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GTA Online gets first Rockstar Verified jobs
Rockstar has released the first run of "Rockstar Verified" jobs for Grand Theft Auto Online, the multiplayer component of Grand Theft Auto 5. Chosen directly by Rockstar, these jobs represent some of the best content crafted by players using GTA Online's creation tools. All told, 10 jobs have been verified, including six races and four deathmatches. Their content ranges from rooftop races to full-on military vehicle shootouts. The jobs were culled from both the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of GTA 5 but, as Rockstar notes, these jobs are available on both platforms now that they've been verified. Players can expect "many, many more" Rockstar Verified jobs in the future.
Infinite money exploit plagues GTA Online
Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto Online is beset with hackers flooding the game's economy with billions of ill-gotten dollars. Kotaku reports that a networking exploit leads to "infinite amounts of cash," and that dupers have taken to gifting huge windfalls to random players. This is of course problematic since Rockstar flags accounts "holding obscene amounts of money" during its banning sweeps. The company has yet to offer a comment on or a fix for the issue. Meanwhile, some players have taken to hard resetting their consoles so that the gifted money doesn't save.
GTA Online receives capture-the-flag themed update today
GTA Online, the online side of Grand Theft Auto 5, gets a free update today that adds four new capture-the-flag modes. It being GTA, the flags are so much pieces of fabric as they are suspect packages and stolen vehicles. Simply titled Capture, the update brings Raid, Hold, GTA, and Contend to the game's team-based modes, along with 20 new jobs. A quick rundown of the modes, then: Raid sounds like standard CTF, with teams attacking bases to seize packages and bring them to their bases. Hold, meanwhile, is about finding packages and storing as many as you can in your base - unlike Raid, packages are also dotted across the map. GTA is like Raid, but with vehicles spread across the map. Finally, Contend is centered around a single vehicle that respawns after it's successfully captured. According to Rockstar, the update is available now through Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network. It also adds a bunch of tweaks and fixes that you can check out here.
Take a convoluted trip to North Yankton via this GTA Online glitch
A GTA Online glitch reveals the snowy streets of North Yankton can be found in the online component of Grand Theft Auto 5, suggesting the area may feature (officially) in some future update. North Yankton, if you recall, is the state in which the very first mission takes place, set some nine years before the main events of the game. If you fancy revisiting the area in GTA Online, this CVG video shows you how to get there. To summarize, you'll have to replay that prologue mission, then get to a certain point and stand in a certain place, then get a friend to invite you into a GTA Online closed session. After that you'll have to call a helicopter, and head to some mountains floating surreally in the bottom right of the map. Simple, no? Well no, no it's not, but it is a bit clever. Anyway, get your snow boots on while you still can, because it seems likely Rockstar will shut off the route in a future patch.
Race, deathmatch tools in GTA Online this week; heists and story content in 2014
A new update is coming to GTA Online – the online side of GTA 5 – this week, unlocking race and deathmatch creation tools for all players. Using these tools, players can set up custom race and shootout jobs to play with friends and publish the custom game types to the Rockstar Games Social Club. The creation tools will be included in a mandatory title update, which could be available as early as tomorrow, on PS3 and Xbox 360. This month will also see the addition of Capture mode, a variant of the classic Capture the Flag mode. Up to four teams fight to steal goods from other enemy squads' bases and get back to their own with the goods. Rockstar promises more info on Capture mode next week. Finally, Rockstar has outlined a few updates coming to GTA Online next year. Co-op heists is the biggest update due in the new year, though Rockstar also says the GTA 5 story mode will get some new stuff in 2014 "continuing Michael, Franklin and Trevor's action, mayhem and unexpected adventures in Southern San Andreas."
Leaked video shows GTA Online's unreleased content creator
GTA Online, the multiplayer side of Grand Theft Auto 5, will eventually add a content creator first promised in the announcement trailer, but one plucky individual managed to uncover it early, or at least an old version of it, in the current game code. The above video, from the same individual who discovered potential upcoming DLC packs in the Beach Bum update game code, shows how the content cam works. Spawning weaponry appears to be a snap and even though we don't get to see this YouTuber start up any matches, you can clearly see options for beginning a Race or Deathmatch. Rockstar Games has yet to announce when the full content creator will be unlocked in GTA Online.
GTA Online rifles and accessories are half-off this weekend
Rockstar is bringing holiday cheer to Grand Theft Auto 5 with a couple of discounted pieces of in-game content for GTA Online. Players can celebrate Thanksgiving with half-off deals for all rifles and rifle ammo and attachments, specifically the game's assault, carbine, heavy, advanced and sniper rifle weapons. The sales start tomorrow and last through December 1. Additionally, Rockstar discounted all black-colored clothing, accessories and vehicle modification items to celebrate Black Friday by 50 percent (though the sale for these items are also good through December 1). The vehicle modification items include window tinting, black license plates and black tire smoke for your car of choice.
