GTA VI is here! Or it would, had it not been delayed. But that just means it should be even more polished and optimised when it does release in November. With that delay, I felt it would be nice to look back at the previous GTA game, talking about what I have enjoyed with it. Both with the story mode and Online. And with Online being where most of my hours have come from, it makes sense to start there.

One thing I will not be talking about here are any of the racing modes. That will be saved for Racing Month. But my story does start with the races, as it was seeing the custom races that the likes of the Yogscast and Smosh Games played that got me interested in GTA V to begin with. My real foray into the story mode wouldn’t come until half a year after getting the PC release in August. When I bought the Xbox One version in the New Year sale.

That initial summer of GTA Online proved to be a great one. Always spending whatever time I could on it, playing not only the races, but also those original heists and contact missions. Running and gunning in those early days was such a fun time, never sure I could ever complete a mission with just a pistol. Choosing those I could easily cheese with an armoured Kuruma if ever I needed some quick bucks.

And enjoying some fun times with both my sister and oldest and closest friend. The heists would play a part in that fun, as would the first of the freemode events that got added in September. Criminal Damage was an absolute favourite of mine, even if in the early days I couldn’t be the force of destruction that is possible now. Other freemode events such as Penned In, Hunt the Beast, and Hot Property were great fun, too.

December of that year would bring two great updates. The first being the CEO/VIP jobs, such as Sightseer and Asset Recovery. The better of the two was the snowfall of Los Santos. Seeing the usual colours of the map be replaced by wintery whites and greys felt suitably festive. As it does every year. Getting to enjoy some snowball fights with other people, or even just chucking them at NPCs. It’s always fun chucking a snowball into the strip club and seeing everyone run out as if it was a grenade.

In January of 2016, a fun new Adversary Mode in Drop Zone would arrive. Two to four teams parachuting into a warzone to control an area. It was such a frantic time, with some good, challenging locations for it to take place. I would also start to take an interest in the other Adversary Modes that had previously been added, such as Offense Defence, Hunting Pack, and Slasher. Some of the Adversary Modes added later such as Deadline, Turf Wars, and Overtime Rumble would also become favourites.

Most of 2016 was dedicated to expanding what a CEO could do. Offices became available, with warehouses to fill via freemode missions. Later that would also include vehicle warehouses to store stolen vehicles from import/export missions. Motorcycle Clubs also became a thing, allowing various businesses to be set up that would accrue product from stock which could then be sold. It really felt that year like something big for freemode was coming.

2017 was a year of more businesses, with Gunrunning providing the bunker, and Smuggler’s Run the aircraft hangars. Which, when one was bought at the Fort Zancudo Military Base, allowed access to it without getting a wanted level. Though any shots fired or vehicles stolen would still bring that onto players. Of the two, I was more interested in Gunrunning, as it felt a lot easier to run the bunker missions than those of air freight.

2018 would bring all of those businesses together with the Nightclub. As long as a business was owned, product for it could be passively sourced and stored in the warehouses under the nightclub. All a person had to do themselves was sell it. Which, now the vehicles people could own included powerhouses of the air, proved to be hard if certain types of people were waiting for that incriminating message.

The first instance of true passive income also came with the nightclub, as long as its popularity remained high. It was around this time that my Online playtime started to be fully on the Xbox rather than swapping between Xbox and PC. Starting again had been fun, but with all the businesses, it was easier to make that money. Though I would usually just stay in invite only lobbies playing races, contact missions, and Sightseer to make most of the money until it was time to sell.

The casino would get a flashy update in 2019, allowing it to be entered and used as a proper casino. Slot machines, horse race betting, blackjack, roulette, and three-card poker were all available to play. A daily wheel spin provided prizes such as money, RP, cars, clothes, and a mystery prize. That was always a disappointment to land on whenever it gave something small such as a snack refill. Later in the year would come the opportunity to heist the place, but I never touched that heist.

The heist I did partake in was the one that arrived in 2020. The first heist that could be done fully solo. One that would take players to the small island known as Cayo Perico. Stealthing around the island for the initial scope out is always a tense one, as is doing the heist itself. A heist that for the first few times I did struggle with. But I eventually opted for a quick in and out method involving the drainage tunnel.

With Trevor having already been in Online since the start, it was about time the other two of the trio joined the fun. First with Franklin in 2021, who has a business helping celebrities with their problems who would rather not take them to the police. A great range of missions, including a specific storyline helping Dr. Dre recovering a phone that holds unreleased music. Completing that storyline provided some co-op missions where two people play as Franklin and Lamar, though I never had anyone to play them with.

Drug Wars, released in 2022, was also a fun set of missions. Which also introduced a new business to be involved in. Over the next few years, other updates would bring content both large and small. Such as bringing in taxi missions. The largest of those for me was allowing all businesses the ability to be run in invite only lobbies. I had quite a few weeks returning to them having fell off operating them a number of years prior. Earning money ready for what was to come.

Mansions. And Michael’s return in 2025. The main content addition here was the KnoWay Out missions, where players help out Avi Schwartzman to put a stop to the mass surveillance happening via self-driving cars. With those missions done, a mansion raid happens, which Michael helps us out of. The way things ended, there’s a lot of danger to come whenever the next update arrives.

There’s been even more non-racing content than what I’ve mentioned, which shows just how packed Rockstar have made GTA Online over the years. Of course, as said, the races were what I most wanted to get into GTA Online for. There’s plenty of them, with the creator allowing for an endless amount more. That will all be coming with part two of this series in July for Racing Month.

Images Taken From:
Snowfall Chutes | DarkRula Media
GTA V | Xbox Series S
GTA V Online – Heisting Cayo Perico | DarkRula’s Stream Archive