'Grand Theft Auto Online' was prompted by market saturation for 'Grand Theft Auto V'.
Grand Theft Auto V
Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick has explained Rockstar Games' plans to launch a standalone version of the online mode, and he noted the reasons for their decision.
During a Morgan Stanley tech conference, he said: "As you sell that many units, you will at some point arrive at the conclusion that you've saturated for purchasing the title.
"At that point you're willing to experiment with the possibility that maybe there is another way to bring people into the online experience.
"Make it super-low friction, low price point. Sure, you don't have access to the original single-player experience, but you do have access to an online world.
"Our view is perhaps that's a different market and that's a way to expand the player base."
He noted that the company's suspicions were proved true with the 'Red Dead Online' standalone release which gave the mode its biggest month since launch.
Meanwhile, there's always the chance that people who come in through the online experience could be persuaded to upgrade to the full version of the game, which could bring in a larger player base and result in long-term success.