[UPDATE] Following the publication of this story, a Take-Two representative issued the following statement to GameSpot about Strauss Zelnick’s comments today.
“Strauss misspoke during today’s call, as over a year ago Rockstar Games had said that they were exploring story mode content for Grand Theft Auto V; however, no further information has been released since. As always, we leave it to Rockstar Games to share information about their games when they’re ready.”
The original story is below.
Grand Theft Auto V‘s story mode DLC has been called into question. During a Take-Two earnings call this afternoon, an analyst asked CEO Strauss Zelnick if the game’s previously announced story mode add-on content was still on the way. His response probably isn’t what fans want to hear.
Below is a transcript of the back-and-forth that transpired.
Analyst: “When you had originally launched GTA V, I believe that you had said that there was going to be some story-based DLC content shipping eventually. And obviously we’re [now] over a year past the game’s launch. Is that still something that you have planned? I’m sure you’re not going to talk about timing, but is that something that’s still in the pipeline for you guys?”
Zelnick: “No, we haven’t discussed any story-based downloadable content. We did talk about the Heists and they’ve been released.”
Analyst: “But I am correct in remembering that you had talked about that around the launch of the game?”
ZelnicK: “Uhh, we have different recollections.”
So what’s going on here? It’s hard to say for sure. As recently as April 2014, Rockstar specifically mentioned “Story Mode DLC” for GTA V in a post on the Rockstar Newswire, the developer’s official news channel. You can see the quote below, with emphasis added.
“Later this year, look for even more additions to both Grand Theft Auto Online and Grand Theft Auto V, including more holiday-themed updates, some very exciting Story Mode DLC and much more.”
Rockstar has never formally announced this content, however. The company has said only that players can expect DLC that extends “Michael, Franklin, and Trevor’s action, mayhem, and unexpected adventures in Southern San Andreas.”
Again, this is something of a strange situation. It’s possible Zelnick misspoke. Whatever the case, we’ve followed up with Rockstar, asking for more details. We’ll update this post with anything we hear back.
Predecessor Grand Theft Auto IV welcomed two post-release expansions: The Lost and the Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony.
One thing is for sure: GTA V is a runaway success. As announced earlier today, GTA V has now shipped nearly 52 million copies across all platforms. Zelnick also said during the call today that Rockstar will continue to support GTA Online with additional content. This is no surprise, as revenue from the multiplayer mode’s microtransactions was cited as being a key driver of Take-Two’s digitally delivered revenue for the past year.
Get the full Take-Two earnings report here.