‘Grand Theft Auto Online’ Update 1.05 Released; First Half of Stimulus This Week

As promised, a new update for Grand Theft Auto Online has been released; this one intended to fix players’ missing progression and item problems. Players that boot up their copy of Grand Theft Auto 5 will be automatically prompted to download the update.

We first caught word of the update over the weekend alongside the promise that the GTA Online Stimulus Package would finally be rolled out to players. And so, with the update arriving right on schedule, it’s safe to assume the money shouldn’t be far behind.

That is, of course, assuming that this update fixes any missing progress problems. There’s no point in gifting players free cash if the second they lose connection with the GTA Online cloud servers that the money goes missing.

Luckily, those server connection problems are likely behind us thanks to this update. As Rockstar explains, the update includes a preventative measure that will protect players from losing their progress any time there are cloud connection problems. Similarly, a countermeasure, or actually a series of countermeasures, has been put in place to preserve players’ cash balances.

Built in measures to prevent users from losing their progress when there is a cloud outage
Built in a number of measures to protect players’ cash balances even if there are network problems
Fixed an issue where on rare occasions during network problems the player could lose their Online vehicle or mods after exiting GTA Online

It’s certainly a smart move on Rockstar’s part to make players’ cash balances more secure, as there are microtransactions on the way. We’ve yet to hear when Rockstar plans to start allowing players to trade real cash for in-game cash, but first things first obviously.

And speaking of in-game cash, it appears Rockstar is adhering to their previous plan for the Stimulus Package rollout. That means only half of the $500,000 sum will be available in the next few days, not the full amount. When the Stimulus Package missed its release date not once but twice, some speculated that Rockstar might lump the two sums together, but that’s apparently not the case.

Regardless of Rockstar’s claims, we wouldn’t blame gamers for venturing back into the open-world of GTA Online with a healthy dose of skepticism. Several times have players been given the “all clear” signal and discovered that the experience was still substantially flawed. It started on Day 1 and hasn’t improved all that much since.

Nevertheless, Rockstar is still sticking to their plans for Grand Theft Auto Online, which includes the release of the Content Creator and the Beach Bum Packlater this month. The Beach Bum Pack introduces some new beach-themed content into GTA Online and Grand Theft Auto 5‘s story mode, while the Content Creator includes the first pieces of what could be a robust set of mission-creation tools.

Will you return to Grand Theft Auto Online now that the latest update is available or will you wait for the Stimulus Package? Or will you return at all?

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‘Grand Theft Auto Online’ Update & Stimulus Package Scheduled for Next Week

To say that Grand Theft Auto Online got off to a bumpy start would be to put it lightly. Things have not been easy for developer Rockstar Games, who hit the ground running with a seriously flawed product.

While some gamers were sufficiently sated by the Grand Theft Auto 5 story mode, many were intrigued to find out what type of multiplayer experience Rockstar had crafted for their highly anticipated game. Unfortunately, few could actually render a verdict regarding GTA Online, as the experience launched with plenty of issues.

Since that time, Rockstar has issued several updates (as well as a few apologies) and were hopeful that the worst was behind them. While many more gamers were able to log in to GTA Online, a fair share of players reported the loss of missing items, cash, and most importantly progress. So, it appeared that once Rockstar cleared one hurdle, yet another was in their path.

This new hurdle, however, puts even more pressure on Rockstar, as the developer has promised a $500,000 “Stimulus Package” as compensation. If they couldn’t guarantee progress might go missing, they couldn’t, in good faith, provide gamers their free money.

Luckily, it appears the next update for Grand Theft Auto Online is on the horizon, and should hit some time next week according to Rockstar. Shortly thereafter, Rockstar expects to roll out the first $250,000 of the Stimulus Package before the end of the week. It’s possible that Rockstar might lump the sum together now that the Stimulus Package has missed its first planned release date, but we have no confirmation from Rockstar at this time.


Currently, we expect the next title update (1.05) addressing player progress loss issues to be available sometime early next week. Following that, we hope to deliver everyone’s GTA$ Stimulus Package before the end of next week. A big thank you to GTA Online players worldwide for your continued patience and understanding and we will continue to keep you all updated.

November is shaping to up to be a big month for Grand Theft Auto Online, as both the Beach Bum Pack and the first part of the Content Creator are slated to hit. The Beach Bum pack, for those that might not know, adds a few new beach-themed vehicles as well as some new weapons to both the GTA 5 story mode andGTA Online. It also adds new jobs for players to complete in multiplayer.

The Content Creator, on the other hand, will give players tools with which they can create their own jobs and missions in the ‘Deathmatch’ and ‘Race’ categories. The Content Creator is an especially intriguing addition for GTA Online as it has the potential to increase the multiplayer experience’s longevity. Moreover, Rockstar will be highlighting specific jobs with the ‘Rockstar Verified’ moniker, so that gamers can know which player-created content has the most potential.

However, all of this add-on content won’t be of much use without the forthcoming update. Here’s hoping that it hits earlier rather than later and fixes GTA Online‘s problems for good.

One month later, what are your impressions of Grand Theft Auto Online? Do you think that once the update hits and new content starts rolling out gamers will start to return to the multiplayer experience?

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‘Grand Theft Auto 5′ Online Content Creator Coming This Fall; Beach Bum Pack in November

As Rockstar Games continues to ensure stability in Grand Theft Auto 5‘s multiplayer component, GTA Online, gamers remain divided on whether or not they’ll be returning to online Los Santos any time in the near future. Despite successfully stabilizing most network connectivity issues and closing down a number of loopholes that allowed glitching gamers to quickly accrue massive in-game fortunes, the developer is still struggling to purge GTA Online of exploits and other issues that have impeded player experiences. Rockstar Games evendelayed the first installment of a promised $500,000 stimulus package – designed to encourage frustrated gamers who might have lost characters and ranking progressions back into the now (mostly stable) online mode.

Now the developer has detailed (and put vague release dates) on two future opportunities for GTA gamers to revisit Los Santos – the highly-antcipated Online“content creator” as well as new customization options, weapons, and vehicles courtesy of the “Beach Bum” pack.

According to Rockstar Games, the “Beach Bum” pack will be available in November and add beach-themed items into both the single player as well as online modes. Check out the official description from the developer for the “Beach Bum” pack below:


Coming in early November will be the first add-on content update, the Beach Bum Pack which will bring all-new beach themed vehicles and new weaponry that you’ll be able to use in both GTA Online and Story Mode. Plus new customization options for your GTA Online character including new tats, hairstyles and more. We’ll also be adding lots of brand new action-packed Jobs to play with Gang Attacks, Survivals, Last Team Standings, Parachutes, Deathmatches and Races that will have you bloodying up the waters and coastlines of the finest beach resorts across Los Santos and Blaine County.

New in-game items, customization options, and jobs are appreciated, giving definite reason for gamers who might have put GTA 5 aside to jump back in – especially since the pack will be entirely free with a title update. However, the aspect of this announcement that stands the best chance of reigniting interest in skeptical gamers is a release window for the online “content creator” – which was teased in the original Grand Theft Auto Online reveal trailer but absent from the initial launch.

