Shroud says GTA Online is a “flop” and explains why he doesn’t play it

GTA Online is still thriving after all these years, but not everybody enjoys it. Michael ‘shroud’ Grzesiek falls into the latter camp, describing it as a “flop” as he explained why he doesn’t play it. 

GTA Online launched on consoles back in 2013 and PC in 2015, and it’s been an enormous success ever since. But despite the awards, billions of dollars in profits, and dedicated player base, it’s not for everyone.

In fact, GTA Online has been subject to lots of criticism throughout the years. People have described it as everything from a greedy money-grab with a predatory business model to a tedious and unfulfilling grind.

Like many streamers, shroud has dabbled in it from time to time. He’s even enjoyed the GTA RP mod and server experience with friends. But he’s never really been sold on GTA Online, and in his latest stream, he explained why.

The discussion started after a fan mentioned GTA Online’s latest content update and said it might be worth a shot. “I mean, it’s cool that they’re continuing updates and stuff for GTA,” said Shroud. However, he still wasn’t keen to play. “It’s just not my style.”

“GTA Online was such a flop for me,” he added. “It went in such a direction that it didn’t care for. Turned into some like open-world kind of like grief sandbox sh*tshow, you know? I didn’t like it.”

• Read more: Shroud explains why Cyberpunk 2077 won’t match GTA 5

His words might seem a little harsh, but GTA Online’s biggest critics feel the same way. Some found it fun for a while but feel like it never really lived up to expectations. Others have never enjoyed it at all.

Shroud falls into the first category of critics. However, he thinks it can be fixed in the sequel, though he doubts it will happen. “I’d love to see GTA 6 care about the modding community and work together on a united front,” he said. “And… make some dope a** shit together.”

GTA 6 already has lofty expectations, and it will undoubtedly build on the success of its predecessor. 

• Read more: Rockstar fans want GTA 6 to learn lesson from Cyberpunk 2077

However, it’s unlikely the modding community will get more support than they already have.

Still, that doesn’t mean it won’t be an improvement. Hopefully, Rockstar incorporates all the positive and negative feedback they’ve received for GTA Online and help make it the best it can be.