www.tweaktown.com/news/112343/…/index.html

GTA 6 is a ‘singleplayer experience,’ GTA Online may be sold separately

Rockstar Games and Sony seem to confirm GTA 6 will be a singleplayer game, possibly indicating that the next version of GTA Online could be standalone.

… (bunch of examples of Rockstar repeatedly describing GTA 6 as ‘a single player experience’ consistently across all of its marketing material, everywhere) …

This gave Rockstar lots of flexibility in how gamers interact with the game itself–which has splintered into two very distinct offerings–and many analysts believed and took for granted that Rockstar would simply ship GTA Online as a free component within GTA 6’s base game.

If I had to guess, I would say that Rockstar is currently preparing to essentially translate the existing version of GTA Online, which takes place in Los Santos, to the other side of the country in Vice City’s crime-ridden streets.

It’s possible we could see the current iteration of GTA Online go into retirement as Rockstar moves into the next version, however, all of this takes time and a lot of manpower and money, so it’s possible that the new version of GTA Online simply isn’t ready yet.

GTA+ would probably be involved in this process in some way, potentially offering access to GTA Online by default while also adding in extras and bonuses like vehicles and weapons.