Two data points I keep thinking about. GTA IV had two full story expansions. RDR2 had none and everything went into Online.
Rockstar has said nothing about this game either way that I can find. Is there anything, even a vague comment on an earnings call?
Nothing. No season pass listed on any store page, no expansion mentioned in any official material, no comment on a call that I have found.
The absence of a season pass on the store listing is mildly informative on its own, because publishers usually list one at preorder if they have one planned.
The IV expansions were a different era and a different business. RDR2 is the more recent precedent and that is the one I would expect them to follow.
id take one good story expansion over three years of online updates and i know exactly how outnumbered that opinion is
Ultimate edition content being layered into the story rather than sold as a pass afterwards might be them answering this question in advance.
Which means everything goes into Online and single player gets nothing after launch. That is the honest read even if nobody wants it.
everything goes into online because that is where the money is and that has been true for thirteen years