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Pre-load GTA5 on Xbox One, get $1 million in-game cash
If you plan on upgrading to the Xbox One version of Grand Theft Auto 5, you've got a hefty 42.44 GB download to look forward to. Snag the digital Pre-Order Edition, though, and you can queue up your download immediately, giving you instant access to criminal shenanigans following next week's launch. The Pre-Order Edition also includes $1 million in-game cash to spend in both Grand Theft Auto 5's single-player campaign and the Grand Theft Auto Online multiplayer component. The new-gen Grand Theft Auto 5 boasts an exclusive first-person mode, along with performance tweaks, new missions, and other bonus content. Grand Theft Auto 5 hits the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on November 18. [Image: Rockstar]
GTA 5 gets next-gen exclusive goodies
Rockstar has revealed a suite of new features exclusive to the upcoming PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC versions of Grand Theft Auto 5, including new vehicles, in-game events, and missions. Players returning to Los Santos can expect to find new challenges tied to next-gen exclusive vehicles like the Imponte Duke O'Death, the Cheval Marshall monster truck, and the Dodo seaplane. The upgrade also offers an all-new murder mystery that scatters clues throughout Grand Theft Auto 5's expansive map, with noir-style camera filters awarded to players who can crack the case. Other new additions include the Hatchet and Rail Gun weapons, stock car races, updated radio station playlists, and a Wildlife Photography Challenge that unlocks a submarine when completed. Rockstar additionally revealed that GTA Online character progress will carry over into the Xbox One, PS4, and PC versions of Grand Theft Auto 5 via a one-time save transfer. Unlocked platform-exclusive content will also transfer alongside character data, and all player-created Jobs will be retained. [Image: Rockstar]
GTA 5 adding first-person vehicle view on PC, next-gen
A since-pulled support article on Rockstar's website points to some new features for Grand Theft Auto 5 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. According to the article, seen above, the revised versions of GTA 5 will feature a first-person mode for vehicles "that shows the interior of the vehicle, including working speedometers, tachometers, dash lights, and more." The game will also include a first-person mode "while on foot." Rockstar plans to offer an "overhauled character selection screen" as well as new Easter eggs and random events for the game's story mode. The developer noted that new animals will appear in the city of Los Santos, and appears to be determining whether animals will also appear in the game's online modes. Lastly, it added that players transferring characters from the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game will receive "new weapons and a free garage in GTA Online." GTA 5 will reach PS4 and Xbox One on November 18 and launch on PC in 2015. [Image: Rockstar Games]
10 new Rockstar Verified Jobs in GTA5 (That's What She Said)
We're probably not using that joke correctly. "That's What She Said" is one of the new Rockstar Verified Jobs in Grand Theft Auto Online. It's a Race for Sports Cars dealio featuring a broken-down trainyard and a "final huge leap from the freeway back to the finishing line," as Rockstar describes it. That's What She Said joins nine other new jobs in today's update. Jobs include the racers Code 13-91, Rebel Rodeo, Brand's Snatch, Hit the Apex, Tittie Twister and That's What She Said, plus the capture maps Hold: Operation Interrupt and Raid: Claustrophobia, and deathmatches Urban Jungle and Rail Yard, Railed Out. Read run-downs of the new jobs on the Rockstar Newswire. [Image: Rockstar]
GTA Online's San Andreas Flight School update takes off today
Rockstar's latest update for GTA Online earns its wings today on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, giving Grand Theft Auto 5 players access to ten new flight-focused missions. The San Andreas Flight School Update introduces new planes that players can pilot in a collection of themed Race, Capture, Parachute Jump missions. The update also adds new aerial competitive modes, including the flag-capturing Acquire Targets mode and the Air Force Zero base defense mission. Rockstar will host an experience-boosting weekend event starting this Friday to commemorate GTA 5's latest update, and 14 new Jobs have launched to give players a chance to earn more in-game cash and reputation points. A full list of changes introduced in today's title update is available at Rockstar's support site. [Image: Rockstar Games]
Get double RP in GTA Online this weekend
