Grand Theft Auto 5launched in 2013, considering its incredible success, many fans have expected Rockstar Games to release story DLC for the game. Unfortunately, that has never happened to date, with Rockstar instead focusing its efforts onGTA 5’sGTA Onlinemode. Likewise,Red Dead Redemption 2launched in 2018, and fans of the epic open world western have been keeping their fingers crossed for that game to get story DLC as well, only for no announcement to ever happen. Again, Rockstar has instead released new content forRed Dead Redemption 2’s online component,Red Dead Online.
Many modern AAA games receive DLC as a given, yet fans seem especially anxious for Rockstar Games to release DLC forGrand Theft Auto 5andRed Dead Redemption 2. For those wondering why that is, all they need to do is take a look at how Rockstar Games has handled DLC in the past. The DLC for some of its previous games, particularlyGrand Theft Auto 4, seems to be the main reason why fans want DLC forGrand Theft Auto 5andRed Dead Redemption 2.
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Grand Theft Auto 4received two major DLC expansions after its launch, which both went a long way in extending the game’s life as well as delivering more quality open world gameplay for fans to sink their teeth into.Grand Theft Auto 4’s DLC also had the benefit of introducing some characters that would later have roles inGTA 5, enriching the franchise’s HD universe in the process. When one considers how well-received theGTA 4DLC was, it’s really no surprise that Rockstar Games fans want the company to release similar content forGTA 5andRed Dead Redemption 2.
The Lost and the Damned
The firstGrand Theft Auto 4single-player DLC was released in 2009 in the form ofGrand Theft Auto 4: The Lost and the Damned. In this expansion, players were able to take on the role of thecharacter Johnny Klebitz, a biker who had previously appeared in one ofGrand Theft Auto 4’s campaign missions. Essentially functioning as a shorter story campaign,The Lost and the Damnednevertheless made some major improvements on theGTA 4formula to be an arguably better all-around experience.
Grand Theft Auto 4: The Lost and the Damnedmade a major quality of life improvement when compared to other games in the series by adding checkpoints to the missions. Prior toThe Lost and the Damned, none of theGrand Theft Autogames utilized checkpoints, meaning failing a mission or dying sent players back to the very beginning. This quality of life improvement would be adopted by all futureGTAgames, establishingThe Lost and the Damnedas hugely important for theGrand Theft Autofranchisein general.
Besides making this important quality of life improvement,Grand Theft Auto 4: The Lost and the Damnedalso added substantial new content for players to check out. This included new activities, new entertainment inLiberty Cityto check out, new vehicles, new side quests, new mini-games, and more. It essentially gaveGrand Theft Auto 4a biker-themed makeover, adding content relating to that theme.
While out participating inGrand Theft Auto 4: The Lost and the Damned’s various activities and missions, Johnny is often accompanied by members of his motorcycle gang. This is in stark contrast toGrand Theft Auto 4protagonist Niko Bellic, who generally does missions alone in the base game. In any case, Johnny’s relationship with his gang members can be influenced by how well they do on missions together, with Johnny able to spend time outside of missions with some of the gang’s members as well.
Grand Theft Auto 4: The Lost and the Damnedwas mainly focused on expanding theGTA 4single-player experience, but that didn’t mean it was completely missing out on new multiplayer content. On the contrary,The Lost and the Damnedalso added a variety of new multiplayer match types for fans to check out, ensuring that it was an especially expansive DLC for the game.
The amount of effort Rockstar put intoGrand Theft Auto 4: The Lost and the Damnedmade it feel like a completely newGTAexperience, standing head and shoulders above most other games' DLC and offering a ton of value. Presumably, Rockstar would put the same amount of effort into DLC forGTA 5andRed Dead Redemption 2, which is why fans want to see the company make similar DLC for those games. However,The Lost and the Damnedis only half of the story.
Some months after the launch ofGrand Theft Auto 4: The Lost and the Damned, Rockstar Games released yet another DLC for the game.CalledThe Ballad of Gay Tony, players take on the role of Luis Fernando Lopez, the titular Tony’s bodyguard. Just asThe Lost and the Damnedmade a major quality of life improvement by adding checkpoints,Ballad of Gay Tonyintroduced mission scores to the home consoleGrand Theft Autogames, alongside a slew of other content.
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WhileGrand Theft Auto 4: The Ballad of Gay Tonyfeatures new missions for players to complete, it mostly focused on introducing new side activities for players to partake in. Two of the most notable are the fight club that Luis can participate in, as well as the BASE jumping mini-game. And likeThe Lost and the Damned,The Ballad of Gay Tonyplayers could also look forward to new match types for multiplayer as well.
WithGrand Theft Auto 4: The Ballad of Gay Tony, Rockstar Games hit it out of the park again, delivering a critically-acclaimed expansion that gave players more ofGTA 4while also stood on its own as a genuinely high-quality product. The one-two punch ofThe Lost and the DamnedandThe Ballad of Gay Tonyfirmly established Rockstar Games as one of the premiere developers when it came to single-player DLC, which is why it’s a shame that the company still hasn’t releasedsimilar content forGTA 5orRed Dead Redemption 2to date.
Speaking ofRed Dead Redemption, it also received some acclaimed DLC that has helped make fans hungry forGrand Theft Auto 5andRDR2DLC.Red Dead Redemption’s post-launch support wasn’t quite as impactful as that ofGTA 4’s, but it did get theUndead NightmareDLC, adding zombies to the game’s open world and giving fans a non-canon story to check out.
TheUndead NightmareDLC forRed Dead Redemptionwas hugely popular at the time, so it makes sense that fans want to see something similar forRed Dead Redemption 2. There have been rumors that Rockstar was planning anUndead Nightmareevent forRed Dead Redemption 2around Halloween, but those rumors have never amounted to anything and Rockstar itself has gone out of its way to deny them.
Still, the demand is clearly there forUndead Nightmareor some kind of single-player DLC forRed Dead Redemption 2, so here’s hoping that it materializes at some point down the line. For now, though,Grand Theft Auto 5andRed Dead Redemption 2players can look forward to new online content at least, ranging from small-scale content drops to more substantial offerings likeGrand Theft Auto Online’s Cayo Perico Heist updatethat added an entirely new island to explore.
Grand Theft Auto 4is out now for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.
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