In the past, Rockstar typically kept any official word on GTA Online DLC private until the last possible moment before release (or upon release), meaning that players were reliant on leaks to get their info earlier. Now that players have been getting a bit restless following the pretty dry content we've gotten this year so far, Rockstar has decided that a change in policy is in order and got out ahead of this thing.
In their most recent post on the Newswire, the company has outlined their plans for GTA Online in the coming months — these plans include plenty of content-rich DLC. Of course, they've tried to make the three lowriders released in April seem shiny in context, but many players would prefer a bit of variety.
Rockstar has unveiled that their next big-scale update will be a continuation of what Executives and Other Criminals began last year. Executives is probably the biggest and most substantial GTA Online DLC since Heists, as well as pretty much the only update to ever introduce a method of getting cash as effective as Pacific Standard.
Executives vol.2 will take VIPs and their organisations to new criminal heights by adding all new missions for execs and bodyguards. The post highlights the phrase "Further Adventures in Finance and Felony" which could fit as the title of the DLC seeing as "Executives and Other Criminals" isn't exactly short either. Then again, none of the leading letters were capitalized in the press release, so it could be just a slogan of some sort.
The description shows that Rockstar will be taking the concept behind the layered gameplay of the update to the extremes. New high-end properties will be added which will double as headquarters for your organisation. This suggests that they might work like heist planning rooms in regular properties, but for specific VIP assignments.
This also suggests that the new kind of VIP work that we'll see will be on par with heists in terms of complexity, length and difficulty — if they don't apex them. Seeing as regular VIP work currently available in GTA Online already gives players a viable alternative to heists for making money, these new jobs might end up being even more lucrative.
But what are these new jobs exactly? While Rockstar kept much of the details out of the post, but it seems that you'll be running the black market from your pantry. While until now, on many occasions the stories of GTA games had players work for Black Market kingpins, for the first time we'll be the ones giving the orders.
The new VIP properties will be where the goods will be stored and managed. Players will then need to arrange buyers for their illegal goods, re-stock through missions or raids and deliver the merchandise to the drop-off points in one piece. Undoubtedly other VIP players will act as rivals, adding to NPC enemies turning the fight to dominate the black market a PvP affair.
If Rockstar continues with the Executives line in the future, we might see players given the opportunity to fight themselves to the top of even the political food chain in Los Santos. This direction, especially with the upcoming update outlined above is a much more interesting path for DLCs than the lowriders ever were.
But wait.
There is more.
Rockstar has made note of how big the stunting subculture has become within the GTA Online community. Not only that, but it seems that they have heeded the complaints regarding recent changes to the official Rockstar Content Creator which prevents props to be stacked or even placed in close proximity.
Rockstar will introduce a massive overhaul to the Creator with the "Cunning Stunts" update, if that is the name at all. The prop library will be expanded with massive amounts of new entries. New vehicles geared especially for stunting will be added to the game. Many of the restrictions imposed on the Creator will be rolled back.
While the focus will be on stunting and racing, the overhaul to the creator will allow players to create exciting new jobs in any category in new ways. GTA Online has a very active custom job community, as proven by Rockstar's frequent Newswire posts highlighting the best player-made missions.
To everyone's joy, Rockstar also stated that they will keep adding newer Adversary Modes to GTA Online. The Modes have been getting some pretty harsh criticism from the community recently, much of it undeserved, but it seems this will not deter Rockstar from making them. The Modes aren't poorly made or implemented, however they don't pay too well. Since this is the internet, obviously the community will take one negative aspect of anything and blow it out of proportion.
As we've suspected, the newest Mode, In and Out, will be getting some new maps soon. The Adversary Mode was recently released and launched with three maps. It was also the last piece of content to be leaked. Seeing that there haven't been any credible leaks since, it seems that Rockstar has implemented some kind of anti-data mining method and decided to take unveiling DLC plans into their own hands.
Rockstar will also be keeping up the never-ending stream of special event weeks which have been going back-to-back in the past months. These events will section out a specific aspect of GTA Online and shine the spotlight on it for 7 days, offering players opportunities to earn twice as much RP and cash with regular gameplay, as well as discounts and other promotions.
While unfortunately there has been no word on a much needed switch to a centralized server architecture, we're hoping that if Rockstar puts full force behind GTA Online after these few months of downtime, we'll witness an effective anti-hacking method implemented soon.
In that vein, Rockstar has also taken the words to express that they intend to continue improving the GTA Online experience for all of their players by listening to feedback. They once again highlight here how they will update the Creator in a way that allows for the stacking of props, as restricting that was one of the most controversial things they've done with the game.
However, the lack of any mention regarding a Biker themed update, in support of which countless GTA V fans united in a petition, is bound to break a few hearts and trample some hopes. Then again, if the follow-up to Executives and Other Criminals is as substantial as it promises, it likely entered production long ago, so for all we know Rockstar have slated the Biker DLC for later this year. Never lose hope!
The post made no mention of an ETA on the new content. Neither the Executives vol.2 nor Cunning Stunts has a projected release date. However, chances are we'll see one of them before May ends. Our guess is that next week, In and Out will get its new maps, leaving the last week of May open for a big DLC drop. Either that, or Rockstar will kick off June and the Summer with a heavy hitter instead.
Which of these newly announced GTA Online updates are you looking forward to the most? Is it the new Executive themed DLC, or are you more of a stuntman?