Here’s what Rockstar Games had to say about what to expect from the content creator – which is set to release sometime this fall (also free of charge):


We are also working to bring you the debut of the first part of the GTA Online Content Creator this fall – giving players the ability to craft, publish, rate and play custom-made Deathmatch and Race Jobs. We’ll be keeping our eye open for exceptional ones that we’ll be stamping as ‘Rockstar Verified’ and will be featuring them here at the Newswire and as part of forthcoming GTA Online Social Club Events. Both the Content Creator and the Beach Bum Pack are free.

Between games like LittleBigPlanet and inFamous, among countless others, we’ve seen successful (and immensely creative) communities form around fan-favorite titles – helping to sustain interest for a particular game months (and even years) after initial release. Currently, one of the biggest complaints facing GTA Online is a lack of fresh jobs and, as a result, it makes sense that the studio would be anxious to get their content creator into the hands of interested players who can help flesh out the mode with unique races and deathmatch battles. Assuming the creation tools are simple and enjoyable enough to use, it’s hard to imagine that gamers looking to embrace the online mode will be short on things to do after too long.

Still, with a host of high profile triple-a titles on the horizon for Holiday 2013 (including Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag, Batman: Arkham Origins,Battlefield 4, Call of Duty: Ghosts, among others) and a two-pronged next-generation console launch, Grand Theft Auto 5 will face stiff competition for player’s time (and funds). Rockstar already broke numerous sales records with the initial GTA 5 release, and further potential revenue is in the pipeline via DLC add-ons and possible PC as well as next-generation versions.

However, it’s unclear at this point how much more money the company could have made, especially through mictrotransaction purchases, had the online component been slightly more stable out the gate.

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Rockstar Delays ‘Grand Theft Auto Online’ Stimulus Package to Fix More Bugs

As compensation for a tumultuous Grand Theft Auto Online launch week,Rockstar Games has promised to give games a $500,000 “stimulus package” to help with their multiplayer exploits. However, that stimulus is being put on hold until Rockstar can work out a few more kinks in the online multiplayer experience.

After Rockstar issued the second update for Grand Theft Auto Online – the one that helped restore players’ missing cash, characters, and vehicles – things seemed to have returned to normal. Yet, players are still reporting problems, some of which result in cash or progress going missing.

As a result, Rockstar has decided it best to put the stimulus package on hold until they can guarantee gamers’ cash won’t turn up missing. It’s the same reason they haven’t activated the microtransactions in Grand Theft Auto Online, which, if that cash went missing, would cause a huge problem.

Rockstar hopes to have an update on the status of the stimulus package rollout soon – which, if all went according to plan, should have released this week – but they wouldn’t say much more than that. It’s important to note as well that Rockstar plans to release the stimulus package as two $250,000 payments, so gamers are only waiting on the first deposit.

All things considered, Grand Theft Auto 5 got off to a huge start, grossing more than $800 million in its first 24 hours. Not only that, Rockstar’s latest is sure to be part of the conversation later this year, as gamers and press outlets prepare their game of the year lists.

However, even though the story mode in Grand Theft Auto 5 is high quality, there will be a dark cloud looming overhead, and inevitably holding the game’s chances of winning back. For several weeks, gamers have discussed whether or not the failures of Grand Theft Auto Online should impact the overall impression of GTA 5with some labeling the multiplayer experience a free add-on and others calling it an integral part of the full retail product. Whatever the case may be the fact of the matter is Rockstar wasn’t prepared for the type of turnout that Grand Theft Auto Online received, and they dropped the ball when it came to squashing problems quickly and efficiently.

According to Rockstar, the worse is behind us, but that doesn’t mean Grand Theft Auto Online is running at optimum strength, as evidenced by this stimulus package delay. It’s funny to think that the compensation for a troubled launch is now experiencing its own launch problems, but such is the case with Grand Theft Auto Online these days.

How do you feel about Grand Theft Auto Online as a whole? Has the promise of $500,000 in faux compensation assuaged your disappointment at all?

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First ‘Grand Theft Auto Online’ Stimulus Package Payment Will Release this Week

After Grand Theft Auto 5 became one of the most highly rated games in recent memory, thanks to an engaging and diverse single player campaign along with refinements to the core franchise formula, buzz quickly turned to frustration with the launch of the title’s multiplayer component, Grand Theft Auto Online. Server errors made it near-impossible for even the most dedicated players to get past the online tutorial and into the free-roam sandbox of Los Santos. Over the coming week, many gamers who managed to get into the mode to start leveling up their customized character, bank cash, as well as purchase home spaces, expensive vehicles, and upgraded weaponry, found that their entire profile had disappeared – and that they would be forced back to square one (and another turn through that notorious tutorial).

Additionally, a variety of glitches have made it possible for gamers to cheat theGTA Online economy (which is still set to introduce micro-transactions) – creating experience-breaking disparities between players who get modest money through completing multiplayer missions and those who’ve made millions by simply reselling the same car ad nauseam (among other tricks). However, in an attempt to make up for all the post-launch problems, Rockstar Games recently announced a $500,000 stimulus reward – with the first installment arriving in player bank accounts this week.

The developer hasn’t provided a specific date for the money, but according to a tweet from the GTA V Social Club, gamers who meet the eligibility requirements will be $250,000 richer before next week.

The first share of the 250k will be deposited in your bank sometime this week. #GTAV #GTAOnline— GTA V Social Club (@GTAVSocialClub) October 21, 2013

A prior tweet from the same Twitter account, days earlier, indicated that the studio was aiming to deliver the money “early” in the week – pending necessary quality assurance on the latest title update (specifically, ensuring that profile problems have been addressed).

That said, we’ll have to wait for further details to find out whether or not the latest report from Rockstar Games means the timing of the stimulus package (part 1) has moved from “early” this week to “sometime” this week. Following the dispersal of the first $250,000, the studio is then expected to release the second half by the end of the month – though, unsurprisingly, they’ve yet to set an official date.

The stimulus is intended as a mea culpa to players who might have lost progress or faced connection problems in the early days of GTA Online – while at the same time offering early players an opportunity to get more real estate, premium cars, and artillery under their belts (which they’ll need in order to compete with glitchers who are flush with cash and resources).

That said, not everyone will be seeing “stimulus” money in their bank accounts, make sure to check out the full eligibility details posted a couple days back (we’ve included the highlights below):
You must play or have played Grand Theft Auto Online at any time during the month of October 2013 in order to qualify for the GTA$500,000 deposit in your in-game bank account.
Players will first have to install a forthcoming GTAV title update which we expect to happen next week. That title update (1.04) is expected to fix the remaining instances of issues that have caused vehicle purchase loss and will also enable the functionality through which we’ll be providing this GTA$ stimulus cash to players.
We will announce at the Rockstar Newswire when each deposit is made.
Each of the two GTA$250,000 deposits will be made by Rockstar and should automatically appear in the in-game GTA Online bank accounts of eligible players. Beyond downloading the forthcoming title update mentioned above, there should not be any additional special action required by eligible players to redeem.

