The Cayo Perico heist might not be the last time singleplayer content is introduced to Grand Theft Auto Online. The new content has been hailed as the biggest expansion to GTA Online since it launched. It is a massive new heist that brings players to a brand new Caribbean island to bring down an infamous drug lord. It gives fans a brand new HQ in the form of a nuclear submarine and even introduces a new social area called the Music Locker, which could set the stage for in-game music concerts.
But one of the biggest new additions is the freedom of players to play the entire heist solo. Fans can take on every mission associated with the formidable compound of Cayo Perico without any help from any other players. This is a significant departure from the game's standard formula as an online experience, and a huge shift from previous heists that have been added to the game. It was a surprising change, but a welcome one for less social GTA fans who want to explore the new content without having to get matched up with strangers.
In an interview with GQ, design directors Tarek Hamad and Scott Butchard shed some light on the process of developing the new expansion from home during a pandemic, and they touched on the unprecedented singleplayer nature of the new heist. Butchard mentioned that singleplayer functionality was something the community had been asking about for some time, and that the team was proud of its implementation in Cayo Perico. He also mentioned that "It’s something we’re keen to carry forward," indicating that future expansions might retain singleplayer options. To quote him further, "We want to respect teams and players who want to play co-op. But at the same time still allow solo players to still get just as valid an experience out of it."
In the neverending absence of GTA 6, it's somewhat heartening to see Rockstar express such an interest in online singleplayer. This ensures that even players who don't want to engage with the community can still get singleplayer GTA content as they wait eternally for the next game. Of course, since it's primarily an online game, it's also good to know that the developers aren't shunning co-op players. As Butchard himself says, there's perks to both; singleplayer thieves get all the loot to themselves, and don't need to worry about coordinating teammates in high-risk stealth situations, but co-op fans can tackle multiple tasks at once to ensure a quicker, more efficient heist.
Ultimately it looks like Cayo Perico is the start of a new age for GTA Online, though this isn't to say the game doesn't have its flaws. Fans were recently upset to discover that the island didn't allow free roam. Players can only visit the new realm when they're actively taking part in a heist, a restriction which flies in the face of GTA's traditionally open world nature. As upsetting as this exclusion is, if Cayo Perico is the start of more singleplayer content for Grand Theft Auto Online, hopefully it'll still bring good to the GTA community.
Source: GQ