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Is Grand Theft Auto the next Roblox?
It's a full-throttle sandbox battle.
TOGETHER WITH
It’s Thursday and thanks to Instagram, you’ll soon be able to slide into your future boo’s DMs in 99 different languages.
Today’s News
🚗 Rockstar wants GTA to be the next creator platform
🕴️ RHEI debuts a set of AI agents
💡 Patreon releases its “State of Create” report
📱 Amazon shutters its TikTok-style feed
🔍 A podcast investigates the creator gender gap
INTO THE SANDBOX
Rockstar wants Grand Theft Auto VI to be the next Roblox
The plan: Rockstar Games is ready to enter the metaverse. The publisher reportedly aims to make Grand Theft Auto VI its answer to Roblox and Fortnite by providing creators with tools to build customized games and immersive experiences. The goal: populating servers with player-made worlds that users will be able to explore once GTA VI debuts this fall.
The context: This isn’t the first time Rockstar has leveraged player-created experiences. The link between GTA and in-game creativity dates all the way back to 2001, when Grand Theft Auto III debuted an open-world map that let players explore to a then-unprecedented degree.
By the time GTA V arrived in 2013, users had developed a sprawling library of multiplayer minigames, roleplays, and other custom experiences on multiplayer servers. Channels like Rooster Teeth turned those games into blockbuster entertainment, creators copied one another endlessly, and GTA V endured as the internet’s most-streamed game for years.
The industry: The worlds built within GTA V a decade ago resemble the user-created metaverse experiences that have earned developers on Roblox and Fortnite hundreds of millions of dollars over the past year alone. Now, Digiday reports that Rockstar has held discussions with those same creators about their potential uses for GTA VI‘s sandbox tools.
If a flood of UGC comes out of those talks, the results could be lucrative for Rockstar, especially since FiveM (the Rockstar-owned mod that facilitates multiplayer GTA V servers) requires users to pay subscription fees. Branded partnerships could prove to be another fruitful revenue source; although Rockstar has historically avoided brand tie-ins within the GTA franchise, relationships with companies like Hilton and Verizon have paid off in spades for Roblox and Fortnite.
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HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰
On Wednesday, media-tech company RHEI unveiled Made: a new platform featuring “emotionally intelligent” AI agents that are designed to “unlock creativity” by assisting creators with day-to-day tasks. (Tubefilter)
X is reportedly pursuing an investment round that would value the company formerly known as Twitter at $44 billion. (TechCrunch)
An update to Twitch’s enforcement policies means that violations will now expire after a certain period of time instead of being permanently counted against creators’ accounts. (Twitch)
According to The Guardian, The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative—which was founded by Priscilla Chan and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg—has effectively eliminated its DEI programs. (The Guardian)
FYP FRENZY
Patreon’s “State of Create” report shows that TikTokification is a double-edged sword
The report: Patreon’s State of Create report is shedding a light on creator and viewer priorities in a rapidly-shifting industry. The monetization platform surveyed 1,000 creators and 2,000 fans to uncover a myriad of insights related to viewership habits, content decisions, and more. Here are the highlights:
1. We’re now in a post-follower landscape.
According to Patreon, 57% of fans’ time on TikTok is spent watching short-form content from creators they don’t follow (even though longer videos are both more desired and more likely to induce payment).
2. Creators are feeling burned out and beholden to algorithms.
78% of creators cite algorithms as an influence in their content decisions, and the same percentage say “burnout impacts their motivation to be a creator”. 75% also claim that platforms punish creators who fail to upload constantly.
3. Direct creator/fan interactions are in demand.
According to Patreon, 81% of creators want a direct channel of communication with their fans. So-called “core fans” (who represent creators’ most passionate audience segments) are also interested in that type of experience: 86% expressed interest in dedicated fan communities, while 80% claimed they are likely to pay their favorite creators.
Over the past five years, those desires have led to massive revenue upticks in fields like subscriptions (up 67%) and direct sales (up 29%). Patreon’s report notes that in the creator economy as a whole, 56% of all value comes from direct-to-fan interactions. Companies like Patreon, Bluesky, OnlyFans, and Nebula have seized on that demand by rolling out features that help creators increase their discoverability and forge direct links with supporters.
INSPIRE EXPIRES
Amazon is shutting down its TikTok-style feed after less than three years
The feed: It’s been less than three years since the launch of Amazon‘s Inspire tab, but the ecommerce giant has apparently already given up on its attempt to copy TikTok‘s FYP.
Inspire first emerged in 2022 as an infinitely scrolling feed filled with product recommendations from partnered influencers. When it went live for all U.S. users a year later, Inspire looked like an appealing mix of affiliate marketing and short-form video—but it struggled to catch on as a shoppable hub. Now, an Amazon spokesperson has confirmed the shutdown of Inspire:
“We regularly evaluate various features to better align with what customers tell us matters most, and as part of that, Inspire is no longer available.”
The context: Inspire may have struggled to catch on among consumers, but the timing of its removal is still a bit strange. As TikTok’s operational future in the U.S. hangs in the balance, rival platforms have concocted their versions of the For You Page to appeal to TikTokers who may be displaced by federal restrictions. Inspire could have been Amazon’s take on that strategy; instead, the ecommerce giant seems to be heading in another direction.
The alternatives: Amazon might not be the next TikTok, but its powerful status in the affiliate marketing world still makes it an attractive home for shoppable creator content. Experiments like Buy It Now—a bite-sized take on Shark Tank—show us what the company’s approach to ecommerce could look like moving forward, while fans of the Inspire tab can still find Amazon’s in-feed integrations on TikTok. Elsewhere in the world of ecommerce, Amazon has supported creators through an investment in Spotter.
LISTEN UP 🎙️
Why are there only three adult women among the world’s top 50 YouTubers?
The podcast: That’s the question at the center of Who Killed The Female YouTube Star?, a limited-series podcast from ThoughtLeaders. The four-part show is the product of a year-long research project investigating the gaping gender divide within YouTube’s highest ranks.
The key findings: ThoughtLeaders’ analysis of 38 million active YouTube channels identified the top 50 most-subscribed-to individual creators and found that only seven are female—four of whom are children. That leaves just three adult women among YouTube’s top 50 individual creators (excluding musicians, brands, and corporations). So, why is that imbalance so stark? And how did it get to be that way?
Tune into the first episode of Who Killed The Female YouTube Star? here to begin unraveling the facts behind the stats.
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Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Drew Baldwin, Sam Gutelle, and Josh Cohen.