We’ll update you when we hear an official release date for the stimulus deposits. In the meantime, check out which real estate properties you’ll be able to buywith your new-found riches or, in typical GTA fashion, watch Trevor explode cars.

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More ‘Grand Theft Auto 5′ PC Evidence Found, Xbox 360 Digital Version Released

It’s been a little over a month since the release of Grand Theft Auto 5, but Rockstar’s latest installment in the franchise continues to stay in the news on a daily basis. From drama over lost characters and progression thanks to GTA Online’s rocky start to in-game apology packages, console gamers have had nonstop Los Santos action for the past four weeks.

PC gamers, on the other hand, are still waiting for their invitation to the GTAV party and a steady stream of rumors about a PC port have helped fuel the fire. Luckily, more evidence suggests a PC release is indeed being planned.

Just two weeks ago, Intel Director of Marketing for Premium Notebooks Chris Silva showed support for the movement to bring GTAV to PCs, despite acknowledging the financial motivations for keeping the game on the console first. Silva believes that the game won’t remain console exclusive for “very long” and there are over 600,000 petition-signing PC gamers that hope he is right.

Those PC enthusiasts saw another glimmer of hope this week when a user on the Guru3d forum spotted some GTAV code in the latest AMD Catalyst driver:


The code went on to mention some other games including Assassin’s Creed 4and Call of Duty: Ghosts, but GTAV’s inclusion in the list was the only real surprise. Readers that doubt the validity of the forum post can actually follow directions left by Kkn00tn (who found it) on how to locate the file and examine the code for themselves. It’s not a confirmation or official announcement by a long shot, but it is another strong indicator that fans will see a PC port somewhere in the game’s future.

It’s unlikely that Rockstar Games won’t want to bring the highly profitable title to another platform, but PC fans won’t rest until they hear a definite confirmation. Considering the fact that Rockstar’s open-world western, Red Dead Redemption,still hasn’t found its way to the PC (and a sequel may already be on the way), it’s understandable that the PC crowd is a little worried.

There may be no official news for PC users, but console gamers now have an additional option for picking up GTAV. Xbox 360 users no longer need to leave the comfort of their couches to purchase the game, thanks to a digital download available now through Xbox Live. Players can pick up the 7.63 GB download for $59.99.

After the record-breaking sales during the game’s first week, it’s hard to imagine there are too many interested Xbox 360 owners out there that haven’t already picked up the physical copy, but it can’t hurt to give the last remaining holdouts the convenience of a digital option. The digital download may by a good alternative for consumers who are mostly interested in GTA Online and were waiting for the messy launch to settle down. Rockstar is still making updates to the online side of the game, but it is far easier to log in and perform some heists with your crew than it was a week or two ago.

Are you still holding out for a PC port or are you already cruising through Los Santos on a console? Sound off in the comments.

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Rockstar Reduces ‘Grand Theft Auto Online’ Repeated Mission Rewards

It’s no secret that Grand Theft Auto: Online has had its fair share of online drama during the first month of its release. Between both the massive server overload and straight-up disappearing characters, the developer opted to put out an in-game cash injection as an apology to players. Now, as things start to calm down in Grand Theft Auto 5, the latest patch has reduced repeated mission rewards by 50%, meaning players can no longer repeat a high-earning mission over and over to cushion their bank accounts.

Rockstar Games didn’t properly clarify these changes in the patch notes for the latest update, which led to much confusion as gamers replaying their favorite missions suddenly earned half as much cash. When the forums started filling with complaints, Rockstar made a post about the issue and issued an apology for not being clear on the changes.


We apologize that there was not full clarity about this in the patch notes; however, hopefully this note will clear things up. If there are any additional questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

Rockstar has been debating the issue since the launch of the game, as one of the largest strategies for racking up cash was to find fast and large-paying missions. Some gamers found ways to earn millions of dollars within an hour of playtime, which proved to unbalance the economy of the game – something which Rockstar is trying to prevent. They also plan to have a microtransaction system in place (still currently not functional) so players can purchase in-game cash in exchange for real money, which is further incentive for Rockstar to limit such ‘exploitations.’

The update nor Rockstar’s plan of action address the issue that players need to grind or give the developer money in order to earn enough cash to make desirable purchaes but the idea with the reward reduction is to encourage players to continually play new missions, a fair assessment considering that it’s now the only way to consistently make good money. Deathmatch and race bets are still the fastest, though most riskiest, ways to ensure some bang for your buck.


We understand players do like to enjoy a mission multiple times, so rather than remove the possibility of doing so, we’ve allowed replays of these missions at a reduced payout.

Rockstar has been consistently pushing out patches for GTA: Online, so gamers should expect to hear more in the coming weeks. The first of two $250,000 in-game payments is expected next week, which is enough to secure a pretty nice apartment along West Vinewood.

For the moment, there’s been no comment on how this will affect heists once they are implemented into Grand Theft Auto Online.

What do you think about these changes, Ranters? Would you have preferred to be able to replay your favorite missions, or does this make sense for the game as a whole?

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Activision Hopeful ‘Call Of Duty’ Will Eventually Outsell ‘Grand Theft Auto V’

The video game industry has been a little unstable with its expectations in the last few years. Several top franchise games failed to meet lofty revenue goals – despite selling very well in their own right. Resident Evil 6 was deemed to have “fallen short of the plan” despite selling several million copies. Tomb Raider, which sold 3.8 million copies at the time of the report, was deemed an “extraordinary loss” by Square Enix. Some blame the high expectations on Call of Duty with companies pumping more and more money into their games to try and replace the military shooter as one of the industry’s most consistent sellers.

Funnily enough, now it seems like Activision might be beginning to overestimate what is feasible for the series. Just a few weeks ago Grand Theft Auto V became the most successful entertainment franchise ever. Making $1 billion in just 3 days, the success of the game was extraordinary. Prior to that, Call of Duty: Black Ops was the most successful video game title and it seems like Activision isn’t willing to let that record go just yet.

In a conversation with MCV, Activision’s UK senior brand manager Kevin Flynn said that the company has desires to be top dog by the time Grand Theft Auto 6 is out.

“Congratulations to the team at Rockstar for their success, We look forward to getting the record back before the next GTA title”

While Call of Duty remains one of the industry’s most consistent moneymakers, it has begun to see a slow decline in sales over the last few years. On top of that, Activision revealed that the number of pre-orders for Call of Duty: Ghosts have been a little lower than expected – subsequently blaming the discrepancy on confusion over the next generation launch. Piling the odds against the game even further, this year they’ll be up against Battlefield 4, which is expected to be chasing sales records as well.

Despite all that against the game, Activision is confident that Call of Duty: Ghostswill be a major success and that it will beat all of their immediate competitors. Flyn iterated that by saying:


“We know that our unaided awareness for Ghosts is leading the way against other unreleased triple-A titles. Our digital content has proven extremely popular and Black Ops II has sold more than 3m units in the UK.”

Call of Duty: Ghosts has a lot to overcome if it wants to even come close to GTA V‘s sales numbers. Even so, Activision seems confident that even if it isn’t Call of Duty: Ghosts, their flagship franchise will hold the record again by the time Rockstar release the next game in the Grand Theft Auto series.

