Rockstar has finally given players the insider info on Grand Theft Auto V's persistent online multiplayer component aptly titled Grand Theft Auto Online.
After a brief tease at the end of the most recent single-player trailer for Grand Theft Auto V, Rockstar has now pulled back the curtain on the game’s online multiplayer component which features an open world and plenty of activities for players to participate in.
The trailer reveals a number of exciting new details such as an entire open world that can be populated by hundreds of players simultaneously. Players can participate in a number of different activities and events such as golf, base jumping, tennis, arm wrestling, vehicle races, and more illicit activities such as PvP deathmatches, co-op bank heists and robberies, and armored van hijackings.
Much like in Rockstar’s previous release Max Payne 3, players can also form crews with up to fifteen of their buddies and pre-established crews from Max Payne can even be transferred over into GTA Online. As players engage in activities and complete missions for various NPC contacts spread throughout the city (much like in the single-player campaign) they earn reputation points and cash which can be used to purchase new cosmetic options for their character or more expensive assets like cars or even their own apartments for friends to hang out in or garages to store all their vehicles in.
There will be a loose story that drives GTA Online which is set before the events of the single-player campaign so players won’t be able to hang out with Trevor, Michael, or Franklin. All players will be free to kill each other even when not in PvP-centric game modes but an optional “passive” mode can be turned on to prevent a player from killing or being killed by other players. Lastly, the player’s customized online multiplayer character will actually appear in a fourth character slot alongside Trevor, Michael, and Franklin during the single-player game so players can seamlessly switch from single-player to GTA Online without having to exit out to the main menu.
These and other details can be found on the official GTA Online bullet list on the following page. Sadly, it looks like GTA Online won’t be initially available once the game is released on September 17th but will be activated roughly two weeks later (October 1st). Fortunatly that gives players two weeks to enjoy the single-player story and get acclimated with GTA V’s controls and other systems before they dive into the robust persistent world of GTA Online.
