Summary
Grand Theft Auto 5is one of the most successful games of the past decade, with over 190 million copies sold worldwide as of 2023. While it still has a solid player base that keeps returning to replay its campaign or hop on GTA Online, some fans are disappointed at its lack of single-player expansions. As it turns out, Rockstar Games had some DLCs planned forGTA 5, but it either canceled or reworked them intoGTA Onlineexpansions, according to a recent leak. This is a shame because some of them could have been game-changers, judging by the expansions’ titles.
Knowledge of thecanceledGTA 5DLCswas unearthed after hackers leaked the game’s source code. Data miners found titles of possible single-player expansions. A few expansions, in particular, could have been game-changers:
YouTuber Mors Mutual Insurance allegedly found leaked emails between Rockstars’ top brass, which discussed the game’s expansions in detail. These revealed that its founders (the Houser brothers) wanted to create more single-player content, while the company’s former president (Leslie Benzies) pushed to focus on the game’s popular live service. Some fans theorize that this rift could have caused the DLCs to be trashed in favor ofGTA Onlineexpansions, even if Benzies eventually left. However, there is no substantial evidence to back up this speculation.
Canceled GTA 5 DLC Would Have Added a New Storyline and a Return to a Beloved City
Two titles hint at story expansions, which may not see the light of day now thatGTA 6has been announced. These could have been successors to the popularGTA 4expansionsBallad of Gay TonyandThe Lost and Damned, which continue to be held in high regard due to their excellent stories.
North Yankton Expansion
The “Prologue DLC” suggests an expansion of the North Yankton storyline, which was set in 2004. In the main game’s prologue missions, main characters Trevor and Michael, together with their confidant Brad Snider, robbed a Bobcat Cash Depot. This was followed by a hectic chase headed by the North Yankton State Patrol.
Corrupt FIB agentDave Norton fromGTA 5killed Snider in the ensuing chaos and wounded Michael, who was presumed dead. Michael, his family, and Trevor soon moved to San Andreas and assumed new identities. There’s a nine-year gap between this event andGTA 5’s timeline, which the canceled Prologue DLC could have explored. This could have been an opportunity to show the possible struggles of the Townleys changing their identities into the De Santas and how their relationship degraded.
Return to Liberty City
The “LibertyV” canceled DLC strongly suggests a return to theNew York City-inspired Liberty City. This town was the setting for the originalGrand Theft Autogame and has since been revisited by different games likeGTA 3,GTA: Liberty City Stories, andGTA 4’s DLCs. As such, it only made sense forGTA 5to feature a callback to the iconic L.C.
Apart from following a tradition of calling back to the iconic fictional town, a return to Liberty City could have been a welcome change of scenery for players. After all, many fans have scraped every inch of Los Santos. How the main characters could be connected to Liberty City’s seedy underbelly would have been an interesting storyline to explore as well.
The Canceled Agent Trevor DLC Could Have Brought Back a GTA 4 Character
An X user named @kierraaa found files that could be related to the canceled Agent Trevor DLC in the recent leaks. Some of them appear to call back to characters from previous games, likeKaren Daniels, who was an intelligence operative inGTA 4. Fans have also found leaked art of an underwater level that could be connected to Agent Trevor.
While underwater levels are often a slog to play, this canned expansion, along with Prologue and LibertyV were missed opportunities to breathe new life intoGTA 5. While it’s still a highly-regarded game, it’s almost a decade old and in need of new content. Plus,GTA 6is still a ways away, and these expansions could have whetted the appetite of the franchise’s avid fans.
Grand Theft Auto 5
WHERE TO PLAY
When a young street hustler, a retired bank robber and a terrifying psychopath find themselves entangled with some of the most frightening and deranged elements of the criminal underworld, the U.S. government and the entertainment industry, they must pull off a series of dangerous heists to survive in a ruthless city in which they can trust nobody, least of all each other.Grand Theft Auto V for PC offers players the option to explore the award-winning world of Los Santos and Blaine County in resolutions of up to 4k and beyond, as well as the chance to experience the game running at 60 frames per second.The game offers players a huge range of PC-specific customization options, including over 25 separate configurable settings for texture quality, shaders, tessellation, anti-aliasing and more, as well as support and extensive customization for mouse and keyboard controls. Additional options include a population density slider to control car and pedestrian traffic, as well as dual and triple monitor support, 3D compatibility, and plug-and-play controller support.
