GTA Online Changes Forever, Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus Rule Explained

Rockstar Games just released a new update to GTA+ with seemingly little to no fanfare, and it could potentially hint at something big concerning Grand Theft Auto VI.

Seems Rockstar Games and Take-Two don’t even need to advertise their updates anymore, because the latest change to the GTA+ subscription service hasn’t been mentioned in any sort of blog post or newsletter I can find, yet it’s still making front page news regardless.

As spotted by user @GameRoll_ over on Twitter, Rockstar Games has not-so-subtly updated the webpage for GTA+ to announce that Grand Theft Auto Online, the online component for Grand Theft Auto V, will now be included as part of the subscription service.

“Now anyone can play GTA Online on current generation consoles with a GTA+ Membership”, states a newly added paragraph on the GTA+ Join page.

“If you have yet to join the millions of GTA Online players on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, now is the perfect time to experience its wealth of upgrades and improvements, and get a range of special GTA Online benefits, access to even more Rockstar Games titles in the GTA+ Games Library, and more with a GTA+ Membership.”

The latest GTA Online update, The Cayo Perico Heist

You know, considering that most people seemingly use GTA+ to get extra benefits in Grand Theft Auto Online, I’m surprised this wasn’t already the case.

However, considering that Rockstar Games is implementing this addition so late into GTA+’s lifespan, it does imply to me that they’re getting ready to phase Grand Theft Auto Online out entirely.

Obviously, once Grand Theft Auto VI does release, it’ll come packaged with its own version of GTA Online, so the overwhelming majority of the fanbase is going to jump ship to the newer, shinier version.

Before you get too excited, though, it does seem that you’ll still need an active PlayStation Plus or Xbox Game Pass subscription to play Grand Theft Auto Online, even if you’re a GTA+ subscriber.

Although there seemed to be some confusion regarding wording on the GTA+ site, it does still specify that an active online subscription is required to play GTA Online on both PlayStation and Xbox consoles. That’s probably entirely out of either Rockstar Games or Take-Two’s hands however, unless they wanted to front either Sony or Microsoft some of the GTA+ Membership earnings for server costs.

Still, if you’re already paying for GTA+, I highly doubt paying an extra monthly fee for another subscription service is something that’s going to bother you.