The success of Cayo Perico Heist in GTA Online as Solo experience gives hope for future single-player content

GTA Online's latest title update, Cayo Perico Heist, introduced the eponymous heist in the game and was the first one that could be 'solo'd.' Meaning, players could essentially look at the Heist as a single-player mode and play it without the need of other players or friends.

As the name would undoubtedly signal, GTA Online is an online multiplayer experience catering to much of the same crowd as games like Call of Duty or Fortnite for that matter. However, what makes GTA Online so distinct from other online multiplayer franchises is that a large part of its core audience comes through the single-player mode.

GTA Online: The Cayo Perico HeistInfiltrate the remote island of Cayo Perico, home to GTA Online’s biggest heist yet, playable from start to finish solo or with a crew of up to three of your friends.Play now: https://t.co/FvOM1leq29 pic.twitter.com/VF6qYm6WHD

— Rockstar Games (@RockstarGames) December 15, 2020

GTA has indeed been a single-player franchise for a large part of its run and has only just embraced its online aspects. Fans of GTA's single-player nature felt a bit discouraged as the multiplayer continued to receive new content and title updates, but no love was given to the fantastic Story Mode.

Now with the Cayo Perico Heist update, Rockstar Games have indeed struck a balance between the two and delivered some of the best GTA Online content yet.

The success of Cayo Perico Heist in GTA Online as Solo experience gives hope for future single-player content.

The success of Cayo Perico Heist as a solo, single-player experience isn't just conjecture at this point as in a recent financial earnings call, Take-Two Interactive CEO Straus Zelnick said,

"..the folks at Rockstar Games intend to create a powerful single-player experience, a story-driven experience. And Rockstar has always been known for great stories and great single-player experiences and then developed a massive multiplayer opportunity over the past years. And I think it's a reminder not that we needed one that Rockstar Games can do both of those things at the highest possible level of execution in our business."

(transcript source)

According to statistics, nearly 50 percent of players played the Cayo Perico Heist Solo, meaning that GTA Online works as a single-player experience. Zelnick was also quick to point out that Rockstar and Take-Two continue to see GTA and single-player games as perfectly viable options to explore regardless of the industry's chatter regarding their profitability.

"I think there was an argument just a couple of years ago not around here, not in this shop but in some of our competitors' offices that single player is dead, that it's all about multiplayer. We didn't believe that."

(source)

Thank You to the Rockstar Games Community: https://t.co/gUBcrCvj7F pic.twitter.com/PHFKpPwY70

— Rockstar Games (@RockstarGames) February 5, 2021

He expanded on the point by pointing out Take-Two. Its labels deliver a range of hyper-casual mobile experiences to the most robust AAA single-player and multiplayer experiences.

The fact that 50 percent of players played the Cayo Perico Heist solo means players appreciate Rockstar Games' efforts towards a single-player experience.

This essentially points to a brighter future for single-player experiences at Rockstar Games and Take-Two. Whether this translates to a Story Mode expansion down the line remains to be seen, but the signs do look fairly promising.