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Call of Duty: Ghosts releases November 5, 2013 for the PC, PS3, Wii U, and Xbox 360; November 15th for the PS4; and November 22nd for the Xbox One.

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Rockstar: Lost ‘Grand Theft Auto Online’ Characters are Gone Forever

After almost two weeks of sever connection and lost progress problems, it appears that the worst of Grand Theft Auto Online‘s issues are behind us. Gamers who were unable to login to Grand Theft Auto 5‘s multiplayer experience at launch, are now able to roam the streets of Los Santos with complete and utter freedom.

However, although Grand Theft Auto Online is now working properly, the sting of lost characters, progress, and items has not disappeared completely. Gamers were still hopeful that they might hop onto GTA Online and find that their character had been returned to them. Unfortunately, as Rockstar Games has just revealed, that doesn’t look likely.

In an official statement on Rockstar’s site, the Grand Theft Auto 5 developer confirms gamers’ worst fears: the developer will not be able to restore any lost characters or progress. There were several reasons that players lost their progress or lost their character – many of them stemming back to failed connections with the cloud server – and while those issues have been corrected with two updates, the damage cannot be undone.

For those asking about their lost characters or rank, those will not be able to be restored so we sincerely hope that this cash stimulus we’re giving out this month will help you get back on your feet or to make your new life in Los Santos & Blaine extra sweet.

Rockstar is hopeful, though, that the $500,000 “stimulus package” they issued as compensation last week will make the sting of losing a character easier to swallow. For those gamers that were never even able to login to Grand Theft Auto Online, the stimulus package is free money – a chance to upgrade their multiplayer experience right out of the gate. But for those who did lose characters, the stimulus package might only serve as a reminder of Grand Theft Auto Online‘s troubles, and the hours that were lost to the ether.

When Rockstar first announced they were working on updates for Grand Theft Auto Online, the developer was hopeful (as were gamers) that they would be able to restore any and all lost multiplayer progress. Now that we know that is not the case, it further colors the overall impression of GTA online.

Sure, the multiplayer experience was seen by some as an added bonus to Grand Theft Auto 5‘s Story Mode, but there’s no denying that when a multiplayer game, of any kind, is “broken” at launch it’s disappointing. And when it’s one of the most highly anticipated games of the year that means even more gamers are affected. Hopefully, as Rockstar says, the worst is behind us.

Are you disappointed to learn Rockstar will not be able to restore gamers’ missing characters? Do you think the stimulus package is a fair trade-off/apology?

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Grand Theft Auto 5: Trevor’s Voice Actor Gets Up Close & Personal At NYCC

Right before Grand Theft Auto V went about making a billion dollars and breaking several world records, Steven Ogg was just a hard working but little known Canadian actor with a few bit parts to his name. Now, he is part of the most successful entertainment release of all time.

Embodying the unstable Trevor Phillips, Ogg has brought to life a fan-favorite character who is on the wild side with genuine layers of emotional complexity. It is probably a safe bet to say his agent’s phone is ringing a little more than before Rockstar‘s flagship title went on sale.

As comes with geek fandom, this weekend Steven Ogg along with the co-stars Ned Luke (Michael) and Shawn Fonteno (Franklin) took part in an panel at the New York Comic Con hosted by IGN‘s Greg Miller. Also coming with the convention scene are the awkward requests from fans when it comes to ask questions at the end of a panel. One such fan took to the microphone to ask Trevor to swear at him. You can see exactly what happened in the video below. It is pretty surprising.

It is always fun to see an actor embody a character in the convention space. Just yesterday Troy Baker channeled the Joker in front of live audience, but Steven Ogg made this request just a little more personal. Grand Theft Auto V used the likeness of all their actors so as you see Ogg marching towards an excited fan in full Trevor mode, it gives us just a small look behind the polygons and into Ogg’s performance.

It would be great to see some behind the scenes footage of each of the actor’s process in bringing the characters of Los Santos to life. Rockstar has been fairly secretive of their process in the past, especially where their actors actors are concerned. Perhaps in a future re-release of the game we might see some scenes as they were recorded, but don’t hold your breath. Hopefully they are more open about it going forward as it is certainly something that would be interesting to see as part of future Rockstar games.

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Rockstar Gifting In-Game Stimulus Packages For ‘rand Theft Auto Online’ Issues

It’s refreshing to know that Rockstar Games is not ignorant to the issues that most players have been dealing with when attempting to play Grand Theft Auto Online. After its problematic launch on October 1st, players were lucky if they could get passed the dreaded tutorial screen, which looped due to issues with the online feature included in the game.

There existed a laundry list full of issues that made the game virtually unplayable even if you were fortunate enough to make it passed the ‘Mall or Nothing’ glitch. The uproar of fans hit Rockstar hard, and the quick turnaround - which included several updates - has fixed some of the key issues that plague the online multiplayer. With fans in mind, Rockstar has decided to provide a stimulus package to further rectify the disaster that was GTA Online and bring back a little happiness to the unfriendly online environment of the game.

This stimulus package includes half a million dollars of in-game currency that can be used for anything online. In order to receive the compensation, the Rockstar Newswire states that you need to be an active player.

“You must play or have played Grand Theft Auto Online at any time during the month of October 2013 in order to qualify for the GTA$500,000 deposit in your in-game bank account.”

The money will be transferred into the accounts of players in two separate deposits, which will “… keep the current worldwide in-game economy balanced.” The first deposit of $250,000 will be made after Rockstar fixes the game progress issue that has also been infringing upon player’s online experience. The second deposit of another $250,000 will be administered at the end of October.

This stimulus package is meant to enhance the player’s online experience in Grand Theft Auto 5. Money is the most important asset when playing online, and it is the key to many of the luxuries within the game. This will create a bevy of opportunities for players that are having trouble generate a steady income from missions and store robberies that pay very little.

There isn’t much more that Rockstar could do to amend the problems that people have had with GTA Online - outside of balancing the mission rewards – and giving all players an equal amount of cash doesn’t quite make up for the players who’ve lost their expensive cars or worse, a character they’ve spent hours working on. The negative feedback that Rockstar is receiving is certainly justified, but this stimulus package illustrates their desire to win back players they may have lost in the process.

The launch of the multiplayer mode in an effort by Rockstar to improve upon their somewhat weak online offerings in the past – for a game of this caliber and high acclaim – was a complete disaster, and no one is more aware of this than Rockstar themselves. The online feature of Grand Theft Auto 5 will likely go down as one of the biggest catastrophes of at least this year, another on the list of online launch fails (joining Diablo 3 and SimCity), but the stimulus package may soften the blow, and benefit all who experienced the earlier version of Grand Theft Auto Online.

With $500,000 in the bank, players can buy themselves the best currently available apartment in the game which includes a 10-car garage or they can buy themselves the sexy $440,000 Infernus (based on on real-life Lamborghini Murciélago) and still have money to spare on a few upgrades. Just don’t die when you get the money – those hospital bills add up.

