Why GTA 6 Online shouldn't have Shark Cards

With GTA 6 Online expected to be the upcoming live-service multiplayer game from Rockstar Games, players don't want to see Shark Cards in it. These Cash Cards have been the primary form of monetization in Grand Theft Auto Online and the community has had rather negative opinions about them. Many have accused Rockstar of manipulating GTA Online's in-game economy to the extent that it forces players to buy these Cash Cards.

While they're not exactly a pay-to-win monetization, these Cash Cards do give you a massive boost. However, the major concern is that their inclusion makes the game more boring by increasing the amount of grind. With all that in mind, here's why GTA 6 Online should avoid introducing Shark Cards.

Note: This article is subjective and only reflects the writer's opinions.

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Why Rockstar shouldn't add Shark Cards to GTA 6 Online

To understand why GTA 6 Online shouldn't have Shark Cards, we need to go over the history of GTA Online and how it changed over the years. In short, Cash Cards made the game boring and grindy with a pay-to-win theme; the same is expected with GTA 6 Online. To begin with, Grand Theft Auto Online is a paid game, as players must purchase Grand Theft Auto 5 to access its multiplayer features.

However, Rockstar still decided to include microtransactions in it. Now, microtransactions in a paid game are usually frowned upon by most gamers, but there weren't many complaints about it.

Since players could buy anything the game offered without grinding too much, microtransactions were just an afterthought. The most expensive property cost just $400,000 (Eclipse Towers) while the fastest car in GTA Online was $1,000,000 (Truffade Adder).

There were also only four Shark Cards back then, ranging from $100,000 to $1,250,000. However, with each new update, Rockstar began to add more expensive in-game items, some of which were affordable only after hours of grinding. They added more Shark Cards, with the highest-value card offering $8,000,000.

This value has since increased by 20%, and a GTA+ membership offers an additional 15% bonus value when you buy a Shark Card.

What this means is that GTA Online has a massive pay-to-win aspect to it. Players who pay large amounts of real-life money need not grind their way to the top.

Meanwhile, every new update has also forced a price creep. For example, there's always some new fast or feature-rich vehicle with a higher price tag than the last 'best vehicle.' The same applies to properties, with more lucrative ones costing much more.

Meanwhile, the last two updates - The Chop Shop and The Cluckin Bell Farm Raid - added some ridiculously expensive purchasable cop cars in GTA Online that cost between $2,962,500 to $5,420,000.

Most fans are worried that GTA 6 Online will follow the same monetization format, with rapid inflation following each content update. This is why Shark Cards are a bad idea for GTA 6 Online, as the game will end up being too frustrating and grindy.