GRAND THEFT AUTO could be getting a new online mode with advanced features, a new leak suggests.
It means the wildly popular GTA Online may soon be revamped for gamers.
What’s unclear is if the new version would be linked to the current GTA 5 – or the long-rumoured GTA 6.
Twitter user Big Jim Colosimo and Rockstar Intel have unearthed interesting patent filings from Take-Two Interactive, the parent of GTA-maker Rockstar Games.
The first is around session management systems.
These allow games to fill a virtual online world with players.
With an advanced system described in the patent, a game like GTA Online could make it much easier to swap between online gaming sessions – including with friends or strangers.
And it could help limit game disconnections.
The second patent is related to virtual environments – and how they’re processed by consoles.
It specifically relates to AI design in the game, relating to how NPCs navigate around the world.
Rockstar could use in-house servers to host these AI systems, beaming the intelligence down to consoles over the internet.
This could take a huge chunk of the processing cost away from the consoles, giving them more breathing room.
It could also allow for much more advanced AI, beyond the limits of a £450 console.
This means that a future version of GTA Online could feel much more real, with a more lifelike and naturally populated world.
Of course, none of this is hard proof that a new version of GTA Online is in the works.
All it means is that Take-Two Interactive has invented clever ways to improve a game like GTA Online.
But with GTA 6 reportedly on the horizon, it’s entirely possible that we could see these enhancements in the near future.
Grand Theft Auto 5 came out in 2013, and was the first main entry in the franchise since 2008’s GTA 4.
It’s set in the fictional state of San Andreas – which is inspired by Southern California.
The story follows three criminals who conduct heists against a backdrop of organised crime and corrupt government agents.
Importantly, GTA 5 also comes with GTA Online – a ludicrously popular multiplayer experience.
It’s set in the same open-world, but you can to act out your criminal fantasies alongside other players in real-time.