What are your thoughts about this stimulus package? Do you think fans will forgive and forget as a result? Do you think Rockstar will continue the gift giving to help fans feel better about all of the issues?

Expect two deposits of $250,000 dollars each in your GTA Online account as the month of October continues.

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‘Grand Theft Auto Online’ First Impressions – Is It Any Good?

Grand Theft Auto Online has been under a lot of heat since its “release” on October 1st. Rockstar Games recently addressed these issues, and they are currently being worked on to better serve the community. It’s frustrating that many players – including a lot of the Game Rant team – cannot connect after several days but the multiplayer server issues are at least understandable considering the sheer player volume from selling over 15 million units in two weeks.

For the lucky few who have been able to consistently connect to the online feature, consider yourself fortunate. The servers were flooded the first few nights, and establishing a connection to anything online was nearly impossible unless you had time and patience. So, now that some of us have made it past the tutorial choke point and are our adventuring around online Los Santos, has the wait (and frustration) been worth it?

Right off the bat GTA Online allows players to create two separate characters (more slots can be unlocked later). After choosing a character slot, the next screen opens up character customization which uses ancestry to create a player. The appearance of your grandparents affect the appearance of your parents, and the appearance of your parents affect your character’s appearance. The customization is fairly basic – with limited choices of faces for your grandparents/parents and sliders for how similar the next generation should appear. Other than choices for ethnicity and gender, the rest depends on the ancestry combinations.

There’s also a lifestyle tab where players select what their chosen character does on a daily basis with 24 hours to spend. Some of these activities include; partying, doing illegal work, sitting on the couch, sleeping, etc. How often your character does each of these activities impacts their starting appearance and skills. Beyond the lifestyle tab is the appearance tab, which allows for fine-tuning customization: age, hair, beard, hat, glasses, and t-shirt style. After fully customizing your character, you may enter the world of Grand Theft Auto Online.

The experience begins with the player character arriving in Los Santos, greeted at the airport by none other than Lamar – Franklin’s friend in the main storyline – kicking off the infamous online tutorial. This unfortunately, is where many players get stuck at an infinite loading screen due to Rockstar Games’ server issues.

When the game actually works, at the conclusion of the cutscene the character is placed into a race with Lamar – and other online players. Winning the race means obtaining the first source of currency for your character; however, there are manyother ways of earning money later. After the race the character is thrown into a world filled with non-playable characters as well as other online players. Here the character will finish the tutorial, and have the opportunity to accomplish other tasks before roaming free.

Whilst roaming free, the opportunity arises to buy clothing and weapons for the selected character. At this point you can now meet up with your gang -provided that you have one – and you can accomplish a variety of tasks around the open world. There is a lot of fun to be had with simply doing what you please with some friends, or random people that you meet online. There is certain feeling of surrealism about being able to play a Grand Theft Auto game of this size and depth online.

In comparison to GTA IV’s online multiplayer, the city of Los Santos is much more open and varied, with seemingly no limitations to how far you can travel. Perhaps its the sheer size of the world that created significant issues with environments often being slow to load, and some grey areas can be noticed on the screen at times where missing textures should be.

Players will often encounter unprovoked attacks by other online players, a problem that was prevalent in the disappointing – albeit hilariously fun at times – online mode of Red Dead Redemption. This can be pestering, especially when trying to complete the forced tutorial. Some issues may also arise with basic gameplay mechanics, namely the aiming auto-locks on occasion, and it can be obtrusive in the heat of a gun fight.

Some of the NPCs – the police especially – can make the online experience difficult as well. Accomplishing a task when practically everything your character does triggers the reaction of a cop is not simple. It may not be the most polished or impressive online multiplayer game – and there are some updates required – butGrand Theft Auto is quite simply, fun, especially when playing with friends.

Delving more into the finer features of GTA Online, there are many jobs throughout the city for players to take on and progress their characters. For each successfully completed job, players earn money, job points, and reputation points. The purpose of the job points hasn’t been made clear, but the reputation points help increase your rank.

Jobs and activities include many similar tasks from the singleplayer campaign, including races, capture the package, parachuting, and other more story-based missions. Capture the package is a lot of fun, pitting up to sixteen players against each other with the goal of retrieving the package and bringing it to an extraction point before the opposing team. There are also more traditional gametypes such as deathmatch.

Through the adversity of establishing a connection to the online servers, Grand Theft Auto Online seems to be worth the hardship. Once you get past the minor glitches and lag, there is a lot to discover in the online world of Los Santos, and they add an element of replay value that is hard to come by these days. A lot of online multiplayer games lose their luster after a few months. GTA Online however, appeals to the casual and competitive nature of gamers, but with a promise of constant growth via updates and DLC. Whether you’re leveling up by successfully completing jobs or starting wars with random online players, the sky is clearly the limit with GTA Online…. when it’s working.

Be sure to check out our singleplayer review for Grand Theft Auto V.

What has your experience been with Grand Theft Auto Online? Have you been able to connect to any servers? What are some of your favorite things to do in Los Santos?

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‘Grand Theft Auto Online’ Update Coming As Soon As Tomorrow [UPDATED]

While the launch of Grand Theft Auto Online has not gone over smoothly (to say the least), gamers should know that Rockstar Games is working on it. Shortly after GTA Online went live, Rockstar released a detailed list of known issues in an attempt to reassure players that their complaints were not falling on deaf ears. But the main problem with GTA Online was that gamers simply couldn’t login to the multiplayer experience, or in some cases get past the bottlenecking tutorial.

Today, however, we have news that should put gamers disappointed by the launch of Grand Theft Auto Online at ease: an update is on the way. Rockstar confirmed the patch with an addendum to their previous post saying that the update should go live as early as tomorrow, October the 4th.

While Rockstar did not provide any details for the patch, presumably it would smooth over all of the more prevalent issues. In other words, it would let us finally experience this expansive multiplayer experience we’ve been hearing so much about.

We’re currently working on a title update for both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 to address commonly reported issues with GTA Online. We hope to have it out for download as soon as tomorrow.

For those who haven’t been keeping up with the latest on Grand Theft Auto Online, there have been some additional updates since launch. Rockstar has disabled the purchase of GTA$ in GTA Online so that if money starts disappearing it won’t be real money. We hate to say we saw this coming when Rockstar announced microtransactions for GTA Online, but Diablo 3 has taught us allowing real money in an online experience can sometimes come back to bite the developer.

Some gamers have also found a workaround for the PS3 version of Grand Theft Auto 5 that grants them access to the tutorial mission for GTA Online. Simply delete the Title Update from the PS3 XMB (found in the Game Data Utility folder) and re-download it.

As well, gamers have found that selecting “Swap Character” from the Online tab, deleting that character, and creating a new one does the trick. Although Rockstar endorses them, we have yet to test these workarounds for ourselves, so don’t expect them to be necessarily be 100% fixes.

The good news is that Rockstar is working on an update for the PS3 and Xbox 360 version of Grand Theft Auto 5 to improve GTA Online. Hopefully, by this time tomorrow gamers will finally be unleashing mayhem on the streets of Los Santos.

