Grand Theft Auto Online will launch at around 12PM UK time, with Rockstar teasing that there are “just hours remaining until the initial launch” of the multiplayer component. This will naturally be completely free to access if you own a copy of Grand Theft Auto V.
All that’s needed is a small patch, and then you’ll be able to jump right into the 16 player online mode by selecting the bottom slot on your character wheel. Story-wise, these GTA Online missions are set a few months prior to GTA V, so don’t worry if you haven’t completed the game, but expect plenty of prequel goodness.
They’ve also detailed the invites you can send and “parties” you can have, where inviting people into your home will be a strictly friendly affair, meaning no-one will be able to shoot up the place. If two players in a lobby both own the same property, then those players will be able to enter the individual instances of their property, though also the other player’s if they accept an invite, meaning these can co-exist in game, which seems like a great way to do things.
Rockstar are still confident that the microtransactions won’t disrupt the balance of the game, as the rank system will prevent players from gaining an unfair advantage. It won’t be a grind, either, and they’re making sure of this with constant title updates and tweaks to the gameplay.
In that way, it will constantly be built upon to become an even better experience in the coming weeks, months and even beyond that. This means that while there are already a massive amount of Jobs, more will become available, and user generated content will be pushed later this year.
In terms of character creation, there’s an interesting hereditary system in place, which means you choose your mother and father to base your character upon, as well as their gender, before selecting traits which affect appearance and starting stats. So, you can be fair faced or rather grizzly, it’s completely up to you. The haircuts, clothing and accessories can then be bought in-game for your character.
Social Club members will also get access to exclusive items, which you can see above, as well as the ability for more customisation options and even a John Marston parent option, so you can make yourself a real cowboy. Stay tuned for an exact release time.
It’s going to be a blast. We’ll no doubt have some thoughts on the game as soon as we can, though we’re still working out exactly how to tackle it – what would you like to see from TSA?
Source: Rockstar
Bambo_19
Cant Wait for online! Managed to get to 94% today, its not 100% like Crazy_Del but its close enough. :)
freezebug2
Haha ditto 94%, just collectibles left which can wait. I did make a start on the letter scrap collecting and at around letter 26 needed matchsticks to keep the eyelids apart. It’s better to be done in smaller doses I think than a big batch all at once. Still, the main storyline and side missions all complete ;)
TheShepanator
I’m a little confused, I thought I read that GTA V online would require a code in new copies of the game. Now it’s an update? So if you buy preowned you can still play GTA online?
Bankzy108
Got all single player trophies a few hours ago, just in time for online! Hopefully the servers cope, but I’m not holding my breath.
3shirts
Yeah, I won’t be able to play this until this evening and I estimate my chances of getting online at about 2%.
double-o-dave
I roughly worked mine out at about 2.67314%.
bigchrissyc
Cant wait for this. I cant actually play until later tonight, so hopefully by then the servers will have become slightly more steady, though im not holding my breath. Nice to see some free items for being apart of the social club aswel.
zeroTRoN
kinda LAME that they didnt announce what time servers would go online until late last night. i was hearing midnight for the U.S. , & planned accordingly , woke up & it had been revealed as 7am. Servers are gonna crash or lag once every1 gets home from work and tries to play th
Forrest_01
Not holding my breath that this is going to work out of the gate – They haven’t inspired confidence by saying that uptake in the game was larger than expected (even though they had as many discs pressed as they did) & i remember reading that they were tying to acquire more servers, so whilst i am more than prepared to give it a go, i will keep my expectations low for now methinks.
It’ll probably be spot on in a week or two (perhaps a little longer), but i do expect a fair amount of ‘teething problems’ at the beginning.
3shirts
I am about 78% on single player now so I think I’ll finish the story at least before I get into this. Really looking forward to it but I’d rather wait until it’s smoothed out a little. Maybe try at the weekend
Bilbo_bobbins
If its anything like last times online, then don’t expect to get on and actually do anything worth while for about a week.
matthangzhou
Will give this a go when my daughter goes down for her nap in a couple of hours. Should stand more of a chance before others are off work.
freezebug2
At least R* are working with the online side of the game after admitting there COULD be some teething problems whereas some other games are released with the online broken and the devs being oblivious to anything being wrong and then rushing(steady canter sometimes) out patches to fix things!
I think it’ll be playable, just hope the lobby boot-outs are seldom!