Grand Theft Auto Online's free Beach Bum update launches next week
Rockstar announced that its free "Beach Bum" expansion for the GTA Online component of Grand Theft Auto 5 will hit the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 next week, adding a number of new vehicles, weapons, and missions to the multiplayer fray, along with a fresh batch of character customization options. GTA Online players will be able to kick back and soak up the rays as they mangle opponents in new beach-themed Races, Deathmatches, Parachutes, Last Team Standings, Survivals, and Gang Attacks. New vehicles include the BF Bifta dune buggy, the Canis Kalahari off-road truck, and the Bravado Paradise camper van. Also making an appearance is the Speeder speedboat, a fan-favorite watercraft that makes its return to the series after last appearing in GTA: Chinatown Wars. The Beach Bum expansion will hit the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live as a GTA5 title update on November 19.
New GTA Online title update protects data from cloud outages
A new title update on PS3 and Xbox 360 is available for GTA Online. The update – which addresses cloud synchronization issues where players would lose progress, cash, online vehicles and their mods when cloud uploads failed – will trigger the next time you boot up Grand Theft Auto 5. In addition to the update, Rockstar says GTA Online players should get their first half of the delayed stimulus package money sometime in the next few days. The cash will roll out over the course of a full day, so don't expect the deposit to show on your Maze Bank account right away. Later this month, GTA Online will get its first content update: the Beach Bum content pack, plus job creation tools. The Beach Bum pack includes four new vehicles, two new weapons and over 300 items, while the job creation tools allow players to create their own custom race and deathmatch variants for use in GTA Online.
GTA 5 getting beach vehicles and job creation tools in November
In addition to its announcement of a delay in issuing the "stimulus package" for GTA Online, Rockstar revealed that the first content update for Grand Theft Auto 5 will arrive in November. First announced in September, the Beach Bum Pack and first part of the GTA Online Content Creator will launch next month. The Beach Bum Pack offers four beach-themed vehicles, two new weapons and over 300 items. The content pack gives players more customization options like hairstyles and tattoos as well. Additionally, Rockstar plans to open the ability to create, publish and rate custom race and deathmatch jobs for use in GTA Online. Lastly, the developer noted that GTA Online Social Club weekend events will begin next month, granting players bonuses and "event crate drops" for participating.
GTA Online players to see $250,000 payout this week
Apparently crime does pay, as Rockstar is rewarding Grand Theft Auto Online players with the first installment of a $500,000 in-game payout later this week. This sudden infusion of $250,000 serves as a mea culpa for the rocky GTA Online launch. Reports of players going missing and cars vanishing appeared frequently following the game's debut, and while Rockstar has issued patches to amend these issues, the company has also decided to reward player patience with a fat stack of virtual bills. As far as when your character might receive his or her cash, that remains unknown. Rockstar tweeted its plans this morning, but offered no more specificity than, "sometime this week." In the meantime, make sure you qualify for the handout by reading through these eligibility guidelines.
Lost your Grand Theft Auto Online character? Have some money instead!
For all the problems of online games, there's a certain assumption that your character is safe no matter what technical problems might hit the server. Sure, Grand Theft Auto Online has had some growing pains, but if your character vanishes for some reason you can still -- wait, no, apparently your character is lost forever and will never return to you. That's kind of the opposite of news you were hoping for. So in the hopes that you'll be distracted, Rockstar is throwing half a million dollars at you. Before you get too distracted, you should know that this is in-game money. Two payments of $250,000 in-game will be provided to players on two distinct dates, hopefully by the end of next week. While this won't exactly replace the time and effort lost via vanishing characters, it should at least take the edge off of Grand Theft Auto Online's unexpected problems.
GTA 5 title update for vanishing online characters, other issues
Rockstar has issued a patch for the GTA Online portion of Grand Theft Auto 5, which purportedly solves issues with spontaneous character deletion, lost progress and a handful of other issues, save for one specific circumstance. The patch should be live on PSN and will hit the Xbox 360 version "tomorrow at the latest," according to Rockstar. The patch corrects "multiple issues causing character deletion or other loss of progress," except for "some specific instances where players purchase a vehicle and the save does not occur due to a cloud save failure." A fix for that issue is underway and another update will be pushed once the problem is sorted out. In the meantime, infinite loading screens, vanishing guns and ammo, issues with Los Santos Customs and the mod garage should all be a thing of the past. Click all up on this for a full list of this update's corrected errors.
Rockstar exploring lost GTA Online data, restoration options
A number of players are experiencing a sudden loss of characters, apartments, in-game money, rank and more when playing GTA Online. Rockstar is currently identifying the issue and looking to recover players' lost data, if possible. One culprit has to do with Rockstar Cloud Services: Rockstar does not suggest playing GTA Online when Cloud Services are inaccessible. When the Cloud is down, players have the opportunity to continue playing with a temporary character, albeit without the ability to save. In this scenario players cannot access their saved characters, and any progress made with the temporary character will not be retained. Rockstar says another problem has to do with the "Retry" button. When prompted to retry to enter a GTA Online match when the Cloud is down, some players have had all of their data wiped. Rockstar says reverting back to Grand Theft Auto 5's single-player campaign, then jumping back into GTA Online from there, should yield better results. Rockstar says it's "in the process of determining the options for addressing the issues" and will continue to post updates.
