Rockstar has just announced the next major update to their still kickin’ Grand Theft Auto Online.
The new, free update titled Smugglers Run is expected to arrive on the 29th of August and brings with it a myriad of new vehicles, properties, and ways to make money, all centred around domination of the skies. Players will have access to a huge round of new aircraft, including planes, helicopters, and ultralights, to expand the already incredible number of vehicles available in the game. Rockstar has announced these vehicles will be customisable, although to what degree is yet to be seen.
The update also provides a number of new purchasable aircraft hangers and properties which will act as storage for your planes and headquarters for all your smuggling operations. These will be manned by the mysterious Nervous Ron and Charlie, who will guide you through your new aerial smuggling career and act as mechanics to take care of your new rides.
Details are still light but, judging by the trailer, it seems there will be a host of new jobs available, utilising your complete collection of new vehicles; Including dogfights, bombing runs, and cargo drops, with a number of ground missions tied in.
Included in the announcement were a few brief notes about upcoming updates for throughout the Australian Spring. The big announcement being a new, yet unnamed, racing mode which transforms your vehicles each checkpoint depending on the terrain of the next portion of the race, whether that be on the ground, on the water, or in the air. Rockstar also mentioned the release of some new four wheeled vehicles, new competitive Adversary Modes, and the obligatory seasonal celebrations for Halloween, Christmas, etc.
Rockstar has announced the new update will be free, and given the insane amount of money Rockstar has been making off GTA Online, this is not unexpected. Year on year the game has been making hundreds of millions of dollars in micro transactions, and player growth is showing no signs of slowing down.
If the steam charts are anything to go by, the PC player base is still holding steady, and profits are showing no signs of slowing down with ownership still on the rise. A recent investor release showed the game sold another 5 million copies in the first 3 months of 2017. Given this, it would be no surprise if updates like these kept coming until the launch of GTA6.
Grand Theft Auto 5 is available on Xbox One, PS4 and PC.
Originally written by Shay Hine.