Only a few days after news suggesting that Grand Theft Auto 5 has topped the 2021 streaming chart, another stream-tracking toolkit has submitted a new report confirming the previous. Eight years after its original release, Rockstar Games' premiere open-world crime sandbox is as strong as ever.

Grand Theft Auto 5 launched in 2013 at the tail-end of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 generation. Critics praised the incredible graphics, well-realized characters, and reactive open-world, lending the game near-universal acclaim. The multiplayer GTA Online was released a few weeks after the single-player launched, but played host to a number of technical problems that spoiled the experience for many players.

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Despite severe connectivity issues at release, Rockstar stuck with the game and eventually shaped it into the chaotic multiplayer the company originally promised. GTA Online has since turned into one of the most active online communities in the entire industry. According to a report from StreamElements, GTA 5 was the most-viewed game on Twitch in March, with a total count of 181,000,000 hours. This is several million more than other popular titles like League of Legends and Fortnite, and marks the first time that Grand Theft Auto has topped the Twitch stream-charts.

These ridiculous numbers are attributed by many to the rise in popularity of GTA role-playing, where players act out specific scenes and characters in-game. This genre of streaming has attracted many streamers, including one of the most popular female streamers of 2020, Valkyrae. Despite its age, Grand Theft Auto Online continues to a variety of unique experiences for its players, and many consumers are impressed with the level of agency and customization the game offers.

Grand Theft Auto 5 and its online counterpart were eventually ported to the PC and the then-next-gen Xbox One and PS4. Today, it’s a gift that keeps on giving; GTA Online has received countless updates, including new heists, a casino, and even giant sea monsters. In addition to a confirmed next-gen port for Xbox Series X and PS5, GTA 5 is also headed back onto Xbox’s popular Game Pass service. Wherever it goes, Grand Theft Auto 5 continues to top sales, streaming, and download charts, and likely will for some time.

Rockstar’s next game after GTA Online was Red Dead Redemption 2 which, like GTA before it, included an online service that didn’t take off immediately. Though Red Dead Online has seen numerous updates, it has not come close to the soaring popularity of its older brother. All eyes in the industry await the inevitable announcement of GTA 6 to see if it can possibly topple its impossibly successful predecessor.

Grand Theft Auto 5 is available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. PS5 and Xbox Series X versions are in development.

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Source: StreamElements