GTA Online login issues declared resolved, lost items not yet found
Criminals should no longer have issues logging on to the world of GTA Online and causing wanton mayhem, developer Rockstar announced via an update on their support page last night. "The connection issues seen earlier in the day have now been resolved. Please note that we are still looking into reports about missing characters, rank, items, apartments, and/or in-game money," the update reads. While Rockstar had previously announced their intentions to fix the issues preventing people from logging on via a patch released Friday, the problem was not officially announced as resolved until Saturday evening. Rockstar will continue to update its support page with known problems regarding GTA Online, but if you're one of the players with missing items, you can subscribe to a separate support thread.
Carjackings overthrow duty as GTA5 takes top spot on Xbox Live
Grand Theft Auto 5 has beaten Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 for the title of most-played game on Xbox 360, according to a recent blog post by Xbox Live Director of Programming Larry Hryb, aka Major Nelson. Note that this doesn't necessarily mean more people are playing GTA Online, the multiplayer component of GTA 5, as Major Nelson's data tracks how many unique users are signed onto Xbox Live while playing a game, regardless of whether or not they're using online features. Not everyone has moved onto the newest of the new though, as the top ten list also includes GTA 4, as well as Modern Warfare 3 and the original Black Ops. Meanwhile, Minecraft is still holding onto third, surrounded by guns, criminals and sports.
PSA: Grand Theft Auto Online update available on PS3 now, Xbox 360 today
The patch that's expected to fix Grand Theft Auto 5's online connectivity issues for PS3 users is now available to download. Rockstar says that a PSN server issue was the culprit in PS3 users' GTA Online woes, as it "was limiting the amount of possible concurrent users," therefore "preventing most players from accessing GTA Online altogether and as of this morning, that problem was resolved." The developer noted that players are having issues completing the introductory tutorial mission on both platforms as well, and that it is "working on unblocking this for everyone as soon as possible," as well as improving GTA Online server stability. The Xbox 360 title update will arrive "as soon as possible today," and until the GTA Online connectivity issues improve for players on both platforms, Rockstar has "disabled the option of purchasable GTA$ cash packs." The microtransaction-based packs can still be earned through missions and jobs within the game.
Grand Theft Auto Online title update hits tomorrow, Rockstar hopes
Rockstar is working on a title update for Grand Theft Auto Online, expected to launch tomorrow, October 4, on Xbox 360 and PS3. "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," Rockstar writes in an update to its GTA Online Launch Updates post. GTA Online has been buggy since its launch on October 1, in some cases preventing players from playing at all. Yesterday Rockstar said it was addressing the known problems and it launched a support page specifically for GTA Online issues.
Rockstar confirms GTA Online micro-transactions, outlines launch plans
Rockstar Games has confirmed yesterday's rumor that micro-transactions will be present in Grand Theft Auto Online. Impatient magnates can trade real-world cash for in-game riches in GTA Online when it launches on October 1, though Rockstar clarifies that "you don't have to spend real money to attain the cars, guns, clothes, flash and style of a high-roller in Los Santos, but can if you wish to get them a little quicker." A series of free content updates will unlock specific functionality in GTA Online following launch, Rockstar details in a new diatribe over on the Rockstar Newswire site. A new Rally race type will be introduced where a driver and co-pilot must work together to make it through "treacherous courses at high speeds." Rockstar's take on Capture the Flag is also coming, as well as a new Beach Bum add-on pack comprised of four beach vehicles, over 300 new items and a pair of new weapons. There are also plans to present a content creator for players to publish their own races and deathmatches, plus the promised Heists that are the anchor of Grand Theft Auto 5's co-op multiplayer experience. All of this content will be available through free updates, which Rockstar hopes to issue at a steady clip following the launch of multiplayer on October 1. But considering how many people have the game, we don't expect it to be the smoothest sailing for online multiplayer in GTA 5 - at first, anyway.
GTA Online riches available for cash
Players looking forward to Grand Theft Auto Online, available on October 1st, are probably already contemplating ways to get and spend their in-game funds for the myriad of customization goodies within the persistent world of Rockstar Game's GTA5's multiplayer mode. Well there's a new addition to the acquire list: microtransactions. Eurogamer.net shares a find that was first caught on Reddit, namely a publicly viewable XML file on the game's online store that shows in-game cash cards in denominations of $100K, $200K, $500K, and $1.5M $1.25M for purchase with real-life cash along with a description inviting players to solve their in-game money problems by buying these packs. The prices for these cash cards, however, are not stated. The same file shows items from the special and collector's editions, indicating that this exclusive content may also be made available to all for purchase later. [Thanks Potaco for the correction.]