Career criminals will soon have an opportunity to make a name for themselves in Grand Theft Auto 5's online multiplayer mode, as Rockstar announced that all GTA Online players will receive double RP throughout this weekend. This week also marks your last chance to pick up GTA Online's Independence Day content, so if you want to outfit your character with a fireworks launcher, an American flag t-shirt, or a glorious flowing mullet, you'd best make plans to join in this weekend's bloodbath. Rockstar's Double RP event kicks off tomorrow, and extends through August 3. [Image: Rockstar]
Relive classic Grand Theft Auto moments in GTA Online
In its latest newswire update, Rockstar Games highlights a handful of GTA Online jobs that revisit pivotal moments from past Grand Theft Auto entries courtesy of creative fans and the game's powerful Creator tool. From the classic Grand Theft Auto 3 to the underloved GTA: Chinatown Wars, Rockstar's selection covers a wide swath of open-world sandbox mayhem. "Four Iron," for instance, is a modern, deathmatch take on the Grand Theft Auto: Vice City mission of the same name, in which Tommy Vercetti chased a land developer through a golf course before murdering the poor sap. "Valet Parking," on the other hand, is a lap race homage to those recurring side missions in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas in which CJ would pose as a valet, and either politely park cars to earn extra cash or drive off with a fancy new ride. The Rockstar newswire has a full list of throwback missions, for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, but keep in mind that the limitations of the GTA Online Creator prevent any of these jobs from being singleplayer affairs. The only way to truly relive Rockstar's classics is by replaying the original games. [Image: Take Two]
GTA Online nabs 10 new verified jobs, including Hipster selections
Rockstar has updated Grand Theft Auto 5's GTA Online multiplayer component with ten new verified jobs created by Rockstar Games Social Club members, including five winning entries in its "I'm Not A Hipster" job design competition. Contest-winning jobs include the Grove Street Deathmatch "The 80's Turf War," along with a collection of Point-to-Point and Lap Races featuring vehicles from the recent "I'm Not A Hipster" content update. Other featured jobs include the Grand Prix-styled Race "The Los Santos Triangle," explosive Team Deathmatch map "Pit Stop," and the vertically-oriented free-for-all Deathmatch "Retaliate." Competition winners receive an exclusive HIPSTER vanity plate and $1 million in GTA Online in-game currency. Verified user-submitted job designs feature changes and improvements implemented by Rockstar staff, and are playable on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Grand Theft Auto 5. [Image: Rockstar Games]
Grand Theft Auto 5 High Life patch adds apartments, removes alcohol-ception glitch
"Fixed a small issue where players could still activate the Apartment drinking activities after drinking themselves unconscious." So go the patch notes for Grand Theft Auto 5 update 1.13, dubbed "High Life." And don't worry, there's more. The High Life update, in addition to making sure players can no longer experience an alcohol-induced version of Christopher Nolan's Inception, adds five new high-end properties to own, 32 new suits for male characters, the Bullpup Rifle, new vehicles, the ability to own more than one property, and a Mental State that shows how often a potential matchmaking partner murders fellow players. Because hey, you might be a drugged-up sociopath out for nothing but the next big score, but that doesn't mean you should have to put up with mean people online. Check out the full list of High Life changes on Rockstar's website. [Image: Take-Two]
Take-Two makes it rain $1 billion more in fiscal 2014
Take-Two reported net revenue of $2.35 billion for fiscal 2014 (the year ending March 31, 2014), a 94 percent growth from its reported revenue of $1.21 billion in 2013. It also reported a net income of $361.7 million, which compares rather favorably to the net loss of $31.2 million it suffered last year. As of the end of fiscal 2014, Take-Two had "cash and cash equivalents of $935.4 million," plenty to make it rain a few times. As for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, Take-Two's net revenue was $195.2 million, a 34.8 percent decrease compared to the same quarter last year ($299.5 million). It also reported a net loss of $30.8 million for the quarter, which compares to the net gain of $21.2 million reported in Q4 2013. The publisher's digitally-delivered revenue increased 65 percent year-over-year to $435.1 million on a non-GAAP basis (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles). In its earnings call, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick noted that Grand Theft Auto Online was the "single largest contributor" to the company's digital revenue growth. Take-Two also reported that it has shipped 33 million copies of GTA 5 to date. Looking ahead to the next fiscal year (ending March 31, 2015), Take-Two projects its non-GAAP net revenue to fall between $1.35 billion and $1.45 billion, and anticipates its net revenue between $120 million and $135 million for the next quarter, also on a non-GAAP basis.
