GTA Online to be free as a standalone title for PS5 during the initial 3 months

GTA Online has been a resounding success for Rockstar Games, but the announcement of GTA V arriving to next-gen consoles was met with a lot of resistance from the fanbase.

The growing and prevailing sentiment of the fanbase is that Rockstar Games is milking the game for all its worth by re-releasing it for the next-gen consoles. However, there is more attached to GTA V's release on the PS5 in the second half of 2021.

The good news for prospective buyers of PS5 is that GTA Online will be available as a standalone title. Furthermore, the game will be available for free, for a period of 3 months.

GTA Online as a free standalone title for PS5

When Grand Theft Auto V arrives on PlayStation 5 in the second half of 2021, a standalone GTAO will also be released for free for PlayStation 5 users. pic.twitter.com/KxRqir1pvc

— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) August 3, 2020

The news of GTA V coming to next-gen consoles wasn't met with a lot of fanfare and appreciation by the community. However, the news of GTA Online available as standalone title has been received only slightly better.

This is good news for fans who have already played the Story Mode, and now only want to play GTA Online. The game will be free for a period of 3 months, which is enough time for players to gauge whether they will continue to play the game or not.

The game is likely to see more things added to the Online experience, with the game marketed to be an 'Expanded and Enhanced' edition of the game. Whether this means any single-player expansion as well, is yet to be seen as players have expressed their demands for a single-player DLC for quite a while now.

The Year is 2255.The only games in existence are GTA5 and Skyrim, ported forever.

— Robert Petersen (@Sonikku_a2) August 3, 2020

Fans are speculating that GTA V's release on the PS5 is a stop-gap entry in the franchise so that Rockstar Games can focus their efforts on the next GTA title, without sacrificing the benefits of a game that will release early in the next-gen console cycle.