Rockstar doesn’t put out games very often. Grand Theft Auto VI is about to debut a full thirteen years after GTA V arrived on scene. Red Dead Redemption 2, meanwhile, followed its predecessor eight years later–a slimmer window, but still a pretty big time gap for fans to fill. (And let’s not get started on when–or, rather, if–there will be a Red Dead Redemption 3.)
So how do fans fill that time gap?
They roleplay.
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Not all fans, obviously, but a healthy chunk of current GTA and Red Dead players use Rockstar’s massive, open digital worlds to live second lives as car thieves or EMT workers or fur traders or moonshiners. Some play as themselves; others come up with fictional characters and tell their stories, either alone or with sprawling communities of fellow players.
RP isn’t limited to Rockstar games (just ask Final Fantasy XIV players), but because of GTA and Red Dead‘s sheer density, both in terms of world richness/interactivity and player numbers, they’re some of the most popular settings for RP’ers.
And now those dedicated, story-driven players are getting a nod.
Rockstar and Twitch are bringing back GTA RP Week, an event that spotlights GTA RP streamers and rewards viewers who watched them.
When the duo first launched GTA RP Week in 2023, it was to mark Rockstar’s official partnership with Cfx.re, the roleplay and game modder team that created high-traffic RP servers for GTA and Red Dead players.
This time, Rockstar is promoting Nopixel V, an invite-only GTA RP community.
“For years, nopixel has set the standard for the genre through its ambitious releases,” it said in a statement. “Now, nopixel V overhauls the experience once more: A reworked character customization system gives roleplayers more ways than ever to create characters as unique as their backstories, while new corners of the city–from the brand new Pixel Hotel & Casino to a six-block revamp of Cypress Flats–set the stage for new stories.”
Highlighted streamers for this GTA RP Week event are all part of Nopixel V. Viewers who watch will be rewarded with in-game cash ($250K for watching 1-2 hours, $1 million for watching 4 hours), an exclusive in-game “Burger Shot Tracksuit” (6 hours of watch time) and a suite of Twitch emotes and badges.
As we mentioned above (and as other GTA fans have mentioned), Nopixel is invite-only, so Rockstar spotlighting it and hailing it as “the next evolution of the GTA 5 roleplay community” is a little strange, because no one can join.
We’re guessing that will change sometime soon, though–maybe even during RP Week.
By the way, for those worried about racking up six hours of watch time in seven days, don’t fret: RP Week is more like RP Month. It’s running Sept. 8-30.