[UPDATE: The PS3 update for Grand Theft Auto Online went live early Friday morning and the Xbox 360 version is expected shortly.]

Are you happy that an update for Grand Theft Auto Online is finally on the way? Do you think Rockstar handled the login problems appropriately?

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Rockstar Has ’45 Years’ Worth of Ideas; Working On ‘Grand Theft Auto 5′ DLC

Having just come off the incredible successes of Grand Theft Auto 5 and nowlaunching attempting to launch Grand Theft Auto Online, you could forgive Rockstar for only worrying about the here and now. That is largely the case as they have reiterated that they aren’t looking at any active development into GTA VI yet, but that doesn’t mean Rockstar has only been thinking about the present though.

In an interview with Develop, it was revealed that Rockstar has actually put in a fair amount of thought as to where they are going. A lot of thought, in fact. Studio president Leslie Benzies revealed that the developer has a ton of ideas, nearly half a century’s worth to be exact. When asked about the future of Rockstar Games, Leslie Benzies rather emphatically replied:

“We’ve got about 45 years worth of ideas we want to do.”

While the literal meaning should obviously be taken with a pinch of salt, it is interesting that the creative team up at Rockstar North have such an abundance of ideas and (well-earned) confidence. There can’t be too much weight in the claim as there is close to no practicality in making such a long-term plan in an ever-evolving industry. But for an industry that is sometimes accused of not having enoughideas, it is good to know that the Grand Theft Auto creators have plenty in the bank and the time and money to realize them.

Although many of those ideas will not be GTA titles, their flagship franchise is where the companies current plans lie. Talking in the more immediate future, Benzies said that Grand Theft Auto VI isn’t on their minds just yet as they’re currently focusing on building GTA Online, along with DLC for Grand Theft Auto V.

“We don’t know what GTA VI will be, but we’ve got some ideas. GTA Onlineis the focus right now. There ain’t no rest between finishing V and then Online. Plus we have some other things – stuff, DLC, I don’t know how to describe it exactly – that we’d like to do, and we’ll pick the right ones.”

If Rockstar can come up with something half as inventive as what they did with the Undead Nightmare DLC for Red Dead Redemption, then players will most certainly be in for a treat.

What kind of direction would you like to see Rockstar go over the next few years? What kind of DLC would you like to see for Grand Theft Auto V? For more, read our list of 5 cities we’d like to see in Grand Theft Auto 6!

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‘Grand Theft Auto 5′ PC Petition Surpasses 550,000 Signatures

Two weeks have passed since Grand Theft Auto 5 was released for the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 and fans of Rockstar’s action-adventure franchise have undoubtedly been clocking in plenty of hours in the world of Los Santos. Players that braved the connectivity issues were even able to get their first taste of Grand Theft Auto Online last night. Although console owners are living it up in Rockstar’s latest sandbox, PC gamers are still anxiously awaiting an official announcement of a PC port of GTA5. Instead of waiting quietly, an impressive number of PC gamers are making it their mission to remind Rockstar to let them in on the fun.

A petition to bring GTA 5 to the PC is rapidly approaching its million signature target. At this point, over 570,000 supporters have taken the time to endorse the petition. The fact that the petition has only been live for a week and has already surpassed the half million mark should help rule out any possible doubts about PC gamers’ interest in purchasing GTA 5.

The petition’s creator, Mike Julliard, set the online petition up so each new signature would trigger a notification email directed at Rockstar. He has since added the distributor, Take-Two Interactive, to the list of recipients. It’s unlikely that the petition will have any real impact on Rockstar’s decision about if and when to release GTA 5 for the PC, but it’s certainly a question we’re all waiting to hear the answer to.

Last November, Rockstar vice president Dan Houser said that the studio hadn’t ruled out releasing the newest GTA sequel on additional platforms and admitted that GTA 5 for PC was “up for consideration.” Just a few weeks ago, Houser spoke out about potential ports for GTA 5 again and delivered a clear message that Rockstar is not interested in bringing the game to next-gen consoles at this time. The Rockstar VP didn’t mention the PC in his statement, so there is still hope.

Fans of GTA 4 may recall the seven month window of time between the game’s release on consoles (Xbox 360 and PS3) and its port to the PC. With no official word from Rockstar yet, it seems increasingly likely that no matter how many signatures Mike Julliard’s petition gathers, PC players will have at least a few months left of waiting before they can start boosting cars in Los Santos.

It may sound silly for Rockstar to sit by silently while over a half million fans claim they want to shell out $60 for a PC version, but GTA 5 is already pulling in plenty of dough without any help from PC sales. Xbox 360 and PS3 owners swarmed stores when the game was released and picked up an estimated 15 million units in the first week alone. Combine those sales figures with whatever revenue is generated by microtransactions in GTA Online and it becomes pretty clear that the game is already a cash cow.

GTA 5′s solid review scores and word-of-mouth popularity will likely help the theoretical PC port move plenty of extra units whether it is released a month or eight months from now. Would you be less likely to buy a PC version of GTA 5 if it wasn’t released until after the 2013 holiday season?

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‘Grand Theft Auto Online’ Launch Connection Problems & Support FAQ Detailed by Rockstar Games

After the unprecedented success of the Grand Theft Auto 5 release, eyes quickly turned to October 1st – when the game’s multiplayer component Grand Theft Auto Online was set to launch. Considering that over 15 million copies of the game have sold to date, Rockstar Games previously predicted that players would likely encounter errors in the opening hours of GTA Online availability (especially since the multiplayer component was never opened-up to public beta testing). In order to keep the online component under wraps, along with many of the subsequent gameplay details, the developer had relied on internal testing to prepare for a much larger public launch.

As a result, it should come as no surprise that when Rockstar Games released a new title update for Grand Theft Auto 5 on both PS3 and Xbox 360, which included assets to unlock the GTA Online mode, eager gamers flooded the servers – resulting in a host of connectivity problems and network errors that have left many stuck offline.

To address the (heated) frustration of gamers who somehow expected the launch to go-off without a hitch, the developer has setup a series of support documents to keep players updated on the status of Grand Theft Auto Online as well as address isolated issues that are not the result of the overloaded servers.

Rockstar Games has instructed that any affected players keep an eye on the @RockstarSupport Twitter feed as well as their official GTA Online Launch Status page. Currently, at the time of this writing, the Rockstar Support feed is full of @reply apologies to angry or concerned gamers – accompanied by links to the aforementioned Launch Status page. Still, Twitter users would be wise to keep an eye on the account – since it will likely provide the most up-to-date info once the servers are back up and running.

Nevertheless, gamers will find the following responses to the situation over at the official Rockstar Games support site:

Question: I’m having problems getting into GTA Online! Is there a list of issues Rockstar is looking into, so I can stay informed about the status of fixes for known launch issues?

