GTA Online’s next-gen version is prettier and easier to get into

Image: Rockstar Games

With the launch of the next-gen versions of Grand Theft Auto Online for the Xbox Series X and PS5 this week, it is easier and faster to start your life of crime in the best-looking and best-playing version of its online open-world mode. All of the graphical and quality-of-life changes that came in the game can be found in the game's online component.

One of my favorite improvements is that it is easier to get into the kind of content you want to play. You can enter heists, free mode, or be directed to new content from the main menu.

New players will need to complete a few small, get-your-feet-wet missions first before they can access the larger amount of content types. The game requires 25 minutes of play to complete. It may annoy some people who are hoping to jump in immediately with friends, but it could be important for keeping new players engaged.

Image: Rockstar Games

The changes give a clear sense of what the game offers, and it's great that the online mode is delivered in a more streamlined manner. The game tried to point me in several directions at the same time, and it felt too overwhelming for me.

After jumping in for the first time in a couple of years, it feels more guided with the introduction of the new mode select screen, as well as clever onboarding for new players. With the graphical and quality-of-life improvements surrounding load times, it feels like a minor reinvention for an online game that really needed one.

Image: Rockstar Games

New players or those who want to start a new character will be the first to see another big update. Instead of being cut loose from the start and having to find your own fun, you'll first choose a career path that includes a real estate-focused executive and nightclub owner to a straight crime-focused biker or gunrunner.

The game asked me to start a weed farm and make transactions on the dark web after I chose the biker class. Within the first 10 minutes of playing, I was told that I am the president of my biker gang, which I named after the best seltzer brand.

You can spend $4 million of your own money from the start, and you can even spend it before you get out of jail. The game won't let you proceed unless you spend at least $3 million of their startup cash injection, which is presumably to keep some semblance of balance for its online economy. It is great to have guns, cars, and a motivation to keep going after five minutes of playing the game.

Image: Rockstar Games

I don't know how seriously I want to commit to the biker pathway that GTA Online has put me on, but it's having me try out things I would have never thought to do before. I want to keep playing this time, compared to my previous experiences with the game, first at launch in 2013, then again when the PC version was released in 2015. I am less interested in investing and managing property than I am in racing and engaging in gun fights, yet the underlying structure of the game gives it more depth to match its new coat of paint.

For PS5 and Xbox Series X / S owners who want to check out the latest version of Grand Theft Auto Online, it's available as a stand-alone purchase for the first time since its debut. It is free to play for PS5 owners until June 14th, 2022, but it will eventually cost $19.99 for both consoles.