These Were The Worst GTA Online Changes In 2020
Dec. 2020 should be a pretty good month for Grand Theft Auto fans. The Cayo Perico Heist update marks the first time that the GTA Online map has truly expanded. In addition to offering players a brand new island to explore, Rockstar has promised the largest ever update to the game's music, with the addition of a whopping 250 new songs.
It often seems like GTA Online fans have a love/hate relationship with their sandbox of choice. As much as they enjoy playing the game, they also often take to complaining about its flaws in equal measure. And between hackers, griefers, and more, there are plenty of problems for fans to turn their ire to when they feel the need for a good grumble.
With all of that in mind, let's get all the negativity out in the open and look at some of the worst changes to GTA Online in 2020.
GTA V was free on the Epic Games Store
At first glance this might seem like a pretty weird entry to the list. What's so wrong with Rockstar giving their game away for free? Well, providing GTA 5 free of charge for a limited window led to a massive influx of new players. Things got worse for GTA 5/GTA Online almost immediately after the game went up for free.
The number of new and inexperienced players led to conflicts between older players, who'd had time to unlock the most overpowered vehicles and weapons, and the often irritating new blood. In other words, it only led to an increasingly stark power imbalance between veterans and newbies, something fans have complained about for years.
To make matters worse, it's very easy to mod GTA 5 on PC. Providing the game for free on the Epic Store meant a load of new modders and hackers could get started and old ones had a free re-entry ticket.
The Oppressor Mk2 went on sale
GTA Online has always had its fair share of overpowered equipment, but the Oppressor Mk2 in particular is a griefer's pride and joy. A hover bike outfitted with explosive machine guns, missiles, a rocket boost and homing countermeasures, this vehicle really lives up to its name. It's unmatched in terms of power and manoeuvrability, and as a result its use in online servers is controversial, with some players even calling for its removal in the name of making the game more enjoyable.
Fortunately, with a price tag of almost $4 million, not including the costs involved in fully upgrading them with missiles, these hover bikes are relatively hard to purchase in-game. But whenever Rockstar decides to put the vehicle up for a discount, the fanbase gets a bit twitchy.
Sure enough, when a 30% saving on the Oppressor Mk2 arrived in March 2020, the community was awash with jokes and memes about what a horrible idea this was. Meanwhile, others began planning ahead, discussing possible defense measures against the dreaded "Broomstick".
The Summer Special wasn't so special
It might be a little too harsh to call this change "the worst," because the Los Santos Summer Special update wasn't a total wash. It's hard to complain about new vehicle additions (especially when they're not overpowered death machines) and a series of new missions meant there was finally a use for the multi-million dollar super yacht, which was previously one of the worst possible purchases in the game. Seriously, you can't even drive that thing around yourself.
That said, while the update was inoffensive, it was also pretty underwhelming. The yacht missions only earn back a fraction of the price of the yacht itself and are pretty standard run-and-gun affairs, so it's certainly not worth buying a superyacht just to try them out. Many players described the Summer Special as "filler" content, and said there was nothing new to get excited about.
Perhaps it's understandable that Rockstar would roll out a smaller update in August given the state of the world and the major DLC that's coming soon, but some players were clearly disappointed.
GTA 5 was announced for the PS5
It was a bit of a joke when GTA 5 appeared at the head of Sony's Playstation 5 reveal presentation (just check out these Youtube comments).
But the problem with GTA 5 living on for a third console generation goes deeper than that. It's a sign of what fans all know to be true, that GTA Online has taken over the Grand Theft Auto series, becoming so profitable that it warped the development of GTA 5, overshadowing the singleplayer.
GTA Online is a wondrous sandbox, but it has been around since 2013. Even with the technical and gameplay advancements that Rockstar has promised in this "expanded and enhanced" PS5 version, how well will this 8-year-old game really hold up in late 2021?
The release of GTA 6 would provide a clean slate. It would flip a much-needed reset switch on the inflation, power creep and all the other various problems that have dogged GTA Online since long before 2020. Fans have been anticipating GTA 6 for a long time, and the announcement of a next-gen GTA 5 seems to confirm what Bloomberg's Jason Schreier reported in mid-2020, that it could still be years away.