Answer: We will be updating this page as often as possible with the status of issues we are aware of and looking into. If you would like to receive an automatic email notification whenever major updates are posted, please log into the Support Site and click Subscribe at the top of this page.
Occasional “Rockstar Cloud Servers Unavailable” error message
Freezing sometimes while loading into first race in GTAO with “waiting for other players” on the screen
Intermittent “Failed to Host a GTA Online Session” error messages
Race Corona (start area, marker) occasionally not showing up for first race
Errors saying “Timed out when matchmaking for a compatible GTA Online Session to join”
Occasional errors about jobs failing to start or load
General issues with the Social Club site and Social Club features (slow loading, failed logins, emails not arriving, etc). For more information on Social Club status, please see :http://support.rockstargames.com/hc/en-us/articles/200357093

We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience while we work to resolve this.

Any players who are experiencing a different issues can check other frequently asked questions over at the page or vent about/discuss the launch problems in the site’s Trending Questions which include topics like “Worst Online Launch Ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” and “People, chill out. They are working hard.”

As previously mentioned, large-scale roll-outs for online modes in Halo 4 as well as other high-profile multiplayer shooters are typically tested in beta first (and built on the foundation and lessons of previous installments). While Grand Theft Auto 4included a limited online mode, GTA Online has been designed entirely from the ground up and was not tested on a large scale – meaning that even though Rockstar Games likely predicted a massive surge of player interest, they could not know with absolute certainty every problem that the traffic would cause.

For now, there’s little (to nothing) that gamers can do to resolve the issues on their own – so it’s best to just be patient and enjoy polishing off more single player missions for a while. Even though Rockstar Games is hard at work on stabilizing the multiplayer component, so players can enjoy Los Santos online, it could be several days before the issue is fully resolved – with the possibility that gamers will continue to face sporadic connection issues (especially at peak times) for several weeks. Without question, the developer will get the experience fixed and, despite a stumble out the gate, there’s plenty of reason to believe that Grand Theft Auto Online will provide worthwhile and unique multiplayer gaming for years to come – especially considering Rockstar Games has promised that GTA Online will evolve with its players.

In the meantime, get your Grand Theft Auto fix by reading our Grand Theft Auto 5 Easter Eggs Guide or discussing your picks for the 5 Worst Grand Theft AutoGameplay Mechanics.

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‘Grand Theft Auto 5′: Rockstar Working on Missing Vehicles Fix

With any large sprawling open world game there are bound to be some problems out of the gate. Such is the case with Grand Theft Auto 5, and a recent problem with some of the game’s vehicles.

Many gamers are reporting that vehicles have started disappearing after completing some missions and then checking their garage. This wouldn’t be too much of a disappointment otherwise, but because GTA 5 includes new vehicle upgrades many gamers are losing out on their purchases.

Luckily, Rockstar Games is well aware of the problem and is working on a fix for Grand Theft Auto 5. Their solution in the mean time is to avoid “parking a car in a garage, driving one already in a garage, or getting in a default vehicle, when playing as a character other than the one with your upgrades.”

Rockstar Games has also set-up an e-mail notification to alert gamers whenever the fix goes live. All gamers need to do is head to the Support Site and click “Subscribe” at the top of the page. That way, any gamers who wanted to putGrand Theft Auto 5 on the back burner (if that’s even possible) until the fix won’t miss any more play time than they need to.

In the grand scheme of things, the vehicle disappearing problem is small potatoes when compared to the types of problems we have seen in other open world games. One such issue that has become prevalent far too often in open world games is a game save bug that inflates the save file and eventually makes the game unplayable.

We saw it with The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim on PS3 and it was a major problem for Borderlands 2 on all systems. In other words, if a disappearing vehicle is the most annoying problem in Grand Theft Auto 5, it might be worth accepting. Imagine being unable to play one of the biggest games of the year.

We also just posted our early impressions post for Grand Theft Auto 5 for any anxious to read our thoughts. Our full review of Rockstar’s latest opus should go live very soon so stick tuned to Game Rant for that as well.

Have you encountered the disappearing vehicle glitch in Grand Theft Auto 5? Are there any other problems you have noticed in the game?

Grand Theft Auto 5 is out now for the PS3 and Xbox 360.

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‘Grand Theft Auto 5′ Impressions: One Week Later

Leading up to the release, arguably the most notable aspect of Grand Theft Auto 5 was the size and scope. Starting out, GTA 5 is eager to place you back in its sunny and breezy take on Los Angeles in a way that packs a punch, too. The first 10 minutes or so drop players in the thick of a heist in progress in the backwoods throes of some Midwestern town called Ludendorff, North Yankton. The blizzard conditions, the crunchy snow, the dead trees, the coats, the hats, the ice, the tire chains makes the abrupt cut to Los Santos that much more potent.

In the blink of an eye we are transported from the frigid Ludendorff to the sunny Los Santos. More or less substituting the prototypical cinematic opening cutscene Rockstar Games is known (and often much-maligned) for with one much more interactivity.

The map is so enormous that Rockstar found it necessary to break it into three chunks and give each chunk a character that defines it. Franklin Clinton, the up-and-comer, gets the urban sprawl. Michael De Santa, the retired ex-con, gets the grandiose hills and houses of the filthy rich. Trevor Philips, the sweaty maniac, gets the dusty rest – along with some wilderness. These characters, despite being capable of reprehensible crimes of unfathomable magnitudes, are pretty likable. The choice to use three interchangeable characters for one game’s cohesive and singular story, while seemingly radical when first announced, sticks the landing. There’s something for all stripes.

Michael is the foundation of a winning story who is astoundingly relatable and downright cool in a Tony Soprano way. Franklin is an enjoyable complement – and the prime choice for automobile-loving players. With early missions featuring his friend Lamar, Franklin picks up Kenan & Kel vibe – if Kel preferred kidnapping people to drinking orange soda. And Trevor? Trevor is for lunatics. With an unhinged inhibition for unthinkable chaos – merged with his spiky personality and penchant for bizarre clothes and guttural grunts, it was long predicted he’d be a fan favorite. One week after release and Trevor is well on his way to GTA icon status – and possibly the face of this series installment.

However, for all the previously untouched territory Rockstar enjoys exploring, they also visit a bunch of overly familiar tropes from their past games – and hammer them home all over again. We encounter the shady foreign first-missions guy in Simeon Yetarian – who draws more than a few parallels to Grand Theft Auto 4‘s Vlad Glebov. There’s the same insane devil-may-care coke heads and irresponsible friends that put the protagonists in “Aw man, I really don’t want to do this!” situations. The satire is so shamelessly biting this time around that things suddenly get awfully meta when even modern violent video games are a target, too.

The soundtrack is more than passable but, comparatively, GTA 4‘s music provided a distinct personality that GTA 5 lacks. Despite some less memorable music choices, the radio hosts succeed (for the most part). Iggy Pop is gone but Lazlow is back, Bootsy Collins on Space 103.2 is a fun presence, and British supermodel Cara Delevigne makes a surprisingly lovable turn as the host of Non Stop Pop FM.

Beyond the radio, the cars are largely the same in terms of quality and performance as in series past - if not slightly better. The mechanics have improved: vehicles flip around a bit more but the days of having to abandon a car after it was stuck upside down are gone – as the player can now flip the car over and resume fast-paced mayhem.

