GTA 5 is financially the most successful entertainment product of all time and has sold more than 90 million copies till this day. The question is “why is GTA 5 so successful?” GTA 5 had no paid DLC but it still swept the market and broke records in not only in the gaming industry but the entire entertainment industry. Most of the gamers think that the paid DLC is the key to long term support but what if paid DLC is holding back the gaming industry? As proven by many non-DLC games. Games perform better without DLC but offline games are dependent on paid DLC for the constant updates. Free DLC could change that fact and it could increase the selling of games to a high degree which could intern change the landscape of games.
Following the success of GTA 5, Rockstar is now reluctant to release a paid DLC for the game and they adopted a different strategy. Their new strategy is working like a charm which helps them earn more and keep their fans happy at the same time. Rockstar divided GTA 5 into two separate parts and both of the games were part of one deal. GTA 5 had the story mode and then they release GTA online after the release of the initial game. The players were getting a free DLC with constant updates without paying for it. Many players bought GTA 5 due to its online functionalities so Rockstar killed two birds with one stone.
Fans were satisfied with what GTA 5 was offering and the fun part was that they did not even have to pay for all the new missions and functionalities being added to the GTA online. They are repeating the same strategy with Red Dead Redemption 2. Recently the official version Red Dead Redemption online has been released and it is now out of the beta version. Like GTA 5 they are focusing on the Red Dead Redemption online to keep the game alive. The strategy is working quite well but the journey was not always that smooth and Rockstar was scolded for the unimpressive Red Dead Redemption online. People were expecting something like GTA online however with the constant updates and improvement they finally got the grasp on their fans.
Rockstar has proven that a game can be successful even without the paid DLC. In fact, their strategy is more effective than the paid DLC’s and they have proven to stay to that path. Rockstar has established itself as a company that cares more about its customers than any other gaming company which has helped them in winning the trust of the gamers. In the age of microtransaction where greedy companies like EA, Bethesda, and Activision have ruined themselves Rockstar gives the fan exactly what they wanted. Through their games, Rockstar has proven that a game can be updated and made successful without paid DLC.