2K's Zelnick: 70% of connected GTA5 players play GTA Online
Over 70 percent of players fired up Grand Theft Auto 5's multiplayer GTA Online component in the months after the game's initial release, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick told Fox Business in an interview this week. "Just a few years ago when we put out a product, no matter how big, when we put out a hit we collected our money, we went onto the next," Zelnick said, addressing GTA Online's microtransaction-driven revenue model. "Now what we're finding is we're creating recurrent consumer spending and we have the gift that keeps on giving. I talked about that when we took over Take-Two six years ago. It's nice to see it coming true." Grand Theft Auto 5 shipped 32.5 million units worldwide as of February, and earned over $1 billion in revenue during its three days at retail. Developer Rockstar Games continues to support GTA Online with frequent content updates, and a new job creation system is set to launch this Friday. [Image: Rockstar]
Capture new job creation tools in GTA Online this Friday
Rockstar will launch the capture jobs creation system in GTA Online this Friday, April 11 and is offering a rewards boost in select online missions until then. Starting Friday, Grand Theft Auto 5 players can use the GTA Online Creator Tool to build missions using one of four capture job variants: Contend, GTA, Hold or Raid. For those unfamiliar, Rockstar describes the capture jobs as a "GTA twist on classic capture the flag style confrontations." To get players accustomed to the job style's unique brand of action, the developer upped the reward levels for all official capture jobs in GTA Online. Until Friday, jobs like "GTA: All Abhorred" and "Raid: High Road" will earn players double the GTA$ and RP. [Image: Rockstar Games]
Co-op heist missions coming to Grand Theft Auto Online this Spring
This morning, Rockstar Games unveiled a look at the content headed for Grand Theft Auto Online in the near future. By the end of Spring, the game should boast new weapons, player-crafted Capture Jobs and new co-op heist missions. Come next week, Rockstar plans to drop the first update which will add Capture Jobs to the crime-ridden online multiplayer game. According to Rockstar, players will be able to customize these Capture Jobs by placing weapons, ammo and other miscellaneous items as they please, then share the results with the rest of the Grand Theft Auto Online community. Following that addition, Rockstar will deliver the "High Life Update," a DLC pack that introduces new weapons, vehicles, clothing options and two new gameplay functions. Once installed, the High Life Update will allow players to own multiple properties in Grand Theft Auto Online, while the new Mental State statistic will keep a running tally of just how sociopathic your avatar has been within the virtual world. Finally, Rockstar mentions the upcoming Heist missions. Scant details are available, but the developer claims players will be able to join forces with others, either random online players or members of their crew, to pull off complicated, co-operative theft assignments. More details on this particular update are said to be coming soon. [Image: Rockstar Games]
New GTA Online 'Verified Jobs' race around Nurburgring
Rockstar has added another ten jobs to GTA Online's list of multiplayer to-dos today, one of them being an impressive recreation of the famous German race track, Nürburgring. "Verified Jobs" are custom multiplayer match types, created by the community and hand-selected by Rockstar developers. Players create these custom Jobs using GTA Online's creation tools, introduced in late December to both Xbox 360 and PS3. Creation tools are currently limited, and only support race and deathmatch variants. Rockstar plans to expand GTA Online's creation system soon, and expects to add co-op heists some time this year. [Image: Rockstar Games]
GTA Online Valentine's Day Massacre brakes hearts on Friday
