A year after Take-Two Interactive acquired the developers of popular GTA Online RP tool FiveM, credible reports popped up about an official version hitting consoles soon.
Not long ago this concept would have seemed completely impossible and outlandish, but now following a landmark acquisition and reports from credible insiders, it actually has a strong chance of being legit: FiveM, the popular and originally fan-made roleplaying mod platform for Grand Theft Auto Online might be hitting consoles.
For the uninitiated, FiveM is a massive multiplayer modding framework for GTA Online that allows people to host their own servers with various degrees of customization compared to the official version, achieved with the ability to run mods. FiveM was mainly used for RP purposes, and gained immense traction via popular streamers.
Being able to play GTA Online on what are essentially modded private servers, separated from the official game's economy, microtransactions, update infrastructure and moderation seems like the exact kind of thing that Take-Two and Rockstar would try to mercilessly kneecap with legions of lawyers — instead, after allowing FiveM to grow into an immense juggernaut, they up and bought it.
Almost exactly a year has passed since the Take-Two acquisition of Cfx.re, the team behind the development of FiveM. That year has been... tumultuous at best, with plenty of drama and leaks of varying degrees of veracity — but based on some new reports from credible insiders it seems the partnership (if you can call it that) will soon bear fruit.
Take-Two executives have stated in the past that they'd like to somehow monetize GTA Online RP and the huge interest that cropped up around it, however the company has frequently been at odds with the modding scene in the past. Bringing things in-house seems like the logical step.
https://twitter.com/nuro_citrix/status/1820611455995257003
Reports coming from Nuro_Citrix on X, formerly Twitter, among others indicate that soon an official version of FiveM for GTA Online will launch on Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 in an unprecedented move from Rockstar Games. In their tweets, Nuro_Citrix says that those "in the know" have known for a year, which lines up with the timeline of Take-Two's Cfx.re acquisition.
These reports come following recent rumors as well as some contentious claims from former FiveM developers about Rockstar Games' plans both before and after the acquisition. While the reports about the framework coming to console in an official capacity make sense in the broader context and also come from reputable sources, we'd definitely advise caution — even moreso than usual.
Beyond being an unconfirmed report with no official source backing it up, FiveM moderators have also cautioned users against believing anything that isn't an official confirmation. Important context here is that said moderators often aren't directly involved with FiveM itself, and perform the moderating function only.
If FiveM really does hit consoles all the while flying the Rockstar banner, it will indicate an unprecedented shift in the developer's approach to modding. Couple this with recent rumors about official first-party modding tools coming from Rockstar and the datamined references to a mission creator, and it's looking a lot like they're ready to hand the fan community the keys to the city.
With GTA 6 approaching, this string of events makes more sense than ever. Instead of dividing studio resources across both GTA 5 and the current incarnation of Online as well as GTA 6 and whatever its own multiplayer component will be, Rockstar is building tools that will let them outsource everything to the fans.
This way Online, a veritable cash cow that likely won't simply dry up overnight just because the sequel launches, won't need sunsetting and can continue to maintain a healthy community through mods, private servers and RP across platforms, not just on PC. Of course, for this to happen, all the various rumors need to shake out.
We're eager to see whether this reported fan-driven modding utopia of post-support GTA Online will come to pass. Many signs indicate that it is quite likely, however it is also immensely out of character for Take-Two and Rockstar. If nothing else, embracing modding and RP can earn them a lot of money, so that's another point in favor.
We'll be keeping our finger on the pulse of this undoubtedly developing story.
