By Sagar V. Mankar GTA 5 is still one of the most loved video games ever. Millions of people enjoy exploring its big open world and meeting its cool characters. Trevor Philips is one of the fan favorites, and guess what? Rockstar Games once planned a whole story just for him!
However, the plan got scrapped, leaving fans wondering about the reasons ever since. Now, we understand why.
Recently, a former Rockstar developer shed light on this mystery, revealing why the highly anticipated content was shelved.
Joe Robino, a senior camera artist and virtual cinematographer who worked at Rockstar’s New York office from 2010 to 2016, recently spoke to the SanInPlay YouTube channel.
According to Robino, the DLC was shaping up to be an exciting standalone adventure. He described it as “kick-ass“ and mentioned that Steven Ogg, the actor who played Trevor Philips, was set to play a significant role.
Earlier this year, Ogg himself has hinted at the content, revealing that Trevor would have gone undercover and worked with federal agents in a “James Bond Trevor” scenario.
Why Was the DLC Ultimately Canceled?
The primary reason for the cancellation appears to be the unexpected success of GTA Online. Robino explained:
“When GTA Online came out it was so much of a cash cow and people were loving it so much that it was hard to make an argument that a standalone DLC would outcompete that.”
As GTA Online flourished, Rockstar prioritized its resources accordingly. The teams working on the Trevor DLC were redirected to support the ongoing development and expansion of GTA Online.
Robino revealed that many team members were simultaneously working on GTA Online, the DLC, and the early stages of Red Dead Redemption 2.
“We split our teams into two, so I stayed on GTA Online and then this DLC, which Steven Ogg was a very important part of, and then some of the team overlapped and went to [Red Dead Redemption 2] early on.”
This led to intense work schedules, with Robino stating he worked almost every day of the year for six or seven years!
This highlights the notorious crunch culture that Rockstar was known for.
Rubino estimated that the development work on the Trevor DLC was approximately halfway complete before it was shelved.
This decision left Robino feeling disappointed, as he believed in the quality of the DLC content they had created.
“Looking back now I would say that you could probably do both, but that was a business decision that they made and I was a little upset about that,”
What Happened to the Work Done on the DLC?
Interestingly, not all of the work went to waste. Robino mentioned that a lot of the ideas they had for Trevor’s story ended up in GTA Online updates.
This aligns with discoveries made by GTA dataminers, who found references to Trevor with a jetpack – a feature that eventually made its way into GTA Online’s Doomsday Heist missions (2017).
What Does This Mean for the Future of GTA?
With GTA 6 on the horizon, set for release in fall 2025, fans are naturally curious about Rockstar’s plans for future content. Will GTA 6 receive story DLC, or will the focus remain on the online component? this will remain seen.