While you’ll have to wait for our official review, gamers are already busy debating whether or not GTA 5 is a slight improvement over the past installment – or just a great game that doesn’t quite hit the daunting bar set by its predecessor. Improving on a game as nearly flawless as GTA 4 is an ambitious task but GTA 5 isn’t as drastically different from the last entry as some might have hoped. The rusty metal and damp streets of Liberty City have been swapped out with leafy greens and dusty ditches – which is aesthetically beautiful and rich – but gameplay mostly consists tweaks (both major and minor) – not a total overhaul. That said, the game’s multiplayer component is not yet live – so it’s hard to judge the new title’s full potential at this point. Still, for now, the location and choice of protagonists (as opposed to the guts of the game) is the most radical difference.

We’ll have our full Grand Theft Auto 5 review up soon but, in the meantime, stay tuned to Game Rant for further updates!

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‘GTA 5′ Multiplayer To Support 32-Player Modes? Bigfoot Spotted!

As 100% of everybody who has ever heard of “video games” knows, Grand Theft Auto 5 has come out and it came out with a predictable bang. With it’s unprecedented ascension to one billion dollars in sales and nearly unanimous reviews saying that it is one of the greatest games, if not the greatest game, ever released, this bang was not the bang of a gun or a grenade but a bang practically of nuclear bomb caliber. This fanfare inexplicably exists independent of the impending Grand Theft Auto Online feature which is shaping up to be an institution all in itself when it goes live in October.

What we already know is that GTA Online is slated to give free reign to the entirety of Los Santos’ 49 square-mile map and will take place after the conclusion of GTAV‘s story mode. Total customization, money and ranking systems are going to be key. Your character’s ability to take selfies will return if that’s the kind of thing that gets you going. Most notably is that Online is going to have a constantly updating list of 500 missions to do at any given time, with 700 missions altogether. That is indeed a staggering prospect.

As gamers dedicate their lives to total chaos come this October, how many friends (or strangers) will be able to accompany them simultaneously? Up until recently, it was known GTA Online will support 16 players at once. Whether they choose to do the missions or to just steal cars, shoot Kifflom guys, punch sharks and smoke pot in their apartments is up to them. And whether other gamers choose to assassinate those shark-punchers and pot smokers would be up to them. Now, thanks to CinemaBlend, it looks as if the previously confirmed 16 will be doubled to 32. Apparently some new specifics were able to be isolated from the assets of the game via torrents of GTAV. This news about the number 32 is incredibly unsubstantiated as of this writing – it seems almost impossibly ambitious – and Rockstar Games is pretty ticked off anybody is even talking about it. Still, it is, undoubtedly, looking like 32 will be the cap of players at a time.

Furthermore, while that multiplayer news may have made you excited, just wait until you get to this news about Bigfoot! Boys and girls, he’s back in San Andreas and it’s not just a myth this time around. It didn’t take long for this to come to light, and Polygon already has video. Whether this is or isn’t Big F is hardly up to debate. What else could it be? Unless it’s Robin Williams in Jumanji or Louie CK dressed up as a gorilla, there’s little doubt it’s The ‘Squatch.

This comes as resounding proof that Rockstar listens to its audience, as if we needed it. There is no question that Bigfoot’s possible presence in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was the myth from the game that got the most mileage. Rumors still persist 9 years out, despite Rockstar’s co-founder Terry Donovan flat-out saying “there is no Bigfoot.” Other than mods, while it’s sad to admit, there was no Sasquatch in that iteration. However, the tides have changed. Before the game even came out, the fact that Bigfoot makes up literally 25% of the Los Santos Police Department’s shield logo raised eyebrows nearly off of foreheads. Now resounding proof exists that Sassy is in the woods, even if there’s no evidence he roams or makes any more than one single blink-and-miss-it cameo.

Other than Bigfoot, a confirmed rumor has hit the net that ghosts return; or at least one ghost. Spoiling this too much would ruin the fun, so all I will say is that you ought to go to the peak of Mt. Gorton at some point between 11:00 – midnight to witness something utterly terrifying that will make you thank your lucky stars that you aren’t San Andreas gubernatorial candidate Jock Cranley. Vaguely alluded to in the game is that there is a dramatic election for Governor between Sue Murry and Jock Cranley transpiring. The inclusion of this chilling easter egg opens up a hopeful possibility that we might see more of this election with the release of DLC. Either that, or it creates a line of thought that Sue Murry is actually a demonic bloody spirit of a dead woman or an exorcist of hellish terror.

Other rumors engendered from the last visit to San Andreas in 2004 include aliens, sharks and the Loch Ness Monster. Surprisingly, the aliens have been revisited (notably in collection tasks, a stranger mission, under the sea and under a bridge off the beaten path in the prologue) and the sharks have been known to appear for months. Nessie has yet to be found. It’s also too early to say if there are any ghost cars or Piggsy in the woods. We’ll put that down as inconclusive. We also don’t know the name of the massive shark that can be found in the ocean that uses beefy human legs to swim. Of course, that myth has been totally made up on the spot by me. One thing we know is that myths have often extended the replayability of GTA games astoundingly, so the inclusion of actual easter eggs that reference past speculation is very welcomed.

You heard it here first, though. Anyone who can get us evidence of Game Rant‘s Beefy Human-Legged Shark wins the internet.

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‘Grand Theft Auto V’ May Become the Highest Rated Game Ever

After 4 years and over $250 million, Rockstar Games‘ iconic series has made its triumphant return this week with Grand Theft Auto V. The instant smash hit title has raked in $800 million in its first day alone, and is poised to set records across the board – namely for breaking the $1 billion barrier in the shortest amount of time. To put this in perspective: in a single day, GTA 5 has sold the same number of copies that its predecessor did in a year. Sales aside, however, it also appears that the landmark open-world game is set to break another huge record.

Currently, Metacritic holds GTA 5 at the top of its charts with a 98% average for the Xbox 360 version, and 97% for the PS3 version. The only other game in history to achieve this has, of course, been GTA 4. With a staggering 37 perfect scores from around the globe and online, hype is only increasing for the game that has literally made people go crazy. With so much success already under its belt, the mythical 99% average score could be in Rockstar’s near future.

While GTA 5 has been hijacking its way towards the pinnacle of critical acclaim, its Metacritic user scores sit at 83% for the PS3 version, and 82% for Xbox 360. While this is still a fantastic achievement, fan favorites such as Half-Life 2 and Super Mario Galaxy 2 top those charts without a doubt. With that in mind, is it possible that reviewers may have jumped the gun? Users have already begun experiencing bugs, game freezing and install issues, and while this is to be expected with a brand new release, there is a clear distinction between reviewer scores and user scores.

Ranters, it’s safe to assume you have already jumped into GTA 5 with both feet, so tell us what you think! Is Rockstar Games’ next iteration of its infamous franchise worthy of its praise? Only time will tell how the it holds up over time, but with Grand Theft Auto Online ready to make its move, it’s clear that Rockstar intends to keep the game fresh and exciting for as long as possible.

Grand Theft Auto V is developed by Rockstar Games, and is currently available for Xbox 360 and PS3.

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