Is GTA 6 gonna make every other open world game feel ancient?

GTA V already made a lot of open world games feel kinda lifeless. The way the world reacted, the little details, the sheer density of stuff to do. It wasn't perfect but it set a new baseline that most studios still haven't hit a decade later.

Then RDR2 came along and said "hold my beer." The level of immersion in that game is still unmatched. The way NPCs have schedules, the wildlife systems, the way mud actually sticks to your boots. It's obsessive in the best way.

Now we're four months out from GTA 6 and I keep thinking about what happens after. Not just how good the game will be, but what it does to our expectations for everything else. Rockstar has had 8 years and reportedly the biggest budget in entertainment history to build Leonida. The density of Vice City alone looks insane from the trailer, and that's just one part of the map.

I'm genuinely wondering if I'll be able to play another open world game after November without constantly comparing it to GTA 6. Like, will I boot up the next Far Cry or whatever and just feel like everything is static and dead? Some studios might see what Rockstar pulled off and get inspired. But I think a lot of them will just look at the gap and decide it's not worth trying to close.

We've already seen this happen to some extent. After GTA V, nobody really tried to make a living city. After RDR2, nobody tried to match that level of world simulation. The bar just keeps moving higher and the rest of the industry seems content to stay where they are. Maybe they're smart to not even try. Or maybe we're heading toward a future where only Rockstar makes worlds that actually feel alive.

What do you think? Are other studios gonna even attempt to keep up, or is Rockstar about to make every other open world game feel like a tech demo from 2015?

Source: r/GTA6 · Curated content.

I don't know about feeling ancient. A lot of us spent the last decade running MC resupply loops in a dead world because the profit-per-hour worked out. Vice City could have the most alive NPCs ever, but if the economy's stuck at convenience store payouts while Cayo Perico still pays $1.5M an hour, people will notice the grind before they notice the mud on boots. Other studios don't need Rockstar's budget. They just need a loop that doesn't waste your time. Most can't even do that. Give me a static map with a $500K/hour bunker. The numbers don't care if the mud is dynamic.