GTA Online’s latest update shows how good single-player DLC could’ve been for GTA 5

The Contract is a terrific update for GTA Online with some elements that would've worked in a single-player DLC for GTA 5.

As successful as GTA 5 was, it could never live up to GTA Online's overbearing shadow. The latter game has been the main focus for Rockstar Games for nearly a decade, and the microtransactions involving Shark Cards are surprisingly lucrative. Unsurprisingly, most GTA fans have already accepted that the base game of GTA 5 will never get additional DLC updates as a result.

The Contract is GTA Online's latest update, and several aspects of it could've worked wonderfully for GTA 5's single-player campaign. For starters, it heavily features Franklin, who was one of the latter game's protagonists.

Perhaps most importantly, this update gives some much-needed closure to Franklin's story.

---

GTA Online's latest update is a reminder of how great single-player DLC could've been for GTA 5

The Contract has been well-received by the playerbase thus far (Image via Rockstar Games)

It's worth looking at what works and what wouldn't work in GTA 5 from The Contract's content. The following would be largely minor or pointless for the player:

• Missile Lock-On Jammer
• A more expensive but nerfed Stun Gun
• Reduced daily fees
• New Daily Objectives
• Other minor fixes exclusive to GTA Online

However, most of the remaining content could've fit in perfectly in the context of GTA 5. Seeing an updated Franklin, Lamar, and Chop would've been a nice bonus for those who played the original game.

GTA Online has several vehicles that are absent in GTA 5 (Image via Rockstar Games)

Some of the content that could've worked or has been fun in GTA 5 from The Contract includes:

• Franklin and Tanisha have a family together
• Lamar tries to be a business entrepreneur
• New radio stations
• New vehicles
• New weapons
• Remote Control Unit upgrade
• A new business to do missions in (more ways to make money)

One can even play as Franklin and Lamar in GTA Online, thanks to The Contract. Those missions, plus Lamar's new roast, would've been fun to see in GTA 5.

---

Why doesn't GTA 5 get single-player DLC?

Lamar is never playable in GTA 5, but he is playable in GTA Online (Image via Rockstar Games)

Many fans wondered why GTA 5 doesn't get any single-player DLC, but GTA Online continues to get various updates. The game has gotten some minor updates in the form of the Enhanced Edition (and soon-to-be, the Expanded & Enhanced Edition). However, fans still wonder what happened to the old leaked single-player content.

Well-known GTA leaker, Tez2, stated in the past that:

"What Rockstar was planning to do with the single-player DLC can be compared to adding a whole new map expansion. They had plans to redesign 80 or 90 percent of the map to fit a specific theme – one of the episodes was supposed to feature a zombie apocalypse. Rockstar would make changes to the whole map to fit the zombie apocalypse theme."

A GTA 5-themed apocalypse could've been interesting (Image via Rockstar Games)

Most GTA 5 players should know that the above never happened. It never even truly happened in GTA Online, either. Imran Sarwar from Rockstar Games once stated:

"With GTA 5, the single-player game was absolutely massive and very, very complete. It was three games in one. The next-gen versions took a year of everyone's time to get right, then the online component had a lot of potential but to come close to realizing that potential, also sucked up a lot of resources.

Further reflecting on the situation, he stated:

And then there are other games – in particular Red Dead Redemption 2. The combination of these three factors means for this game, we did not feel single-player expansions were either possible or necessary."

Hence, the idea of any future single-player DLC is nothing more than a pipe dream for many GTA 5 fans. Instead, they will have to continue playing GTA Online to see what happens in the future, as that's the only thing that will get expansions.

Note: This article reflects the writer's personal views.