GTA 6 could finally address the biggest problem with GTA Online

In his final piece for Kotaku in April 2020, well-known journalist and industry insider Jason Schreier suggested that Grand Theft Auto 6 is in early development at Rockstar Games.

Notably, Schreier believed that the game was 'years away from release'.

Whilst this is something that's hotly contested by the GTA community, with some well-informed types suggesting that the game is further along than it seems, logic would suggest it's safe to assume we won't see GTA 6 launching in 2021, that's for sure.

But even if the game was due to arrive in 2022 - at the earliest - there's still plenty of work to be done to finish the game. Especially if it's to improve on the existing offering which launched in 2013.

Thankfully, it looks as though there's one area where we should see a dramatic improvement - cheating.

Why Is Cheating in GTA Online & Red Dead Online So Bad?

For those who don't know, Rockstar Games systemic problem with cheaters has been an ongoing point of contention for the PC community for some years.

It's not just GTA Online either, the more recently released Red Dead Online is just as bad.

We've probably lost count of how many times we've seen players complaining of having their fun ruined thanks to cheating tools that unfairly grief players.

If you're not sure what impact this is having Kotaku previously reported that some of the most popular “suffering” functions in mod menus included "kicking players from a session, draining other player’s money, and putting constant bounties on other players".

One such mod allowed players to kick out an entire lobby of players with a single button press and that is just the tip of the shadowy iceberg.

In 2015, Rockstar announced they had “implemented new systems to allow us to more efficiently detect and target any players found running mods and cheat programs within GTA Online.”

But for the most part, cheating has got steadily worse making the community more vocal the longer it has continued.

Thankfully, we might be about to see Rockstar finally turn a corner to address the problem.

What are Rockstar Games doing to fix cheating?

At long last, it would appear that Rockstar Games is addressing the problems head-on.

As noted by RockstarIntel.com, the company's careers website recently started seeing candidates for several positions which suggest they're looking to tackle the growing cheating problem

One such position for 'Associate Cheat Operations Analysis' involves "monitoring multiple sources of information to identify cheaters and online mods," as well as "taking appropriate action on that information".

Another role for a 'Senior Cheat Software Analyst' will also be responsible for "reverse engineering malicious code" and "supporting security/anti-cheat measures for the game client".

How could this help GTA 6?

Put bluntly, we doubt that GTA Online or Red Dead Online will dramatically improve overnight, but the creation of the roles is certainly a step in the right direction.

AssumingGTA 6 is years away from launch, the online multiplayer component could be even further out.

Even then, it seems safe to assume that the developer will be taking PC cheaters seriously from the off.

That can only be a good thing for players who in recent years have become more and more fed up and frustrated with the inaction shown by Rockstar; not least as GTA Online continues to thrive 7 years after it first went live.