It's almost Valentine's Day, so polish your guns, stock up on ammo and make sure your ride is bullet-proof. That's how this day works, right? It certainly does in Grand Theft Auto Online: The Valentine's Day Massacre update hits for free on Friday, February 14, featuring lovely new items for Story Mode and Online. Valentine's Day Massacre adds a new weapon, vehicle, clothes and 10 new jobs. The Gusenberg Sweeper machine gun will be available at the Ammu-Nation store in Online and automatically deposited into inventories in Story Mode. The new vehicle, the Albany Roosevelt, is an armored 1920s limo available in any garage in Story Mode and from the Legendary Motorsport in-game website in Online. New attire is flapper-themed, and new jobs include Deathmatches, a new Parachute Jump and new Races. And yes, "brakes" is spelled that way on purpose. [Image: Rockstar]
GTA Online gets 10 new Rockstar Verified jobs, social cap up to 1,000
Rockstar has added 10 new verified jobs to Grand Theft Auto Online, introducing a variety of community-sourced challenges to Grand Theft Auto 5's multiplayer component. New job offerings range from laid-back beach races to chaotic deathmatch challenges dotted throughout Los Santos. The latest job postings also introduce "Long Haul 2," a 12-minute endurance race that debuts as the longest Rockstar Created or Rockstar Verified Job released in GTA Online to date. Rockstar additionally upped its Social Club Crew member limit from 300 to 1,000 this week, allowing more players to partner up for Reputation Points bonuses and unique team-based challenges. [Image: Rockstar]
Grand Theft Auto 5 ships 32.5 million copies
The total number of Grand Theft Auto 5 copies Take-Two has shipped to date now exceeds 32.5 million. The number comes from the company's fiscal third quarter 2014 earnings report, in which it declared its money-making game the "best-selling video game of 2013," citing data from NPD. By comparison, the publisher also noted the entire NBA 2K series has shipped 35 million units to date. The number of copies shipped by Take-Two doesn't precisely indicate the number sold to customers, of course. GTA 5 has sold well regardless, earning an estimated $1 billion for the publisher in its first three days at retail. It sold 3.67 million copies at retail in the UK in 2013, leading all games in the region.
Rockstar targets GTA Online cheaters after latest update
Announcing that it has completed today's scheduled maintenance, Rockstar revealed that it is removing counterfeit in-game currency distributed within Grand Theft Auto Online over the last several weeks. The studio is now taking corrective measures to punish players who actively engaged in cheating and other balance-breaking exploits. Rockstar assures that players who did not actively exploit the game's progression system will not be targeted during its search for cheaters. Counterfeit GTA$ received from others will be removed from player accounts, and all previously purchased items will remain available for use. Players who purposefully cheated the system, however, are subject to punitive actions ranging from assignment to cheater-specific player pools to full bans from Grand Theft Auto Online.
Grand Theft Auto Online down for maintenance tonight
The Grand Theft Auto Online multiplayer component of Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto 5 will be taken offline for maintenance tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, and will not be available until tomorrow. A patch issued earlier this week for GTA Online targeted cash cheats and player progression exploits, framing the forthcoming maintenance as a likely byproduct. Rockstar reports that the maintenance period shouldn't last more than 24 hours, and the mode is expected to resume normal operation on Thursday, January 16.
GTA Online update targets cash, progression exploits
A new update for GTA Online, version 1.09, has eradicated a number of cash and player progression glitches, on top of strengthening overall anti-cheat measures in the online multiplayer side of GTA 5. Rockstar hasn't said which exact exploits have been taken care of in the patch notes, nor has the studio offered any context. We've followed up with Rockstar for more information and will update this post accordingly. Rockstar issued three updates to GTA Online throughout December. The first unlocked creation tools for deathmatch and race variants back on December 11. A week later, Rockstar added capture the flag and then, shortly after Christmas, Verified Jobs – special curated online match variants chosen by Rockstar itself. Co-op heists are due sometime later this year.
