Wanted Director Menu for GTA5
How Actuator Digital expanded WantedHQ's Director Menu tool with new features, proximity chat, reusable components, and technical debt reduction.
Actuator Digital partnered with WantedHQ to expand the Director Menu, a custom GTA5 FiveM tool for creating engaging content and games. The tool was used by prominent creators including Marcus, Lazarbeam, Crayator, and BazzaGazza. Marcus acted as Product Owner throughout development, guiding the menu around the needs of this creative community.
The project was delivered in multiple phases focused on functionality upgrades, bug fixes, and new features. Built on FiveM, a modding framework for GTA5, the Director Menu became part of the wider content creation ecosystem later acquired by Rockstar.
The Challenge
WantedHQ needed a Director Menu that gave creators intuitive, powerful control over their in-game productions. The project needed to combine a robust menu structure, proximity chat, reusable UI components, and a codebase that could support continued expansion.
The existing tool also brought several technical constraints:
- Legacy functionality needed to be transitioned while preserving backward compatibility.
- Persistent issues in proximity chat and Discord integration needed to be resolved without destabilising the wider tool.
- A broad set of new features needed to work cohesively under the high expectations of prominent creators and their audiences.
- Technical debt needed to be reduced so future maintenance and expansion would remain practical.
The Solution
Actuator Digital worked collaboratively with WantedHQ to expand and strengthen the Director Menu:
- Rebuilt the Director Menu: Enhanced vehicle and weapon management, added customisable presets and dynamic HUD elements such as God Mode, and revamped Spectate Mode to resolve bugs and integrate it with the rest of the menu.
- Implemented proximity chat: Developed distance-based audio scaling for more realistic in-game interaction and resolved network stability issues for creators.
- Established a reusable component library: Created a React-based library of buttons, modals, tables, and other components to accelerate development and keep menu updates consistent.
- Addressed technical debt: Refactored legacy code to simplify future maintenance and expansion, while optimising database architecture for new and existing features.
- Introduced advanced creator features: Added unique blip icon assignment, real-time player wanted-level controls, and improved Discord bot integration for team coordination.
The Outcome
The revamped Director Menu gave GTA5 content creators a more capable and intuitive way to build immersive experiences. Creators such as Lazarbeam, Crayator, and BazzaGazza could work more efficiently, while Marcus’ product leadership kept the tool aligned with the needs of its creative audience.
The project delivered measurable progress:
- Over 600 development hours.
- More than 30 features integrated.
- Positive feedback from creators and end-users.
- Support for content that has reached 27M views and 500K subscribers, and counting.
Through close collaboration with WantedHQ and its leading content creators, Actuator Digital delivered a robust and scalable Director Menu for GTA5. The project demonstrates Actuator Digital’s ability to work within an established technical ecosystem, reduce complexity, and deliver tools that help creative teams make better content.