greatest of all time and, for many, the most crucial game in the entire franchise.
San Andreas, of course, was split into three islands, all of which were unlocked at different stages of the story mode. Las Venturas mirrored the bright, dazzling lights of Vegas, and it was the first time that gamers were allowed to go onto the casino floor and play an array of casino games. It was a revelation for a game released two decades ago.
A History Of GTA Casinos
Rockstar’s implementation of casino gaming in San Andreas surpassed the developments the casino gaming industry was experiencing. When San Andreas hit the shelves, digital platforms were only starting to make a name for themselves. Still, the comprehensive table gaming selection mirrored many virtual casino ideas that had not fully formed online yet, showing just how innovative the game was.
Multiple casinos in San Andreas offered roulette games. While they fell short of offering real money wagers, for the obvious reason that the game didn’t have an online feature, the developments were staggering.
Online casino gaming has come a long way since, with live roulette tables now one of the main driving forces behind the growth of both the roulette sector and the broader online casino gaming industry over the last two decades. However, when San Andreas first came out, its roulette gaming was a revelation and a groundbreaking innovation. Rockstar’s culture revolves around exploring new, fresh ideas, such as the casino tables in 2004.
Now that they’ve visited this, whether they will revisit the idea for the next landmark title remains to be seen; Rockstar has a habit of exploring entirely new ideas rather than stewing on old ones. GTA V initially didn’t explore the casino gaming idea, and it wasn’t until updates to the online version on XBOX and PlayStation, as well as the PC release after a number of delays, that we saw an updated variant of the marvels and groundbreaking ideas from San Andreas.
What Could The GTA 6 Casino Look Like?
Rockstar has remained tight-lipped about some of the ideas they have for the next Grand Theft Auto game. The GTA V updates highlighted just how much the design of in-game casinos had developed, so Rockstar will be keen to go one better and develop true, groundbreaking ideas.
If any designer can do this – then it’s them. Who knows what form this could take, though? Could it be a VR casino? Could GTA explore the idea of implementing cryptocurrency? Who knows.
While the game’s release is still around a year away, so long as there are no delays and no more leaks to contend with that spoilt the release of the landmark trailer at the end of 2023, gamers will find out when the game goes live.
From a casino gaming perspective, there’s anticipation that there’ll be more table games, more sophisticated graphics, and potentially even AI NPC interactions that can better replicate authentic conversations.
Final Say
GTA 6’s release will be a cultural phenomenon, and like all of the previous titles, it will be a game that the world will pay attention to. Nobody can say for sure what the casino will look like or if they will even explore this idea like they did in San Andreas and GTA V. It’s all speculative at the moment.
With the game so far out and Rockstar doing their best to keep everything under lock and key, it’ll be fascinating to see how the chips fall over the next 12 months, including the innovations they implement and some of the ideas that they choose to leave unexplored for the final cut.
It would be a surprise if Rockstar opted out of including casino games in GTA 6. What’s more likely is that they don’t improve on the casino gaming ideas in GTA 5 and instead choose to focus on other areas of the game. With the game already projected to smash revenue records and set the bar outrageously high for any other game released in 2025, there will be some undeniable innovations that astound gamers, but what they will be is anyone’s guess, for now at least.
