GTA Online’s Next Update Is One Of Its Biggest, Out July 26

Screenshot: Rockstar Games

After some previous teasing, Rockstar today announced the Criminal Enterprises update for grand theft auto online will be released on July 26. This upcoming free update looks to be one of the biggest the game has ever received, with plenty of quality of life changes, improvements, and retail expansions.

Following rumors and clues, Rockstar has finally started sharing details about GTA Online’s big summer update. But there’s bad news for people living in the digital world of GTA Online, as intense heat waves and soaring gas prices will make life even more miserable. Fortunately, for all online offenders, this offers new criminal opportunities as well as a chance to help the government take down other bad guys via a new series of in-game missions.

As part of this Criminal Enterprises update, Rockstar is adding a new series of missions that have players partners again with the IAA (GTA’s take on the CIA) as a clandestine agent to help take down a “notorious oil-rich dynasty” in Los Santos that is profiting from the heat and soaring prices.

But that’s only part of this huge update coming. In today’s blog sharing the details of the update, Rockstar explained that all in-game activities in GTA Online are being expanded, giving players more ways to earn more money. For instance, biker bars will now fill with customers and players can complete missions to get the booze and cash flowing. Even better, it looks like all of these extensions will be free.

While I’ve enjoyed some of the companies Rockstar has added to the game over the years, it’s nice to see the devs go back and expand on old content instead of just cramming yet another company in the mix.

The Criminal Enterprises, available July 26 on GTA Online

However, for long-time players, the most exciting changes and tweaks coming in this next big patch are all the little quality-of-life improvements.

Rockstar promises there will be a faster way to access your snacks, making it easier to heal in a gunfight. Also Coming: Nerves to the Infamous and Boring Oppressor Mc. 2-arm jetbike, which has long ruled the skies of GTA Online and caused many players to give up. Another small but massive change is that all trade activities, including sell missions, will soon be fully playable in private sessions. This has been requested by fans for years and it’s nice to see it finally happening. Rockstar is also increasing payouts for past Heists, Races, and Adversary Modes, and will also increase Associate and Bodyguard salaries.

All in all, this update is exactly what GTA online Needs. After years and years of Rockstar cramming more and more into the game, often not coming back to tweak or improve things after the fact, it’s nice to see an update focused primarily on expanding the old content while adding fan-requested features and changes.

Update: 7/22/22: Following yesterday’s announcement of The Criminal Enterprises update coming to GTA Online, Rockstar Games has shared more information about some of the quality of life changes and adjustments to long-running open-world gameplay.

The full blog post on the Rockstar site includes a full list of changes. It’s a long list, but here are a few changes that stood out to me:

Players will now be able to purchase maximum ammo for all weapons at once through the interaction menu. Additionally, players will be able to easily access snacks and armor via active hotkeys when the weapon wheel is up. Oh, and when you die during a mission, Rockstar will restock your snacks with whatever you had before, making it easier to attempt new tricky missions, especially when playing solo. On PC, you will be able to disable the in-game chat box. Rockstar is finally allowing players to jog instead of just walking inside the casino and nightclubs. You will now be able to own 10 properties in-game, increasing your total garage space up to 20 vehicles. I don’t really like owning so many things, but for collectors it’s a big deal. To help combat annoying griefers, free roam kills will no longer affect your K/D stat. And if someone attacks you loose in an armed vehicle and you fight back, you won’t be charged a kill fee if you successfully blast your attacker. The in-game Race Creator tool is greatly expanded, allowing players to add more checkpoints, props, increase the number of players in certain races, and more.

Rockstar says these changes came directly from fan feedback, which I believe. Many of these changes have been requested by fans for years. While there are still a lot of things that can be changed and improved in GTA Online, this upcoming update will go a long way to making the game more streamlined, modern, and fun.

All this and more comes online when the Criminal Enterprises Update Arrives July 26 on all platforms.