Why ‘GTA V’ Online Heists Were Delayed Over A Year, Rockstar Explains
Rockstar Games finally pulled the cover back on Heists for Grand Theft Auto V on Tuesday. The new game mode was originally supposed to be part of GTA Online‘s PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 launch in October 2013. It’s been over a year since then and the developer opened up about why it has taken so long to arrive to PlayStation and Xbox consoles, plus the PC.
Lead Mission Designer Imran Sarwar spoke with IGN about why GTA V’s Heists development took so long. The short version is that the Rockstar didn’t realize how big a task they were taking on and the work required to port the game to the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, plus add new features and improve GTA Online — that took the attention of much of the core development time and left little for Heists.
Watch the new trailer for #GTAOnline Heists: http://t.co/XgNGbq0LFu pic.twitter.com/cJqki1liTj
— Rockstar Games (@RockstarGames) December 16, 2014
There was also the additional struggle of making sure that all four members of the Heist team were involved and had something to do. It’s not a great experience if three players are running around, causing mayhem, and having fun while the fourth team member is sitting in the getaway car waiting, for example.
“Our initial idea was to build on the concept of Story Mode heists to make a new gameplay experience for GTA Online that was more focused on cooperation, where everyone could play to their individual strengths and feel like they had a stake in the outcome,” Sarwar told IGN.
“So we started working on the concept: a series of multi-tiered missions featuring diverse prep work, a range of different types of gameplay and a big finale, where team coordination and playing your own distinct role could make the difference between success or failure. We also wanted each one to have a unique thread that brought you back in touch with some of the characters from the story.”
“As it turns out, creating missions of that complexity for multiple players at the same time was much more difficult than we anticipated and every time we thought we were close, something would send us back to square one,” he continued. “Having already let players know of our intentions with Heists, every setback only increased the pressure to make sure we got them right.”
It took “many months” to design, test, and write the four-player Heist structure that will hit GTA V in early 2015. Sarwar says it took “a ton of work” to get it to a level they were happy with.
“We never want to have to move a date but if something is delayed, it’s because it’s not at the level we expect of ourselves,” he added.
The wait for Heists to hit GTA V shouldn’t be too much longer. The PC version of the game is coming January 25. The new mode will likely be out around that time or not long after.
How do you feel about Rockstar’s explanation for the Heists delay? Sound off in the comments below.
[Images via Rockstar Games]
