Summary
A former Rockstar Games developer has claimed that the plannedGrand Theft Auto 5story DLCs were canceled due toGrand Theft Auto Online’s immense profitability. Datamined information from 2023 revealed multiple single-player expansions that were planned forGrand Theft Auto 5, but unfortunately never came to fruition.
Tons ofGTA 5fans were looking forward to story expansions after the game’s launch in 2013, but according to a 2017 statement from Rockstar, the development ofRed Dead Redemption 2and supportingGTA Onlinewith regular content updates left barely any resources for the studio to work onGTA 5’s single-player DLCs. While the 2023 leaks pointed toeight scrapped story DLCs forGTA 5in total, three of them were of particular interest to fans, namelyAgent Trevor,Prologue, andLibertyV.
Leaks surrounding the Trevor-focused expansion have been numerous, with one fan recently discovering anunreleased soundtrack from the canceledGTA 5DLC. Now, former Rockstar senior camera artist and virtual cinematographer, Joseph Rubino, has provided additional context behind the cancelations. In aninterview with YouTuber SanInPlay, Rubino stated that he worked onAgent Trevorbefore it was scrapped. When asked about the decision, Rubino claimed thatGTA Onlinewas too much of a “cash cow,” and that it was “hard to make an argument that a standalone DLC would out-compete that.”
GTA 5’s Agent Trevor DLC Was Canceled Because GTA Online Was a “Cash Cow”
TheAgent TrevorDLC was about midway through development and canceling it was allegedly a “business decision,” which lines up with Rockstar’s explanation regardingRed Dead Redemption 2andGTA Onlinetaking up too many resources. Rubino’s statements also lend further credence to this, as he claimed to have split his team into two, with one half working onGTA Onlineand the other onAgent Trevor. Eventually, some of his team “overlapped” and progressed to developingRed Dead Redemption 2. Rubino also lamented thecancelation of theAgent TrevorDLC forGTA 5, asserting that it was “awesome.”
The concept of a violent, unstable character like Trevor carrying out covert operations for a corrupt sect of the government sounds amazing to many fans of the game, making it all the more disappointing that theAgent Trevorstory DLC will likely never see the light of day. However, many elements of the scrapped single-player expansions were apparently repurposed forGTA Online’s content updates, withAgent Trevorturning intoDoomsday Heist. As Rockstar quietly toils away preparingGTA 6for its fall 2025 release, one can only hope the studio plans to supplement its single-player mode with additional content in the future.
